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Castro of Vieito

Coordinates: 41°43′50.34″N 8°48′25.78″W / 41.7306500°N 8.8071611°W / 41.7306500; -8.8071611
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Castro of Vieito
Castro de Vieito
Map
General information
TypeCastro
Architectural stylecastrejo
LocationPerre
Town or cityViana do Castelo
CountryPortugal
Coordinates41°43′50.34″N 8°48′25.78″W / 41.7306500°N 8.8071611°W / 41.7306500; -8.8071611
Opened1st century BCE
OwnerPortuguese Republic

The Castro of Vieito (Portuguese: Castro do Vieito) is an archaeological site of the Castro culture of northwestern Iberian Peninsula, situated on the right margin of the Lima River estuary, in the civil parish of Perre, municipality of Viana do Castelo.

History

Lasting for a century, the settlement corresponded to the initial Romanization of the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula (from the late 1st century BCE to the first half of the 1st century AD, or as late as the year 70).[1][2]

Much of the knowledge of this culture came from similar great settlements in the region, such as the Citânia de Santa Luzia.[1] This culture is distinguished from others in the region by the scope of the spatial organization and size, that implies a proto-urban structure, and the elevated quantity of the exogenous artifacts.[3]

The settlement is considered modest, with characteristics common for the larger settlements: such as a wall with monumental entrance-ways; the organization of the family living spaces and barrios; paved floors; a circular great house with bunk seating along the wall; and a home with rectangular courtyard, in addition to Roman coins in silver and bronze, amphorae, and rings.[3] During the course of the investigations, numerous Haltern 70 baetic amphorae were collected, about 2775, or actually the largest group in the Roman Empire and twice the quantity discovered in the district capital Bracara Augusta. Its position along one of the largest rivers, meant that it was located in a privileged place for the Romans, crossroads of alluvial and mineral exploration along the river.[3]

The presence of coins and jewellery shouldn't diminish the fact that the majority of the ceramics (about 80%) corresponded to regional pottery.[3] The remainder of the elements are characterized by a provincialism that is difficult to reconcile with a modern urban environment, implying an urban-rural mix.[3]

The presence of the large castro culture community was incentive enough for the president of the Municipal Council, and local authority of Perre, to request a meeting with the Instituto de Estradas de Portugal (IEP) in order to save the castro or mitigate its complete destruction with the construction of the A228/IC1.[2]

Architecture

Two-thirds of the site is crossed by a construction corridor of the A28/IC1 Autoestrada (Viana do Castelo-Caminha).[1][2] Owing to this fact, an emergency archaeological intervention, directed by António José Marques da Silva, was funded between June 2004 and July 2005, completed by the company AMS-Análise e Consultadoria Arqueológica Lda. The area of the intervention covered an area of 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft), and resulted in the movement of 12,000 cubic metres (420,000 cu ft) of dirt and the archaeological remnants that included 14 tonnes of ceramics, and more than 1000 lithic artifacts.[1]

The investigation covered a period of three years (financed by AMS) and involved the chrono-strategraphic analysis of the artifacts, revealing that field's occupation during the course of a century.[3] There were no indications that the spaces were occupied prior to this period. The excavations revealed a traditional indigenous architecture, using circular dwellings generally completed with a vestibule in the form of a crab's pincer and oblong-shaped barns.[3]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d António José Marques da Silva (20 April 2012), p.1
  2. ^ a b c Carla Sofia Martins (20 November 2004)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g António José Marques da Silva (20 April 2012), p.2

Sources

  • Silva, A. J. M. (July 2015), "Culinary clash in northwestern Iberia at the height of the Roman Empire: the Castro do Vieito case study", in M. Spataro and A. Villing (Eds), Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture, Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxbow Books, archived from the original on 20 September 2015, retrieved 2 August 2015
  • Silva, A. J. M. (May 2015), "Ceramics, foodways and local 'sub-cultures' in north-western Iberia at the height of the Roman Empire. The Castro do Vieito case study.", HEROM – Journal on Hellenistic and Roman Material Culture, 4 (1): 11–32, doi:10.11116/HEROM.4.1.1
  • Silva, A. J. M. (2015), Vieito 1 , Corpus Virtual de Arte Rupestre do Noroeste Português (CVARN), Projecto ENARDAS, Universidade do Minho, Braga.
  • Silva, A. J. M. (2015), Vieito 2, Corpus Virtual de Arte Rupestre do Noroeste Português (CVARN), Projecto ENARDAS, Universidade do Minho, Braga.
  • Silva, A. J. M. (2015), Vieito 3, Corpus Virtual de Arte Rupestre do Noroeste Português (CVARN)], Projecto ENARDAS, Universidade do Minho, Braga.
  • Silva, A. J. M. (2012), Vivre au-delá du fleuve de l'Oubli. Portrait de la communauté villageoise du Castro do Vieito au moment de l'intégration du NO de la péninsule ibérique dans l'orbis Romanum (estuaire du Rio Lima, NO du Portugal) (in French), Oxford, United Kingdom: Archaeopress
  • Silva, A. J. M. (20 October 2010), A intervenção arqueológica no Castro do Vieito (in Portuguese), Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Laboratório de Arqueoloxía da Paisaxe do IEGPS (CSIC-XuGA), retrieved 20 April 2012
  • Silva, A. J. M. (9–10 April 2010), "O Castro do Vieito: um povoado indígena do alto-império no estuário do rio Lima", Revista Cyberaqueólogo (in Portuguese), vol. 1, Faculty of Letters, University of Porto: Laboratório de Arqueoloxía da Paisaxe do IEGPS (CSIC-XuGA), retrieved 20 April 2012
  • Silva, A. J. M. (March 2009), Vivre au-delá du fleuve de l'Oubli. Portrait de la communauté villageoise du Castro do Vieito au moment de l'intégration du NO de la péninsule ibérique dans l'orbis Romanum (estuaire du Rio Lima, NO du Portugal) (in Portuguese), Coimbra, Portugal: Faculty of Letters, University of Coimbra
  • Martins, Carla Sofia (20 November 2004), "Câmara de Viana Quer Desviar IC1 do Castro Milenar de Vieito", Público (in Portuguese), archived from the original on 23 November 2004, retrieved 20 April 2010
  • Costa, B.F.O.; Pereira, G.; Silva, A.J.M.; Ramos Silva, M.; Carmo, S.J.C. (2010), "Mössbauer study of haltern 70 amphora sherds from Castro do Vieito, North of Portugal", Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 217 (Series 217 (2010) 012060): 012060, Bibcode:2010JPhCS.217a2060C, doi:10.1088/1742-6596/217/1/012060
  • Costa, B.F.O.; Silva, A.J.M.; Wagner, F.E.; Wagner, U. (2011), "Mössbauer studies of Haltern 70 amphorae from Castro do Vieito, North of Portugal, and of amphora sherds from kilns in the Roman provinces Hispania Baetica and Lusitania", Hyperfine Interactions, 202 (1–3): 81–87, Bibcode:2011HyInt.202...81C, doi:10.1007/s10751-011-0341-5, S2CID 96714950
  • Costa, B.F.O.; Silva, A.J.M.; Ramalho, A.; Pereira, G.; Ramos Silva, M. (2011), "X-ray compositional microanalysis and diffraction studies of Haltern 70 amphorae sherds", X-Ray Spectrometry, 41 (2): 69–74, doi:10.1002/xrs.1379
  • Wagner, F.E.; Wagner, U.; Hausler, W.; Costa, B.F.O.; Blot, J.Y.; Silva, A.J.M.; Bombico, S. (2016), "Mössbauer and XRD studies of Roman amphorae buried in the sea for two millennia", Hyperfine Interactions, 237 (237:57 December): 57, Bibcode:2016HyInt.237...57W, doi:10.1007/s10751-016-1282-9, S2CID 101232138
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