Citânia of Briteiros

Category: Nature > Reserva natural

District: Braga > Guimarães > Briteiros São Salvador e Briteiros Santa Leocádia

Location:

The Citânia de Briteiros is located at the top of Monte de São Romão, an elevation that offers a vast and comprehensive panoramic view over the Ave River valley, in the parishes of Briteiros São Salvador and Briteiros Santa Leocádia, in the municipality of Guimarães. Its elevated and dominant position reveals the strategic importance the site held for its ancient inhabitants, allowing them to control not only the river's resources but also important circulation routes between the coast and the interior, and the valleys of the Douro and Minho rivers.

The mountain's natural surroundings, with its varied landscape of forests and fields, complement the visitor's experience, inviting an understanding of the environment where this settlement prospered, taking advantage of resources such as water, wood, agriculture in the foothills, and pastoralism on the slopes.

A Deep Historical Legacy:

The Citânia de Briteiros is one of the most significant proto-historic settlements in the Iberian Peninsula, recognized as a National Monument. Its history spans millennia, with the first evidence of occupation of Monte de São Romão dating back to the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, visible in rock engravings found on the rocks. The fortified settlement itself is believed to have been inhabited since the early 1st millennium BC, during the Atlantic Bronze Age.

However, it was between the 2nd century BC and the turn of the Era that the Citânia reached its peak, continuing to be a vital center even after the integration of the Northwest Iberian Peninsula into the Roman Empire, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The study of this archaeological site began in 1874, with the pioneering work of Francisco Martins Sarmento, whose efforts were crucial for its preservation and investigation, and which continued with the work of various archaeologists throughout the 20th century.

The Layout of an Ancient Community:

When traversing the Citânia de Briteiros, one walks through the layout of a large-scale pre-Roman community, covering about 24 hectares, seven of which are currently uncovered and accessible. The site displays a remarkable urban organization for its time, with a network of streets defining residential blocks.

The residential units are varied, predominantly circular-plan houses, but also some rectangular ones. Many of these houses were grouped into small family complexes, delimited by walls and with paved inner courtyards, where daily life and artisanal activities took place. Of note is the Casa do Conselho (Council House), a large circular building with a continuous stone bench inside, possibly a place for meetings or banquets, where an interesting engraving of a falcata, an ancient short sword, can be observed.

The Defenses and the Bathhouses:

The Citânia de Briteiros was protected by an impressive defensive system, composed of at least four lines of walls and two ditches excavated into the rock, reflecting not only a need for security but also a demonstration of the community's power. The walls, built of dry stone, are a testament to the constructive capacity of these peoples and can be observed closely, including some gates that still retain the fittings for the ancient wooden doors.

Two bathhouses, complex and functional structures, are other points of interest. One of them, located to the southwest, is particularly well-preserved, revealing its internal organization with an atrium, tanks, and a furnace. It was in one of the bathhouses that the famous Pedra Formosa (Beautiful Stone) was discovered, a richly decorated granite slab whose original function, perhaps linked to rituals, continues to intrigue researchers.

Underground Memories and Finds:

Despite the extensive areas of visible ruins, both on the upper platform (acropolis) and on the eastern slope, the subsoil of the Citânia de Briteiros still holds many secrets, awaiting new discoveries that can enrich the knowledge about this settlement.

Archaeological work has allowed for the collection of a vast and diverse array of artifacts, including locally produced ceramics and imported pieces, glass, metals such as bronze and iron, used in adornments (such as torcs and fibulae), tools, and weapons. Roman coins were also found, attesting to economic interaction with the Empire. The rock engravings, some thousands of years old, and the Latin inscriptions testify to the cultural richness and social complexity of the inhabitants of this ancient "city". A significant part of this collection can be admired at the Museum of Castro Culture, in Briteiros.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt