Wednesday 9 January 2019

Celtic World - Castro of A Garda

Back in September 2011, I visited Galicia for a weekend trip, mostly focusing on the castro culture of the Gallaic Celts (as well as a lovely day trip to the Cíes Islands). The former post featured pics from my visit to the Castro of Vigo, and in this one I'll be posting those from my visit to the breathtaking Castro de Santa Tecla in A Garda (La Guardia). Enjoy!

-Some info about this castro (source): "The Castro de Santa Trega is a Galician fort and archaeological site located on the hillsides of Mount Santa Trega. At 341 meters (1118 feet) above sea level, the fort can be found in the southwestern Galician municipality of A Guarda (Pontevedra). The site is strategically located overlooking the mouth of the river Miño. Belonging to the Castro culture, it is the most emblematic and visited Galician fort."

"Santa Trega is a ‘Castro-Roman’ settlement. which was inhabited between 100 BC and 100 AD, in a period when the process of Romanisation of the northwest of the Iberian peninsula had already begun. Despite this, the construction system reflects techniques that respect the Castro tradition and has seen very little Roman influence. This style is dominated by the use of circular structures. Only a small percentage of the estimated size of the settlement has been excavated so far. At present only the northern part, excavated in the 80s, and some structures at the top of the mountain are open to visitors. It is bordered by a wall which surrounds a stretch of land more than 700 metres (2300 feet) north-south by 300 metres (984 feet) east-west."
 "Barring a few exceptions, almost all of the stone structures are free-standing dwellings with circular or oval foundations. The vast majority of these houses are of small dimensions and sit directly on the bedrock with their walls being covered with a lime and sand mortar. Traces of pigmentation found indicate that the plaster on the walls would have been tinted different colours. Many of the dwellings have a foyer which is considered by experts to be a sign of Mediterranean influence adapted to maintain the characteristics of indigenous construction. Many monolithic door jambs and lintels have been found decorated with intertwined geometric shapes and rope-like moulding. In addition, embedded in the walls, cylindrical monolithic blocks of small dimensions have been found decorated with geometric shapes such as spirals, triskelions, Celtic roses, or pinwheel designs. Other elements such as plinths present similar decorations in addition to representations of animals."

 "Not all of the stone structures discovered at Castro de Santa Trega served a residential purpose. In particular, one type of building appears to be storehouses which possess a less elaborate and less careful construction than the neighbouring houses. Inside these buildings, remains of amphoras, a mill, carving stones, etc. were found. The urban distribution of the settlement is characterized by groups of buildings forming individualized clusters. These clusters are known as “family or household units” and are formed by dwellings and storehouses set around a small, often paved, communal courtyard. The site's urban planning includes a complex network of rainwater drainage channels located under the pathways, as well as sometimes on the surface, sculpted on the base rock and covered with slabs."
 
-Note and clarification: I tag this post as 'Celtic Spain' and 'Gallaic Celts', but it's to be noted that according to Classical authors, the "southwest corner of modern-day Galicia was populated by the Grovii or Grovios community" and that "Pomponius Mela stated that all the populi [of this area] were Celtic, excepting for the Grovii. Pliny also rejected that the Grovii were Celtic, he considered them to have a Greek origin. They cooperated with the local Gallaeci tribes as seen in the aftermatch of Viriatus death" (Source). So if this is true, this castro would not have been populated by a 'Celtic' people. Still, it's a people very much related to Castro culture and influenced by nearby Celtic peoples (the Celtic-style decorations in the houses is a sign of this). This, in addition to the fact that Castro culture is mostly associated with Gallaic Celts and other Celtiberian peoples,  is why I have decided to still tag the post about this specific castro as 'Celtic world' and the like.

And the rest of the pics (for larger sie, click or open in new tab):