Updated 6 October, 2024 - 18:02 Sahir

Castro San Vicenzo Excavations Unveil Celtic Symbols and Other Iberian Age Symbols

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Excavations conducted over the month of September at Castro de San Vicenzo in Plane, Ourense, Spain, has led the uncovering of several well-preserved artifacts connected to the Castro culture from the Iberian Iron Age. These finds include a triskele, a swab, and other symbols that have deep ties to this ancient society, some of the best that have ever been found in this region.

Celtic Symbols, Heavy Fortification: A Castro Way of Life

The triskele, a Celtic symbol made up of spirals, and often found in Celtic decorative art, was the first artifact found, buried in the rubble of a collapsed circular structure. These symbols were commonly associated with ritual saunas in Castro communities in religious and purification ceremonies, dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries BC.

The site under excavation at Castro de San Vicenzo in Plane, Ourense, Spain. (Vive Avión Cultural Association)

Nearby, a cross with a hole, measuring 63x45x11 cm (25x18x4.3 inches), was also found.

A team of archaeologists led by Jorge Lama Alberto, in collaboration with the Vive Avión Cultural Association, has been exploring the Castro de San Vicenzo site, reports Vive Avion.

The San Vicenzo fort, which had been neglected and looted for decades, has been under excavation since last year. One of the hallmark features of the Castro culture are fortified oppida and hillforts, commonly known as "castros”, from the Latin “castrum”, meaning castle.

"The fort is located on an elevation above the Avia river, in the parish of Os Santos Xusto e Pastor. It consists of a complex defensive system by wall, with three stone canvases, an upper terrace, and an interior enclosure, both housing areas,” explains César Dorado on X, a specialist in art and heritage, who was part of the excavation team.

The collapsed structure at Castro de San Vicenzo in Plane, Ourense, Spain. (Vive Avión Cultural Association)

By the 2nd century BC, some of these hillforts had developed into semi-urban fortified towns, comparable in size to Roman cities of the same era, for example, at San Cibrao de Las and Citânia de Briteiros. These fortifications featured organized streets, communal buildings, and even advanced water systems. The people of this culture were mainly engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and metalworking, particularly in iron and bronze.

The Castro culture, originating in the 9th century BC, flourished till their clash with Roman culture in the 1st century BC. The presence of amphoras at the site dated to the Republican Era onwards is an indicator of this.

Slab decorated with a ‘triskele’, a Celtic symbol made up of spirals (Vive Avión Cultural Association)

Shared and Symbolic Heritage: Celts and Castros

Dorado explains:

"As the carved stone tells you, it presents a symbolism already known, seen for example in the “pedra formosa” of Castro das Eiras (Portugal). These are monoliths in the Castro culture located in the saunas of ritual use in the forts,.

The team uncovered a second significant artifact, referred to as Block 2, a petrograph in the shape of a "rosa camuna, or a “pink camuna”. This symbol has been spotted at other archaeological sites, including Citânia de Briteiros, a hillfort located in Guimarães, Portugal, and the Monte das Ferraduras rockface in Cerdedo, Spain. It is entirely possible that there was a shared cultural or symbolic heritage across regions of the Iberian Peninsula during the Castro era, reports El Confidencial.

“This finding not only improves our understanding of the Iron Age in the region, but also highlights the rich historical and cultural heritage that is still waiting to be discovered in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula”, said the archaeologists.

The local community has played an essential role in the excavation, with the Cultural Association Live Plane and the Community of Montes Veciñais in Man Común de San Justo providing crucial support.

Top image: Two stone slabs with Celtic symbols found at the Castro de San Vicenzo in Plane, Ourense, Spain. Source: Vive Avión Cultural Association

By Sahir Pandey