MADRID.- The Museo Arqueológico Nacional has opened Misterios de la materia. Ciencia del patrimonio en las colecciones del MAN, a major temporary exhibition that brings archaeology, science, conservation and museum collections into close conversation. On view through October 18, 2026, the exhibition shows how scientific research can reveal what the eye alone cannot see: the age of an object, the materials from which it was made, the journeys it has taken, the lives of the people connected to it, and the best ways to preserve it for the future.
Organized by the Museo Arqueológico Nacional together with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), its National Center for Metallurgical Research (CENIM), and in collaboration with the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE), the exhibition offers visitors a wide-ranging introduction to heritage science, an interdisciplinary field that brings together the humanities and the sciences to better understand, care for and manage cultural heritage.
The exhibition presents more than 260 works and materials from across the MAN’s collections, along with items from its archive and library. Many of the objects are rarely shown in the museum’s permanent galleries, making the exhibition an unusual opportunity to encounter pieces that normally remain out of public view.
Rather than treating scientific analysis as something distant or technical, Misterios de la materia brings it into the museum gallery as part of the story of the objects themselves. The exhibition is organized on two parallel levels. One explains scientific methods in clear, accessible language, showing what kinds of information different techniques can provide. The other focuses on specific case studies from the museum’s collection, many of them developed through major research projects involving national and international laboratories.
The route is divided into six thematic sections. The first, “In search of lost time,” looks at one of archaeology’s oldest questions: how to date the material traces of the past. Some objects carry inscriptions or written dates, but many do not. The exhibition explains how techniques such as radiocarbon dating transformed archaeology, including the study of the remarkable basketry and sandals from the Cueva de los Murciélagos in Albuñol, Granada. Thermoluminescence, meanwhile, has been essential for dating ceramics, including materials from El Garcel in Almería, excavated by the Siret brothers in the late 19th century.
The section “Lineages and paleodiets” turns to the organic remains that help reconstruct the lives of past communities. Human, animal and plant remains offer clues about diet, mobility, environment and contact between groups. DNA studies of two individuals buried in the Castiltierra necropolis in Segovia, for example, have helped clarify ancient migration patterns. Stable isotope and trace-element analyses have also shed light on the diets of people who lived at Los Millares and Loma de Boliche. Newer techniques such as ZooMS, or zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry, have even made it possible to identify the species of sperm whale used to make a spear point from the cave of El Pendo.
In “Capturing the invisible,” the exhibition explores the power of non-invasive imaging techniques. X-rays, hyperspectral imaging and micro-computed tomography allow researchers to look beneath surfaces without damaging the object. X-rays of a Panathenaic amphora decorated with Athena revealed that only the neck, handles and some parts of the body were original; the rest was assembled from fragments of other vessels by Raffaelle Gargiulo before 1825. Multispectral and hyperspectral imaging of the Beatus of Cardeña and an illuminated folio from the Bible of San Isidoro of León have revealed preparatory drawings and pigment distribution. CT scanning also made possible a virtual autopsy of the mummy of Nespamedu, priest and physician to the pharaoh, while keeping its bandages intact.
Another section, “The secrets of matter,” examines what materials themselves can tell us. Scientific analysis reveals manufacturing technologies, raw materials and long-distance connections. Some objects found on the Iberian Peninsula had surprisingly distant origins, such as the sapphires in the Treasure of Guarrazar, which came from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. A Late Bronze Age sword found in Almería, meanwhile, was made with metal that originated in Great Britain, as lead isotope analysis has shown.
The exhibition also gives an important place to conservation and restoration. Preventive conservation, environmental control and careful restoration are presented as essential tools for protecting archaeological heritage. Silver treasures, Iberian weapons, Visigothic bronzes and medieval ceramics help explain how each object requires a specific approach, guided by principles of minimum intervention, reversibility, compatibility and respect for authenticity.
The final thematic section focuses on how objects have been represented over time, from archaeological drawing and engraving to photography, digital models, 3D printing and even recent contributions from neuroscience on visual perception. The exhibition includes examples of plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, reconstructions, forensic sculpture and 3D models, showing how reproduction has served research, documentation, accessibility and public understanding.
Two special rooms complete the exhibition. One is dedicated to the sculpture of Saint Toribio from the former convent of Santo Domingo el Real in Madrid; the other to the Egyptian coffin of Pairusejer, from Luxor. These spaces present the results of multidisciplinary studies using X-rays, ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence photography, optical and electron microscopy, and spectroscopy. The analyses have helped determine the conservation condition of the works and identify the materials and techniques used to create them.
Beyond the temporary exhibition galleries, the museum has also developed a complementary route through the permanent collection for works that have also been the subject of scientific research but cannot be moved because of conservation needs or scale. These include the Lady of Elche, the sphinxes that greet visitors outside the museum, and large-format medieval painting.
Misterios de la materia is accompanied by academic activities, scientific meetings, educational programs, guided thematic visits and workshops, as well as a catalogue and informational materials. The exhibition is presented in the Temporary Exhibition Hall of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, on floor -1, with free admission.
Through its objects and the science that surrounds them, the exhibition reminds visitors that archaeology is not only about recovering the past. It is also about asking new questions, protecting fragile evidence, and ensuring that the stories held in matter can continue to speak to future generations.
