A new Late Bronze Age warrior stela from Ibahernando (Caceres)

The new warrior stela discovered in the area around Ibahernando (Caceres) is not just one more example to add to the long list of this kind of monuments from the Bronze Age. Its originality derives both from the place of the discovery and from its iconographic representation. In the first case. because this piece. probably a statue-menhir transformed into a warrior stela, comes from a megalithic tomb from which only a few pieces have been preserved; among which, a decorated menhir also stands out. Secondly, because, despite the relative simplicity of the representation of its graphic components, it concentrates its expressiveness in an anthropomorphic figure that lacks much of its corporeity and shows on its head two long strips arranged in a V shape, which might be the adornment with long feathers of a hemispherical helmet whose typology is almost unknown. In addition to all this, being 2.49 metres long, this is the second longest stela known so far, and it is fairly well set in its context, rather an exceptional case, although the small mound where it was found has been recently dismantled. All this, in a context of ancient paths, whose demonstration reopens the debate about the role that these unique representations played.