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A castro is a fortified settlement, usually pre-Roman, associated with the
The Northwestern Castro Network (Rede de Castros do Noroeste), was established in 2015 grouping the most important sites in Northern Portugal as founding members out of 2,000 archaeological sites:
*
Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to:
*the culture of Celts
*the culture of Celts (modern)
*the culture of Celtic nations:
**Culture of Ireland
**Culture of Scotland
**Culture of the Isle of Man
**Culture of Wales
**Culture of Cornwall
** Culture of Brittan ...
. These are frequently found in Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, usually in the North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, but can also be found elsewhere. The word ''castro'' comes from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
'', which means "hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
".
Northwestern Castro Network
The Northwestern Castro Network (Rede de Castros do Noroeste), was established in 2015 grouping the most important sites in Northern Portugal as founding members out of 2,000 archaeological sites:
* Boticas
Boticas () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,750,
(Castro do Lesenho);
* Esposende
Esposende () is a city and a municipality in Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 34,254, in an area of 95.41 km². The city itself (the parish Esposende, Marinhas e Gandra) had a population of 9,197 in 2001. It gained city ...
(São Lourenço);
* Monção
Monção () is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,230, in an area of 211.31 km2.
The current Mayor is the Social Democrat António Barbosa. The municipal holiday is March 12.
Climat ...
(São Caetano);
* Paços de Ferreira
Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km².
Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...
(Sanfins);
* Penafiel
Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of .
History
The region ...
(Monte Mozinho);
* Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim (, ) is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 ...
(Cividade de Terroso
Cividade de Terroso was an ancient city of the Castro culture in North-western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, situated near the present bed of the Ave river, in the suburbs of present-day Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal.
Located in the heart of the ...
);
* Santo Tirso
Santo Tirso () is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, 25 km from central Porto, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry. The population in 2011 was 71,530, in ...
(Castro do Padrão);
* Trofa
Trofa () is a municipality in the north of the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, 18 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 38,999, in an area of 72.02 km².
Trofa has a strong industrial park, with various types of industry ...
(Alvarelhos);
* Vila do Conde
Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurar ...
(Bagunte);
* the Sociedade Martins Sarmento, from Guimarães
Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.
Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...
(which manages Citânia de Briteiros
The Citânia de Briteiros is an archaeological site of the Castro culture located in the Portuguese civil parish of Briteiros São Salvador e Briteiros Santa Leocádia in the municipality of Guimarães; important for its size, "urban" form and d ...
);
* the Direcção Regional de Cultura, managing Citânia de Santa Lúzia in Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
.
Despite its name, the network includes, for the time being, only Portuguese partners, and froze the idea to world heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
candidacy to UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, given the disparities in archaeological research, and the necessity to create visitation and promotion conditions. This is especially true in the municipality of Vila do Conde, which holds Cividade de Bagunte, one of the largest sites, along with seven other castros. The Vila do Conde city hall managed to obtain its Cividade's land area only in 2015, after 60 years of negotiations and legal confrontation.
Map of National Monument Castros in Portugal
Lists of Castros in Portugal
See also
*History of Portugal
The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis.
The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinc ...
* Prehistoric Iberia
The prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula begins with the arrival of the first hominins 1.2 million years ago and ends with the Punic Wars, when the territory enters the domains of written history. In this long period, some of its most signific ...
* Castros in Spain
References