Visitors at the Pamplona Planetarium admire ‘the hand of Irulegi’. /
The archaeological find has remained on display between 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the exhibition hall
Some 6,000 people have passed through the Pamplona Planetarium this Thursday afternoon to see ‘the hand of Irulegi’, which has remained on display between 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. in the exhibition hall. The expectation to contemplate this archaeological find was such that the public was already queuing in front of the Planetarium from 3:15 p.m. in the afternoon, according to Diario de Navarra.
The Government of Navarra, through the Historical Heritage Service of the Directorate General for Culture, showed the Navarran public this bronze piece from the 1st century BC, which contains the oldest inscription in the Basque language. It is the second time that this piece has been shown, since on the 16th it could be observed by schoolchildren, groups and the neighborhood of Valle de Aranguren, the town where the discovery of ‘the hand of Irulegi’ took place.
In addition, starting at 7:00 p.m., a talk has been organized by the people who have participated in its discovery and study. Specifically, they have participated Jesús Sesma, archaeologist of the Government of Navarra; Mattin Aiestaran, from the Sociedad de Estudios Aranzadi and director of the excavation in Irulegi; Berta Balduz, restorer from the Government of Navarra; and the linguists Javier Velaza, from the University of Barcelona, and Joaquín Gorrochategui, from the University of the Basque Country. The experts spoke to the nearly 250 people who gathered in the Planetarium conference room.
The event was opened by the Minister of Culture, Rebeca Esnaola, who referred to “the hand of Irulegi” as a “first-rate historical milestone, which represents a leap in the knowledge we had of our history and culture up to now.” The counselor advanced that the Museum of Navarra is already working “on a musealization project for the space in which the piece will be exhibited, so that when the scientific research concludes, it can be properly contextualized.”
a piece of bronze
‘Irulegi’s hand’ is a bronze piece designed to hang on the entrance door of a house, as a ritual object to protect the home and in which one of the five words that appear has been deciphered: «Sorioneku» (good fortune).
Its antiquity, first third of the 1st century BC, makes it an exceptional find, since it is the oldest document and also the longest written in the Basque language known to date. Along with other findings, it confirms the use of writing by the ancient inhabitants of this area. For this purpose, they used a specific variant of the Iberian signatory known as the “vasconic signary”.
‘the hand of Irulegi’ was found in the framework of the excavations carried out in the town of Irulegi (Aranguren Valley), inhabited between the middle of the Bronze Age (15th to 11th centuries BC) and the end of the Iron Age (1st century BC). The project is promoted by the Valle de Aranguren City Council and has a subsidy from the Government of Navarra. The archaeological campaign is carried out by the Aranzadi Science Society.