“Imagine life 2500 years ago” invites us to step back in time. We are standing before Citânia de Sanfins. This archaeological site reveals the secrets of the Castro culture. The Citânia de Sanfins stands in Sanfins de Ferreira. It is part of Paços de Ferreira municipality.
Construction here spanned centuries. It started in the 5th century BCE. It continued until the 2nd century CE. Romans occupied the area around the 3rd century CE. By the 4th century CE, it was abandoned.
The Citânia de Sanfins also holds later history. A chapel to Saint Romanus was built around the 14th century. Thirty-four graves mark a medieval Christian cemetery. They date back to the 13th century CE.
Francisco Martins Sarmento and José Leite de Vasconcelos first excavated here in 1895. The most recent work was in 1995. During this time a house was rebuilt. Also a warrior statue replica was placed near the second wall entrance.
Three lines of walls once protected the Citânia de Sanfins. The outer wall guarded the west and south. A moat defended the north and south. Local granite blocks formed these strong walls.
Inside, archaeologists found about 160 houses. Most houses are circular. They are about 5 meters in diameter. Granite walls and conic roofs defined them. Perishable materials formed the roofs. Typically houses clustered in neighborhoods. Four or five buildings faced a common patio. Walls surrounded these areas, creating spaces of 200-300 square meters.
On the edge of the Citânia de Sanfins, there was a public bath. Warrior statues once stood here. One statue overlooked the main entrance. A main road ran north-south through the Citânia. Smaller roads ran east-west.
Archaeological finds span many eras. There were Portuguese coins. One was from the time of John I. Two were from Sebastian of Portugal. An unknown coin dated to the 4th century CE. Forty-two Roman coins ranged from Tiberius to an unknown emperor of the 4th century. Pottery from the Castro, Roman, and later periods were also found.
Many of these discoveries are now in the Museu Arqueológico da Citânia de Sanfins. It is also in Sanfins de Ferreira.
Citânia de Sanfins offers a glimpse into the lives of people long ago. They worked with iron and lived as warriors. Imagine families drinking beer. Sometimes they drank wine. They sat on benches during feasts. They danced and sang to flutes and trumpets.
The defensive walls adapted well to the land. The layout was regular with orthogonal streets. A public bath building stands out. It features the “Pedra Formosa da Citânia de Sanfins”. This stone is known for its craftsmanship. Some say the baths were for ritual initiation of young warriors.
In the center was a complex of rectangular buildings. Two inscriptionless altars were found. Also fragments of a Galician warrior were found here. This suggests a religious building.
Craftsmen worked within the Citânia de Sanfins. Iron tongs, axes, and iron slag show metalworking. This allowed for weapons and tool production. Also found were tools for food preparation and clothing making. These included spinning wheels and loom weights. Pens for livestock and a trough suggest domestic animals were present.
Occupation spanned from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. Around the 1st century AD the occupied area decreased. It gradually lost importance. By the 4th century AD the site was abandoned. Later in the medieval period a chapel was built to São Romão. A cemetery with rock-cut tombs was also created. The Citânia de Sanfins stood strategically. It connected the Douro and Minho regions. It also provided a visual domain over the region.