José María Soler García (30 September 1905 – 25 August 1996) was a Spanish

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

. He is one of the persons who most deeply studied

Villena Villena (; ) is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Vale ...

and its surrounding area, since the vast majority of his research was focused on what concerned his hometown. In 1957, he founded Villena's Archaeological Museum with the findings he had collected from the 1920s on. In 1963, after he found the Treasure of the Cabezo Redondo in March and the

Treasure of Villena The Treasure of Villena () is one of the greatest hoard finds of gold of the European Bronze Age. It comprises 59 objects made of gold, silver, iron and amber with a total weight of almost 10 kilograms, 9 of them of 23.5 karat gold. This makes it ...

in December, the museum's name was officially changed to ''Archaeological Museum "José María Soler"''. The José María Soler Foundation, constituted after his death, calls every year Research Awards in order to keep alive Soler's legacy.

Publications

Soler has written several books on his archaeological works, some others on historical or folkloric research and even one dictionary on Villena's Spanish dialect. He has written a large number of articles published in newspapers and magazines, and he has also given many lectures all over Spain. A list of his published

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

s follows: *Archaeology **1956. ''El yacimiento musteriense de "La Cueva del Cochino" (Villena-Alicante)'' **1965. ''El tesoro de Villena'' **1969. ''El oro de los tesoros de Villena'' **1981. ''El Eneolítico en Villena'' **1987. ''Excavaciones arqueológicas en el Cabezo Redondo (Villena, Alicante)'' **1991. ''La Cueva del Lagrimal'' **1993. ''Guía de los yacimientos y del Museo de Villena'' *History **1948. ''Crónica de las Fiestas de septiembre de 1948'' **1969. ''La Relación de Villena de 1575'' **1976. ''Villena: Prehistoria - Historia - Monumentos'' **1981-1988. ''Historia de Villena'' **1993. ''La colección numismática de José Mª Soler'' **2006. ''Historia de Villena: desde la Prehistoria hasta el siglo XVIII'' (re-ed. 2009) *Linguistics **1993. ''Dicionario villenero'' (reed. 2005) *Music and folklore **1979. ''El Polifonista villenense Ambrosio Cotes'' **1986. ''Cancionero popular de Villena'' (re-ed. 2005) *Other themes **1958. ''Bibliografía de Villena y su Partido Judicial'' **1976. ''I Congreso Nacional de Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos'' **1984. ''Soldadescas, Comparsas y Toros''

Awards

Musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

Award of CSIC, on the ''Cancionero popular de Villena'' (1949) *Golden Medal of Villena (1973) *Bronze Medal in

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

(1980) * Montaigne Award of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

's FvS Foundation (1981) *

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Universidad de Alicante The University of Alicante (, ; , ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was founded in 1968. The university main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant ...

(1985) *Gold Medal of the

Province of Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

(1991) In addition, Villena's City Hall gave his name to one street in the old part of the city in 1979.

References

External links

Archaeological Museum José María Soler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soler Garcia, Jose Maria 1905 births 1996 deaths People from Alto Vinalopó 20th-century Spanish archaeologists Spanish folklorists Writers from the Valencian Community Villena 20th-century Spanish linguists