English

Of castros and romans
02
A world in
transition: the
culture of castros
The culture of castros left a legacy
of a valuable architectonic and
artistic heritage, which you will
be able to visit in the numerous
archaeological sites and museums
that exist all along the Euro-Region.
Visiting them is an excellent
opportunity to discover the history
of these people: their handcrafting
richness, their traditions, their way
of life…
Evolution of the world
of the castros
The culture of the castros was developed since the end of the Bronze Age,
towards 800 B.C, but its expansion came fundamentally during the Iron Age,
between the year 600 and the conquest by Rome. Throughout the Roman
expansion, many of the already-existing castros remained (even some new ones
were built) and some of them were still used as shelters for the population during
the difficult first years of the Middle Ages. The archaeological traces found in
some castros, such as the one of Serra do Muro (Vandoma, Paredes) confirm
this late re-occupation.
The castros are fortified settlements, located in areas of easy defence and
difficult attack, usually in the upper part of a hill and, moreover, with artificial
defences such as moats and one or more wall lines. The fortified space contained
not only the houses of its inhabitants, but also other public spaces such as cisterns
or saunas.
From an architectural point of view, the dwellings of the oldest castros are very
simple. They were mostly round, with a central hearth and clay floor, and were
built with wood or with a mixture of straw and mud, gradually substituted by stone
and a vegetal cover.
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