Citânia de Sabroso

Category: Archaeology > Citânia

District: Braga > Guimarães > Sabroso > Castro

Location

The Citânia de Sabroso rises majestically atop Monte do Coto de Sabroso, in the locality of Sabroso, municipality of Guimarães. This site, located within the union of parishes of Sande, São Lourenço and Balazar, offers a predominantly rural setting. Positioned on an elevation of about 270 meters in altitude, it is part of the orography of the Falperra and Sameiro mountains, providing a wide perspective over the Ave River valley, which flows nearby.

Its strategic location, on the right bank of the river and flanked by small watercourses such as the Canhota stream, the Agrela river, and the Paus river, highlights the importance of natural resources for its ancient inhabitants. The view from this privileged point allows us to imagine life in a community that knew how to take advantage of the surrounding territory for agriculture, livestock, and defense.

A Window into the Castro Past

The Citânia de Sabroso is a remarkable archaeological site, a testament to an ancient fortified settlement, also known as Castro de Sabroso. This National Monument invites a journey to the Iron Age period, when it was primarily inhabited between the 5th and 1st centuries BC. It represents one of the most important vestiges of the Castro culture in Portugal, offering a unique opportunity to understand the social organization and daily life of pre-Roman communities in the Iberian Northwest.

Its rediscovery and the first excavations, initiated in 1877 by archaeologist Francisco Martins Sarmento, marked a crucial moment for the development of archaeology in Portugal. Research work, continued over time, has revealed the richness and complexity of this settlement, which was a center of life and culture for many centuries before the arrival of the Romans.

Monumental Defenses

The settlement of Sabroso is delimited by an impressive defensive structure, composed of two lines of granite walls, which encircle the hill. These walls, built with dry-stacked blocks and exhibiting robust polygonal masonry, reach remarkable heights, between three and five meters, and thicknesses of about four and a half meters. In some sections, the height even exceeds five meters, dimensions that stand out for their grandeur for a smaller-sized castro, making them one of the most monumental complexes of the pre-Roman era in the region.

The defenses also included ditches, still visible in certain areas, which reinforced the settlement's security. By walking along the walls, it is possible to observe traces of reinforcement works, which attest to the constant concern for the protection and durability of these structures. Two gates allowed access to the interior of the settlement, one to the North and another to the South, revealing the defensive engineering of its builders.

Daily Life and Architecture

Inside the walls of Citânia de Sabroso, the ruins of about thirty-nine residential units have been identified. Most of these houses have a circular plan, characteristic of Castro settlements, although there are also some rectangular ones with rounded corners. These dwellings were built of stone, and some had paved floors, showing a certain care in their design.

The houses were organized into small family nuclei, generally with two or three dwellings grouped around a central courtyard. This arrangement reflects the social and family structure of the Iron Age. The Citânia de Sabroso is distinguished by not showing traces of Romanization in its constructions, unlike other contemporary sites, suggesting that the settlement was abandoned before being profoundly influenced by Roman culture.

Mysticism and Rock Art

The Citânia de Sabroso is not only a site of dwellings and defenses; it is also a space with a strong symbolic and spiritual component. At the top of the hill, on granite outcrops, there is a fascinating set of rock carvings. These designs, which include concentric circles, spirals, labyrinths, and small cup-marks, are examples of Atlantic art, an ancestral cultural manifestation dating back to the period between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic (fourth and third millennia BC).

One of the most notable elements is a labyrinthine figure, whose style is common on the European Atlantic facade and which may have meanings linked to celestial or solar rituals. The presence of a possible altar, a rock with a cavity for sacrifices, and fragments of pig-shaped statues, believed to represent deities, reinforces the religious and mystical dimension of this site. Outside the walls, in nearby areas, there are also representations of feet, known as podomorphs, surrounded by cup-marks, adding another layer of mystery and meaning to this place.

The Revealed Material Heritage

Archaeological excavations at Sabroso have uncovered a vast and diverse set of materials that offer valuable clues about the life and commercial exchanges of its ancient inhabitants. Among the finds, ceramic pieces stand out, both those manufactured without the use of a wheel and more advanced ones, produced on a wheel, with a wide variety of decorative motifs, such as triangles and circles.

Stone axes, bronze elements such as fibulae (brooches or pins), and possible jewelry were also found, attesting to the material wealth of the community. The discovery of some Roman coins, including one dated to the 2nd century BC, and amphorae used for transporting olive oil and wine, illustrates the settlement's external contacts. The pig statues, unique in their kind compared to other castros, reinforce the idea of a particular cult or a distinct symbolism at this site.

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