A Bronze Age village

The oldest remains of the occupation of Castromao date back to the late Bronze Age (between 700 and 600 BC), a time when huts were built from perishable materials (wood, straw and mud), hence that this architecture barely leaves a trace in the archaeological record. This period of prehistory coincides with the appearance of metallurgy, a technology that revolutionizes this prehistoric society. The new technique allowed the manufacture of weapons (swords, daggers or halberds for example), which explains the hierarchy of society and the creation of government elites of a military nature.

Thanks to metallurgy, agricultural and forestry activity and the manufacture of more advanced and resistant implements and tools (ploughs, hoes or sickles) also intensified.

Hence, the surpluses were found in large pits dug into the ground; inside them, flat and naviforme mills frequently appear, as well as decorated ceramic vessels in which traces of wheat, turnips, cabbages, and even grass were found.

Decorated stone

Coelióbriga, along with other central areas in the Bracarensis area (such as Santa Tegra or Monte Mozinho) are the Galician settlement where the most decorated stones appeared. This type of decorative art is not found in the Lugo area. A good part of these pieces were embedded in the walls or displayed around the openings (doors, lattices or windows).

The decorated stone is a symbolic capital that acts as a social marker within the community, especially at the end of the Iron Age (between 450 BC and Year 0). With the arrival of Romanization this artistic manifestation will disappear.

The Ape
This zoomorphic figure was found forming part of the foundation of the wall of a hut, once it lost the symbolic function that it surely had, its head was broken, perhaps on purpose.  It represents a seated ape hunched holding an indeterminate object between its feet and hands, with which it appears to be trying to cover its mouth or eyes. Apart from the controversial interpretations and hypothetical meaning that it may conceal, it represents a unique piece within fort culture.