The Celtiberian Rock Inscriptions of Peñalba, Teruel
More than 100 years after their discovery, high-resolution 3D reproductions of the so-called ‘Peñalba pieces’ will be made accessible to the residents of Villastar (Spain) and the visitors of the new Peñalba Interpretation Center.
In 1909, Juan Cabré, an archaeologist from Calaceite, was commissioned to produce a catalogue of the monuments in the province of Teruel. When he arrived at Peñalba, Cabré found about twenty Paleo-Hispanic and Latin inscriptions, and numerous human, animal, and geometric figures engraved into the rock of the sacred mountain.
Some of the inscriptions were removed from the rock wall: a part of them was sold to the Archaeological Museum of Barcelona, where they are still preserved; the whereabouts of the others which were carried to the neighbouring village of Villel are unknown. These inscriptions are now considered of significant importance for the epigraphic study of the Celtiberian language.
Factum Arte and Factum Foundation worked with the town of Villastar to reproduce 12 of the inscriptions that are currently in the collection of MAC. After 3D-scanning the fragments exact facsimiles were made for the interpretation centre.
