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Of castros and romans
Replica of the castro spa of Eiras (Vila Nova de Famalicão)
Not only were castros of a bigger
size, but also their structures became
more solid and elaborated. Besides,
their inner distribution was modified:
it became more well-cared, with an
urban plan with streets -sometimes
even paved- scoring and cisterns
for water supply. Also the houses
themselves and their distribution
were different, distributed in a more
complex way, sometimes even
creating neighbourhoods. They
had a quadrangular floor plan and
were substituting the vegetal roofs for
the Roman system that combined flat
(tegula) and curved (imbrices) tiles.
Some of the biggest castros had
even a kind of sauna, named pedra
formosa due to the big, decorated slab
that closed it (with a minimal opening
for access), and more frequent in the
southern area. In Galicia one can find
the example of Armea in Allariz, 20
kilometres far from Ourense, taking part
of the crypt of an unfinished medieval
chapel; in the Portuguese area, the
ones of Galegos Santa Maria y
Monte da Saia in Barcelos, Eiras in
Vila Nova de Famaliçao, the citânia
of Sanfins, 40 kilometres far from
Braga, and Briteiros in Guimarães.
“The most known plastic
art of the castros made use
of triskels, tetraskels, rose
windows and undulating
lines”
Together with the decorati on of these
slabs there are ornamental elements in
other constructions. The most known
plastic art of the castros made use of
triskels, tetraskels, rose windows and
undulating lines, among others. But
there was also a true sculpture, focused
on the representation of warriors.
These were granite statues, in round
lump, which showed masculine figures
decorated with weaponry (shield and
short cape) and ornamental panoply
(torques, bracelets…), so they were
identified as warriors. Some examples
have appeared, again, in the southern
strip, in Armea, Lesenho -Boticas, in
the vicinities of Chaves-, or in Monte
Mozinho, in Penafiel.
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