Archivo Español de Arqueología

Archivo Español de Arqueología
Title	Archivo Español de Arqueología
Discipline	Archaeology
Language	Spanish
Publisher	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Country	Spain
History	1916–present
Frequency	Annual / irregular

Archivo Español de Arqueología is a Spanish scholarly periodical devoted to archaeological research, excavation reports, and critical studies concerning the Iberian Peninsula, the western Mediterranean, and related colonial and cross-cultural contacts. Established in the early 20th century, the journal has chronicled work by investigators from institutions such as the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Universidad de Barcelona, and Museo Arqueológico Nacional, contributing to debates involving prehistory, Iberian, Roman, Visigothic, and medieval Spanish archaeology.

History

Founded during a period of institutional consolidation in Spain, the journal emerged amid initiatives by the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios and the Real Academia de la Historia to professionalize archaeological practice. Early contributors included figures associated with the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, the Instituto de Prehistoria y Arqueología, and regional museums in Sevilla and Zaragoza. Throughout the 20th century the publication reflected methodological shifts influenced by international developments at institutions such as the British School at Rome, the École Française de Rome, the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, and the School of American Archaeology, while featuring fieldwork connected to sites like Atapuerca, Numantia, Empúries, and Carteia. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries ties with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Universidad de Salamanca, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the École Pratique des Hautes Études broadened its contributor base and methodological pluralism.

Scope and Collections

The journal’s remit covers stratigraphic reports, typological analyses, numismatic studies, epigraphic editions, osteological assessments, and conservation reports stemming from projects at sites such as Altamira, Los Millares, El Argar, Tartessos, Baelo Claudia, Italica, and Mérida (Augusta Emerita). It routinely publishes work on material culture including ceramics from La Tène contexts, metallurgy associated with Phoenician and Greek contacts, funerary architecture linked to Visigothic and Byzantine parallels, and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions tied to the Doñana and Ebro basins. Contributors have drawn on comparative frameworks from the British Museum, the Louvre, the Pergamon Museum, and the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, integrating finds linked to institutions like the Archivo General de Indias, the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, and the Instituto Cervantes.

Publication and Editorial Policies

Editorial oversight has historically been provided by editorial boards drawn from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Universidad de Granada, the Universidad de Sevilla, and the Universidad de Valencia, with peer review standards evolving to mirror practices at journals such as Antiquity, Journal of Archaeological Science, and American Journal of Archaeology. The journal accepts submissions in Spanish and occasionally in French and Italian, and publishes monographic supplements on thematic projects led by teams affiliated with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Instituto Arqueológico Alemán, and the Instituto Italiano di Cultura. Policies emphasize transparent stratigraphic description, typological justification, radiocarbon calibration referencing laboratories like the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and the Centre for Isotope Research at Groningen, and adherence to permitting frameworks overseen by the Dirección General de Bellas Artes and UNESCO conventions regarding cultural heritage.

Accessibility and Digitization

In response to digitization programs undertaken by the Biblioteca Nacional de España and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, back issues and selected monographs have been catalogued and digitized alongside records from the Archivo General de Simancas and regional archives in Castilla y León and Andalucía. Collaborations with projects at the Digital Archaeological Record, Europeana, the Archaeology Data Service, and the Hispana portal have facilitated metadata sharing, while partnerships with the Museo Arqueológico Nacional and municipal archives in Málaga, Cádiz, and Tarragona have improved access to excavation inventories. Scholarly access is mediated through university libraries at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, and international repositories at the British Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Notable Excavation Reports and Contributions

The journal has published primary reports and syntheses for major campaigns at Atapuerca (broadening debates linked to the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social), Numantia, Empúries, and the Roman cities of Mérida and Italica, as well as multidisciplinary studies that integrate palaeobotany from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, zooarchaeology linked to the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana, and isotope analyses performed in laboratories associated with the University of Oxford and the University of Groningen. It has featured numismatic catalogues tied to the Real Academia de Historia, epigraphic corpora relevant to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, and conservation case studies connected to the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España and the Getty Conservation Institute.

Institutional Affiliations and Funding

Institutional support has chiefly come from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Ministerio de Cultura, regional governments of Andalucía, Cataluña, Galicia, and Castilla-La Mancha, and university departments at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Universidad de Barcelona, and the Universidad de Granada. External grants and collaborative funding have included awards and project funding from the European Commission (Horizon programmes), the British Academy for bilateral projects, the Getty Foundation for conservation initiatives, and support from cultural agencies such as UNESCO, the Instituto Cervantes, and private foundations linked to museums including the Museo Arqueológico Nacional and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Category:Spanish archaeology journals Category:Archaeology publications