The Citância de Sanfins is an archaeological site of the

Castro culture Castro culture (, , , , meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day northern and central Portugal together with the Spanish regions of ...

located in the Portuguese

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Sanfins de Ferreira in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 ...

. The construction of the Castro site developed over many phases, between the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE.

Pedra formosa

The ''Pedra Formosa''

sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

, a building designed for the public baths, stands out for its construction technique and spectacular

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

motifs crafted in stone. The Castro had a later period of Roman occupation that started during the 3rd Century CE, being abandoned during the 4th Century CE. The site also includes a chapel dedicated to Saint Romanus (c. 14th Century) and 34 graves belonging to a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

cemetery from the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

age (c. 13th Century CE). The Castro was first dug in 1895 by Francisco Martins Sarmento e José Leite de Vasconcelos and the last interventions were in 1995, when one of the houses was reconstructed and a warrior statue replica was put near the entrance of the second wall.

Architecture

The Citânia was protected by three lines of

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s, with an exterior wall protecting the West and South and a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

in the North and South. These walls were created using local

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

blocks. About 160 houses have been found within the Citânia walls. Most of these houses are circular, with diameters of about 5m, granitic stone walls, and conic ceilings made of perishable materials. These houses typically form neighborhoods of 4 or 5 buildings, facing a common patio and surrounded by a wall, forming areas of 200-300m². On the periphery of the Citânia, a

public bath Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

building was found. Warrior statues were found in the Citânia, one of them overseeing the main entrance of the Citânia. The Citânia has a main road with a north–south orientation and collateral roads of east–west orientation.

Findings

The archeological findings in Citânia de Sanfins belonged to multiple eras, for example: * Portuguese coins: One of

John I of Portugal John I ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in 1383–85 crisi ...

and two of

Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and his wife, Joanna of Aus ...

. * An unknown coin minted in the 4th century CE. * Forty-two Roman coins, from

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

to an indeterminate Emperor in the 4th century. * Pottery of the Castro, Roman, and later times. Many of the findings are displayed in the nearby Museu Arqueológico da Citânia de Sanfins in Sanfins de Ferreira.{{Cite news, last=CM Paços de Ferreira, title=Museu Arqueológico da Citânia de Sanfins, language=pt-PT, work={}, url=https://www.cm-pacosdeferreira.pt/index.php/museu-arqueologico-da-citania-de-sanfins, access-date=2020-08-05

References

Former populated places in Portugal Castros in Portugal Paços de Ferreira

Pedra formosa

Architecture

Findings

See also

References