Castro de Santa Trega — A Guarda
Castro de Santa Tecla · Cividade de Santa Trega
Iron Age (c.600 BCE–100 CE)·Castro culture (Gallaeci Bracari, Celtic)·🇪🇸 Galicia, Pontevedra, A Guarda, Monte Santa Tegra, Miño mouth, Spain
About
About Castro de Santa Trega — A Guarda
Castro de Santa Trega (Iron Age c.600–0 BCE, revived 100 BCE–100 CE) crowns the 341-m Santa Tegra mountain at the Miño–Atlantic confluence overlooking Portugal, a 7-hectare terraced castro-city of 60+ round petroform houses and monumental ramparts with Atlantic rock carvings (petroglyphs) of boats and hunters. Excavated by Ignacio Calvo 1913–33 and later García Alén, it yielded Attic imports, Roman coins and Galician petroglyph re-use. Its hilltop sanctuary museum and panoramic Portuguese views make it Galicia's largest and most visited castro.
Why it mattersLargest Galician castro; petroglyph-castros association unique.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Petroglyphs contemporary or Bronze Age reused?
Theories
- 01Miño estuary toll fortress for tin and Atlantic bronze exchange
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.600 BCE terraces; stone houses c.200 BCE
- Period
- Iron Age (c.600 BCE–100 CE)
- Culture
- Castro culture (Gallaeci Bracari, Celtic)
- Builders
- Castro culture
- Purpose
- Hilltop fortified city controlling Miño mouth and Atlantic trade
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.600 BCE
Terraced acropolis founded on Santa Tegra hill
c.200 BCE–100 CE
Roundhouse fluorescence with Roman imports
1913–33
Calvo systematic excavation; museum built
1931
Declared Monumento Histórico-Artístico
On the ground
Structures & features
41.8960° N · 8.8710° W · 340 m · 2 mapped features
Santa Trega Acropolis — Summit Houses
settlementTerraced summit with 20 round granite houses around paved plaza and museum reconstruction
41.8965° N · 8.8705° WSanta Trega Petroglyph Field — Atlantic Carvings
rock artGranite outcrops with boat, deer and cup-and-ring petroglyphs integrated among houses
41.8955° N · 8.8715° W
Gallery