Xi’an Warriors departs from the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ) with its attendance records in hand. The question now is what will replace it next? The chosen project focuses on the origins of Europe: Dynasties and the First Kingdoms of Prehistoric Europe. This new international exhibit will run in Alicante from March 22 to October 13.
The reveal came this Thursday at the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) in Madrid. Attending the event were Tony Pérez, head of the Provincial Council; the Culture Deputy, Juan de Dios Navarro; MARQ’s director, Manuel Olcina; the Director of the CV-MARQ Foundation, José Alberto Cortés; and archaeologist and curator of the exhibition, Juan Antonio López Padilla.
The forthcoming international exhibition will feature 482 pieces drawn from eight museums and institutions across Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Denmark. Among the highlights is part of the oldest astronomical map in Europe. The deputy of culture noted that such a collection is a rarity for museums.
Visitors will encounter Bronze Age masterpieces from continental Europe, including gold jewelry and bronze treasures. Some works will be shown in Spain for the first time, while others have never been publicly displayed, even in their country of origin.
Tracing pioneering research from the late 19th century to the present, the exhibit covers second-millennium BC cultures across Europe. The assembled data illustrate that communities were less isolated and more interconnected than previously thought. López Padilla, the exhibition’s curator, described this Bronze Age phase as a pivotal moment in European history when many things changed across the continent.
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The head of MARQ commented that twenty years had passed since the last European exhibition of this historical period. The project grew from a broad research initiative, with much work conducted at MARQ. It originated after investigations at San Antón Orihuela, which connected the site to the Carpathians.
MARQ professionals, coordinating with technicians across Europe, conceived a plan to show how, during a crucial moment in European history, three distant regions responded in different ways to social transformation on the continent. The plan includes many items being shown for the first time, including objects never before seen in Spain, or those never exposed despite recent excavations.
A collaboration involving about 90 professionals and scientists from across Europe, all experts in Bronze Age studies, will help explain what life was like in these remote locations.
After a successful China-focused exhibition lasting nine months, Europe now gains attention. The idea is to look at Europe’s roots and realize that, despite a 4000-year gap, the differences were not as great as they seem.
A good year for MARQ
The Provincial Assembly President, Tony Pérez, drew attention to the new exhibition and the broader goals of the Provincial Council and MARQ: to bring culture closer to Alicante residents and to attract important tourist activity, all while projecting an image of a city rich in culture and heritage. He also noted MARQ as one of the year’s most significant moments, praising the museum’s ongoing excellence and its status as a cultural reference.
Xi’an Warriors attracted a record 300,000 visitors, and MARQ plans to close the show next Sunday with the promise of continuing leadership in cultural programming. Several officials described the exhibit as a rare, world-class event driven by national and international collaboration.
Director Manuel Olcina expressed satisfaction with the project and celebrated the museum’s collaboration with other institutions as a showcase of excellence in museums throughout the region. He called the exhibition a first-class cultural event in which MARQ plays a central role and highlighted the cooperation involved in this new initiative.
Record attendance for Xi’an Warriors’ latest exhibition reached 300,000 visitors, and MARQ looks ahead to further leadership in cultural offerings. MARQ’s management emphasized the significance of the project and the international cooperation that underpinned it, underscoring the museum’s role as a key cultural driver in the area.
MARQ bids farewell to Xi’an Warriors with an open day
Exhibition details
Selected objects from 18 museums will illustrate the emergence of Europe’s first warrior figures, the evolution of agrarian and pastoral societies as precursors to early states, mining activities, and the development of crafts such as metallurgy and goldsmithing, along with the formation of elites and social control mechanisms.
The program also includes dowry sets from monumental Bronze Age tomb contexts, highlighting the status of the era’s royalty. Among the featured masterpieces, for the first time in the country, is part of the Nebra Disk complex, a key representation of the European sky recognized by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World Register since 2013.
Other highlights will include Schifferstadt’s Golden Hat, the Meltz halberd set, the Golden Crown from Quinta da Água Brava, and the sword of Guadalajara. Several treasures from Dohmsen and Teicha, recently restored, will be displayed as well. MARQ will contribute 26 exclusive pieces, with some seen publicly for the first time.
Participating museums
From March 22 to October 13, a dynasty of institutions will open its doors. The curators include archaeologist Juan Antonio López Padilla of MARQ, Roberto Risch from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and János Dani from the Déri Museum in Debrecen, Hungary.
Numerous lenders contributed to this cultural effort, including MRAH in Brussels, the National Archaeological Museum in Lisbon, the State Prehistory Museum-Halle, the Déri-Debrecen Museum, the Damjanich Museum, János-Miskolc, the State Department of Culture, archaeology and monument protection in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the History Museum Palatinate-Speyer, the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Nitra, and Madrid’s Regional Archaeological Museum in Alcalá de Henares. Also involved were museums in Villena, Lorca, Almería, Jaén, Mula, and Callosa de Segura.