A legendary hillfort

The hillfort de Troña is situated on an embankment, in one of the foothills of the Montes da Picaraña, overlooking an extensive area of the mid-valley of the River Tea.

The hillfort’s acropolis was inhabited between the 6^th-5^th centuries BCE until the 1^st century. The second site was inhabited between the 2^nd-1^st centuries BCE until the 1^st century, and then re-inhabited in the 3^rd century. In the 13^th century, a church dedicated to the Sweet Name of Jesus was built in the upper part of the hillfort.

The settlement is elliptical or oval-shaped, with large terraces on its western slope and a complex defensive system made up of walls, a ditch and parapets.

The excavations carried out up until now have documented the sections of wall which surrounded the acropolis and the first terrace; the tower of the first wall on the eastern side; a deep ditch dug out of the rock on the eastern side straddled by the track leading to the hillfort, two small parapets made out of stone and earth, protecting the north-eastern side of the hillfort, and numerous residential structures on the upper part of the settlement. An engraving can be seen on one of the acropolis’ rocky outcrops, representing a serpent in a heraldic pose. This serpent is associated with ophiolatry and rituals performed by the peoples called sefes and oestrimni in traditional bibliographies.

The site has possibly one or several points of entry which have not yet been located, but we can assume that one was situated on the eastern side, alongside the tower that belonged to the first wall, and the other on the western side, in the second wall.

This hillfort was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century during the work being carried out to open the path leading up the north-facing slope of the hill to the chapel on the acropolis.