El Castro de Coana – An Iron Age Hillfort in Northern Spain.
Tuesday 14 January 2014 at 19:23
Visible to anyone in the world
Recently I visited the Castro de Coana Hillfort, in the NaviaValley region of Asturias in northern Spain. It has been described as a ‘pre-eminent archaeological site,’ and there are a good number of these Celtic Hillforts in Asturias. They are concentrated in the area west of the coastal town of Gijon. Presumably this is because the area provided a perfect climate and environment surrounded by low lush hills in the river valleys. This is in contrast to the east side of Asturias which contains the Picos de Europa a wild, snowy peaked and craggy mountain range. Although not the highest mountain range in Spain these rocky tops sit packed together forming a stunning backdrop when approaching Spain from the Bay of Biscay. The highest point of the Picos is the Torre de Cerredo which reaches 8,606ft. But I digress.
The castro, a few kilometres inland from the coastal town of Navia, contains an area of low stone foundations belonging to the walls of huts, houses and paved roads of the settlement. Buildings other than human dwellings that have been identified on the site include two square century boxes at the entrance gate on the south east side of the settlement. These provided guarded access at the main road into the site. Situated close to the entrance there are also thought to be public saunas dating from at least 4BC. These contain fireplaces, a bath, boiler and water channels. Meanwhile, a big rectangular platform without any walls has been identified as a possible public square.
Part of the site contains an unexplored acropolis at the highest point of the hill that the settlement was built on. The eighty huts spread out north and east from the edge of the acropolis where a maze of hut dwellings filled the hillside creating a low stone maze. Most of the buildings are thought to have been two metres high and some were much larger being two storey buildings. Some of the huts had a rectangular floor plan, most are round. Some are joined at the wall, others had large porches. Huts are individually placed or arranged neatly in groups of three. Some had a front and a back door. There is no evidence of windows. Inside the huts there are traces of platforms which would most likely have been furniture, benches and beds. Also inside there are many hand mills made of granite. Flat slates with a central hole provide traces of the roof construction using them as a way to consolidate the slate or thatch structures using ropes. Within the maze of huts there are traces of stepped walkways running up the side of the walls and of slate covered drainage channels taking water out of the living zone and down the hill. Amazingly some passed under the huts themselves.
The Romanisation of Coana’s inhabitants started around 1BC and this is demonstrated by the archaeological finds of iron and bronze tools, glass, pottery, coins and other items. The Romans came to the area to exploit gold mines. Evidence for the uses of gold include a huge gold horse statue a thick gold bracelet or battle decoration containing a horse and chariot design whose replicas are displayed in the site’s museum. The shiny originals can be viewed in the archaeological museum situated in the Asturian City of Oviedo.
Glancing over the site, I tried to imagine it as it would have been during its period of settlement – the maze of houses with their thatched and slated roofs, looking over a warm, sunny valley whose surrounding hills were terraced and provided a space to cultivate maize and other crops. I imagined the sound of children and smell of domestic animals running in and out of the huts, up and down the streets and the smell of fires and curl of smoke coming from the huts chimneys. Where were the cattle, sheep and goats, inside or outside of the moated complex? This was indeed a scene of life. But my favourite thing about this site is that no evidence of death has been found. A site official told me that there was no evidence of human burial or cremation and the only animal bones were found close to the fire places in the huts. The site official said this was not unusual - during this time in Northern Iberia and Northern Portugal, no evidence of death has been found anywhere. So, this would perhaps point to a ritual of leaving the bodies of the dead to be consumed by the vultures, eagles and crows or wild animals. Or perhaps, as my Mother suggested, they were taken to the nearest river, floated out on a raft and burned. If anybody knows what happened to the people of this area, I would love to know! Overall, this is a fascinating site and an archaeological treasure.
El Castro de Coana – An Iron Age Hillfort in Northern Spain.
Recently I visited the Castro de Coana Hillfort, in the NaviaValley region of Asturias in northern Spain. It has been described as a ‘pre-eminent archaeological site,’ and there are a good number of these Celtic Hillforts in Asturias. They are concentrated in the area west of the coastal town of Gijon. Presumably this is because the area provided a perfect climate and environment surrounded by low lush hills in the river valleys. This is in contrast to the east side of Asturias which contains the Picos de Europa a wild, snowy peaked and craggy mountain range. Although not the highest mountain range in Spain these rocky tops sit packed together forming a stunning backdrop when approaching Spain from the Bay of Biscay. The highest point of the Picos is the Torre de Cerredo which reaches 8,606ft. But I digress.
The castro, a few kilometres inland from the coastal town of Navia, contains an area of low stone foundations belonging to the walls of huts, houses and paved roads of the settlement. Buildings other than human dwellings that have been identified on the site include two square century boxes at the entrance gate on the south east side of the settlement. These provided guarded access at the main road into the site. Situated close to the entrance there are also thought to be public saunas dating from at least 4BC. These contain fireplaces, a bath, boiler and water channels. Meanwhile, a big rectangular platform without any walls has been identified as a possible public square.
Part of the site contains an unexplored acropolis at the highest point of the hill that the settlement was built on. The eighty huts spread out north and east from the edge of the acropolis where a maze of hut dwellings filled the hillside creating a low stone maze. Most of the buildings are thought to have been two metres high and some were much larger being two storey buildings. Some of the huts had a rectangular floor plan, most are round. Some are joined at the wall, others had large porches. Huts are individually placed or arranged neatly in groups of three. Some had a front and a back door. There is no evidence of windows. Inside the huts there are traces of platforms which would most likely have been furniture, benches and beds. Also inside there are many hand mills made of granite. Flat slates with a central hole provide traces of the roof construction using them as a way to consolidate the slate or thatch structures using ropes. Within the maze of huts there are traces of stepped walkways running up the side of the walls and of slate covered drainage channels taking water out of the living zone and down the hill. Amazingly some passed under the huts themselves.
The Romanisation of Coana’s inhabitants started around 1BC and this is demonstrated by the archaeological finds of iron and bronze tools, glass, pottery, coins and other items. The Romans came to the area to exploit gold mines. Evidence for the uses of gold include a huge gold horse statue a thick gold bracelet or battle decoration containing a horse and chariot design whose replicas are displayed in the site’s museum. The shiny originals can be viewed in the archaeological museum situated in the Asturian City of Oviedo.
Glancing over the site, I tried to imagine it as it would have been during its period of settlement – the maze of houses with their thatched and slated roofs, looking over a warm, sunny valley whose surrounding hills were terraced and provided a space to cultivate maize and other crops. I imagined the sound of children and smell of domestic animals running in and out of the huts, up and down the streets and the smell of fires and curl of smoke coming from the huts chimneys. Where were the cattle, sheep and goats, inside or outside of the moated complex? This was indeed a scene of life. But my favourite thing about this site is that no evidence of death has been found. A site official told me that there was no evidence of human burial or cremation and the only animal bones were found close to the fire places in the huts. The site official said this was not unusual - during this time in Northern Iberia and Northern Portugal, no evidence of death has been found anywhere. So, this would perhaps point to a ritual of leaving the bodies of the dead to be consumed by the vultures, eagles and crows or wild animals. Or perhaps, as my Mother suggested, they were taken to the nearest river, floated out on a raft and burned. If anybody knows what happened to the people of this area, I would love to know! Overall, this is a fascinating site and an archaeological treasure.