Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum has hosted since Tuesday the exhibition Life on the Frontier: Finds from Monreal de Ariza Castle (Zaragoza), a selection of medieval artifacts recovered from this fortress in Zaragoza. The exhibition brings together objects that remained sealed for centuries after the collapse of a room in the castle.
The MAN displays medieval finds from Monreal de Ariza Castle
The exhibition, organized in partnership with the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute, the Government of Aragon, and the Museum of Zaragoza, is housed in the MAN’s Archaeological Discoveries Gallery. It features metal objects recovered during excavations conducted between 2017 and 2018 at Monreal de Ariza Castle.
The artifacts date to the mid-15th century and come from a room interpreted as a storeroom. The space was sealed off when large stone blocks supporting the building’s upper floors collapsed, leaving the collection trapped for centuries.
The objects on display include two iron helmets, a Gothic bell, an inkwell, cannon breech chambers, crossbow remains, a coin of John II of Castile, a breastplate, and plates from a cuirass. Together, they document the daily life and defensive activity of a site on the western frontier of the Kingdom of Aragon.
A fortress built by Alfonso I the Battler in 1128
Monreal de Ariza Castle was built by Alfonso I the Battler in 1128 as a stronghold against Castilian advances. Its location atop a hill at the western edge of the Kingdom of Aragon shaped the design of a fortification intended to defend the territory.
The deterioration and collapses accumulated by the structures over the centuries prompted restoration and recovery work. The archaeological intervention associated with those works made it possible to locate the storeroom and recover the materials now being transferred to the Madrid museum.
The opening was attended by the MAN’s director, Isabel Izquierdo; the director of the Museum of Zaragoza, Eva Alquézar; and curators José Francisco Casabona, Javier Ibáñez, and Durgha Orozco. Also taking part were the Government of Aragon’s director general for Culture and Cultural Heritage, Pedro Olloqui, and the Ministry of Culture’s director general for Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, Ángeles Albert.
The exhibition will be free to visit through February 28, 2027
The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from October 6, 2026, through February 28, 2027. The National Archaeological Museum will complement it with scientific, cultural, and educational activities to expand on content related to the castle and the artifacts discovered there.
In addition, the MAN has planned a self-guided route connecting the Archaeological Discoveries Gallery with objects in its permanent collection. The initiative places the Monreal de Ariza finds within a broader tour of the archaeological heritage preserved at the museum.
