The Museum

History

The Municipal Archaeological Museum of Villena was inaugurated on the 3rd of November 1957 with the materials gathered by Don José Mª Soler for more than forty years of archaeological research in Villena and its setting.

The discovery of the Villena Treasure in 1963 causes that the Ministry of Culture considers the importance of these pieces and so, it was officially declared José Mª Soler Archaelogical Museum in 1967.

Since then, its objects have been increasing and nowadays, they allow to establish an historical evolution of this region from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century. The museum holds finds from the townships of Biar, Benejama, Campo de Mirra, Cañada, Caudete; Salinas, Sax and Villena. However, the pieces of the Villena treasure and the prehistoric materials of the Cabezo Redondo, Puntal de Salinas or the Atalaya Castle among other areas, are specially outstanding.