GOLDSMITHING · PARTIDA DE LA LLUCA

Treasure of Jávea

A diadem too fragile for everyday use

In Xàbia appeared a diadem, necklaces and other jewels inside a vessel that was not preserved.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Gold Iberian diadem. Its articulated structure with triangular end pieces is a legacy of Orientalising diadems, like the one from Aliseda, while the openwork filigree, granulation and découpé decoration evidence the classical Greek influence, adapted to suit Iberian tastes. — **PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · National Archaeological Museum of Spain · CC BY-SA 4.0**
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Documentary photograph of the original or the exact site.
Dorieo · National Archaeological Museum of Spain · Inventory: MAN 20258 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

In 1904 fortuitously appeared in Xàbia a diadem, three necklaces, a fibula with chain, bracelets and other jewels inside a ceramic vessel that was not preserved. The diadem combines sheet, filigree, granulation and geometric decoration with an extraordinarily delicate execution.

The absence of wear traces has led to proposing a ceremonial, funerary or representative function. The set is usually interpreted as a assemblage of female adornments by comparison with sculptures, but that association does not identify its owner nor turn each piece into daily attire.

Its historical value lies in the workshop and in the network: artisans capable of controlling high-purity gold mixed local and Mediterranean solutions to produce visible prestige.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: provenance, conserved inventory, materials, techniques and general dating of the IV century BCE. Interpretation and caution: ceremonial function, gender of the associated person and meaning of the hiding place are hypotheses.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 4th century BCE
Location: Partida de la Lluca, Xàbia/Jávea (Alicante)
Material: Gold and silver · filigree · granulation · casting
Context: Chance find inside a non-preserved vessel
Classification: Iberian collection or explicit interpretive resource
Visual reference: Catalogue photograph of the National Archaeological Museum in CER.ES

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.

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4th century BCE

Treasure of Jávea

Iberians

Approximate dating according to the record.

Current record

Gold32 dated objects

21 / 32In the centre: Treasure of Jávea

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Silver

The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians — You are viewing
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Treasure of Cheste · Jewellery from the 4th–3rd centuries BCE; concealment at the end of the 3rd century BCE. · Iberians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians

Jewellery and adornment

Hohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Carnelian beads · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
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
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians — You are viewing
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Punic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Treasure of Cheste · Jewellery from the 4th–3rd centuries BCE; concealment at the end of the 3rd century BCE. · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 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
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
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):

Dressing to be seen · 6th–1st centuries BCE · Iberians

Metalworking

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 — You are viewing
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
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
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 continuous sheet with articulated ends

The diadem retained its 37 centimetres of length, an exceptional datum compared to other incomplete specimens studied by Alicia Perea. Its central area does not gather many plaques: it consists of a single rectangular sheet, joined by hinges to two triangular terminals. The thinness of the gold provides flexibility to the set. The lower edge forms filigree waves, while ovals, rosettes and volutes occupy the centre and lotus flowers the ends. The design thus combines a continuous structure with localised articulations, and separates two ornamental fields within the same jewel.

Research · Alicia Perea · Between metaphor and myth. The symbolic representation of the feminine in Iberian societyAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid)

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The MAN archive documents the acquisition of the set in 1905.

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

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its provenance

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History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Treasure of Jávea

The Gold of Varna

Puabi headdress

The goat from PG 1237

Before Phoenicia

Tutankhamun's grave goods

Stag Vessel

Valchitran

Before the Iberias

Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi

Kushite king

Gold at Kuntur Wasi

Regolini-Galassi tomb

Condomina Earring

Uni was also Astarte

Ezerovo Ring

Coțofenești helmet

A battle on a comb

The Kul-Oba vase

The Solokha gold comb

The archer in gold

Treasure of Jávea

Susa grave goods

Thoth in the form of a baboon

Faces of the Steppe

Poroina Mare Rhyton

Treasure of Cheste

Marina Alta Hoard

Panagyurishte

Mairena Hoard

Patera from Perotito

Moulds for gold

Gold rhinoceros

A closer look

A continuous sheet with articulated ends

Where it is held

Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid)

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?