Castro de Castromaior

Portomarín, Spain

Castro de Castromaior in Portomarin is one of the most popular archaeological sites in the northwest of the peninsula. In this castro, developed in the Iron Age, it was inhabited between the fourth centuries BC and first century AD until three different populations, until its abandonment with the first Roman approaches. Of him they emphasize his big dimensions, since it counts on an area of ​​approximately 5 hectares, and his good state of conservation.

Between 2006 and 2010 it was the center of archaeological works in order to discover its entire structure, thereby achieving that in 2010 it obtained the title of Cultural Interest. Thanks to this title and being located a few meters from the route that connects the French Way with Santiago de Compostela, it has become one of the most popular locations on the Camino de Santiago.

Like other popular castros, the Castro de Castromaior is located on an elevation since its inhabitants had great visibility to be prepared for enemy attacks. It is distributed by a main enclosure, where homes were concentrated, and different walled platforms located outside. According to experts, the usual houses that formed in castro, were initially made with vegetables, but a fire calcined them and were rebuilt with stone walls. Currently, in the castro the ditches and holes where the posts were located are preserved.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

LU-633, Portomarín, Spain
See all sites in Portomarín

Details

Founded: 4th century BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Spain

More Information

vivecamino.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Z (2 years ago)
A slight drift off the Camino route- less than 20 meters- and you’ll find it. If you take bikes, you can stay on the highway and take the pedestrian route only when you’re right on the spot. Otherwise, if you enter through Castromaior it’ll be quite a climb together with the pedestrians. Wish that there was some explanation.
Remis Van (2 years ago)
Castro de Castromaior - There's only a little sign by the Camino de Santiago road. The ultimate majority just kept on going. But we took this deviation - and it really worth while.
Claudia Brezovan (5 years ago)
This is something pretty to see. If you are a pilgrim, go see it, it will not make the path longer and it will give you a nice view.
Graciela Porraz (5 years ago)
A little detour from the main El Camino road. We walked to the archeological site and it was surprisingly well kept and interesting to visit. Nice views from that place to the valley.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.