At the foot of a natural park
The site is located within the confines of Mount Aloia, Galicia’s first Natural Park. The landscape here is the result of the exotic repopulation carried out 100 years ago with autochthonous vegetation and other species, such as cypresses, firs and Lebanese cedars.
The name Alto dos Cubos refers to the mount on which its peak’s circular structures can be found. It is also known as “Cabeza de Francos” (Seat of the French), due to the existence of a French settlement in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The settlement, inhabited from the 2nd century BCE until the 3rd century, was built on two levels; one comprised of an upper site demarcated by a wall, and another on the north-eastern slope. Its inhabitants earned a living from agricultural and livestock farming, as well as manufacturing activities, such as hide tanning, stonemasonry, bronze work, metalwork and woodwork.
Several dwellings were excavated and partially rebuilt, and the vestibule of one has been preserved.
The strategic location of the site on raised ground offers a wide visual command of the Miño and Louro river valleys, the mouth of the River Miño and across to Portugal.
A hillfort with an extensive visual command of the landscape
Thanks to its location, this hillfort has an extensive visual command of the River Miño’s final stretch as it flows into the ocean, controlling the nearby, fertile farmlands. This strategic position helps us to understand the importance of the landscape in the Iron Age here in the north-western peninsula.