BELIEFS AND CURIOSITIES · RANK AND RITUAL

Four panoplies

Weapons do not answer questions on their own

Four warrior sets accompanied a woman, but the deposit does not automatically reveal who wielded them.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Image of Four panoplies — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

The weapons deposited before the Lady of Baza made visible the warrior ideology of an elite. They could have participated in honours, ritual combats, family memory or demonstrations of alliances.

The discovery also corrects an old archaeological habit: attributing an armed grave good to a male before studying the remains. Now the interesting question is not only who fought, but who could gather and re-signify the prestige of four panoplies.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: four sets of weapons appeared in the grave alongside luxury pottery. Caution: they do not prove that the deceased fought, that the weapons were her personal property, or that games were played with a specific form.

Catalogue facts

Complex: Grave 155 of Baza
Number: Four panoplies
Hypothesis: Funeral honours, ritual combat or lineage prestige
Does not prove: Sex of the combatant, personal ownership or exact rite

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

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No individual dating published on this record

Four panoplies

Iberians

The comparative file does not include a date specific to the set.

Current record

Arms and military equipment24 dated objects

1 / 24In the centre: Bilateral harpoon

Also connected, without a comparable date (4)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Daegok-ri grave goodsGojoseon and early Korea · from c. 5th century BCE
Dance with weaponsThracians · Towards 400 BCE. Xenophon's story
Tools in relationBatwa / Twa histories · ca. 1947
Weapons under the LakeCeltic worlds · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Funerary contexts

Current object, without a comparable date: Four panoplies.

Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
El Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · Prehistory
Guadancil idol-plaque · 3750–2500 cal BCE · Iberians
Staff of Anta 4 · Late 4th–first half of the 3rd millennium BCE. · Prehistory
Abydos Boats · ca. 3000 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Queen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · Sumer
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Osmankayası and Ilıca · ca. 1700/1650–1200 BCE · Hittites
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Ceramic stand 1010 · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Two voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Geometry in very fine lines · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Metalworking

Current object, without a comparable date: Four panoplies.

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

A number obtained by gathering fragments

The four panoplies did not reach the researchers as complete and intact sets. Fernando Quesada reconstructed functional sets from fragmentary remains and contrasted their exceptional abundance with other necropolises. His comparison of 777 armed graves showed that 81.6% contained only between one and four weapons. In Baza, moreover, the pieces were exposed to fire and some show signs of hot folding. The researcher rejects that they were simply bent to make them fit: the pit had space. The inactivation forms part of the ritual problem that must be explained.

Research · Fernando Quesada Sanz · The weapons of grave 155 of the necropolis of BazaAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

REGIONAL AREA

Mediterranean façade and peninsular south; not all Iberia was IberianMediterranean fringe and southern peninsula; not all Iberia was Iberian. The footprint indicates the orientative centre of the area, not a boundary nor an exact point.

Where it is held

Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid)

Item or group in the record · Permanent exhibition

Grave 155 of Baza · Room 11, case 11.17.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

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Four panoplies

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Four panoplies

Bilateral harpoon

Nahal Hemar Knives

Holmegaard bow

Gebel el-Arak knife

Narmer Palette

Stele of the Vultures

Naram-Sin Stele

Before Phoenicia

Talayotic sword

The lute-shaped dagger

Steppe kurgans

Bow and arrows in a case

Coțofenești helmet

Grave goods of Baza and Toya

A battle on a comb

The Solokha gold comb

453 astragali from Alarcos

Falcata from Almedinilla

The blade became straight

Vas dels Guerrers

Warriors' Vase

The Shield that Did Not Fight

Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes

Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz

A closer look

A number obtained by gathering fragments

Location and territory

Where it is held

Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid)

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?