null Yacimiento - A Lanzada

An intensively occupied place

This complex piece of land was occupied by settlers intensively throughout the ages. The oldest levels appear to date back to the 8th century BCE, and occupation continued until the Middle Ages. The most significant phases correspond to the Gallaecian settlement (5th-2nd centuries BCE), the salting factories (3rd-2nd centuries BCE); the Roman occupation and necropolis (1st-3rd centuries CE), the small church and necropolis (4th-5th centuries CE) and the medieval fortress (11th-15th centuries CE).

What we do not find here is the typical fortified Iron Age settlement, that is, a typical hillfort; we do find, however, a trading post that endured and continued to grow with the passing of the centuries and the introduction of the north-west region in the trading circuits of the ancient world.

By the time the Middle Ages arrived, the occupation had moved spatially towards the tip of the cape and it was there, in the 6th century CE, that a fortress was built with the purpose of defending the coast from Saracen and, above all, Norman invasions. This fortress would be destroyed by the Irmandiño revolt in the 15th century, the only thing remaining and proving its existence being the remains of the towers and the tiny chapel, to which pilgrims flock on the last Sunday in August.

A strategic enclave

A Lanzada is 4 sailing days away from Cadiz and 4 away from Cardiff, situated at a mid-point for Atlantic navigators in Ancient times, as it controls the natural accesses to the rias of Pontevedra and Arousa. It was a vital stopover for sailors and traders who, from at least the 8th century BCE, sailed these seas.