| Citânia de Sanfins | |
| Owner: | Portuguese Republic |
| Coordinates: | 41.3233°N -8.3867°W |
| Architectural Style: | Chalcolithic |
The Citância de Sanfins is an archaeological site of the Castro culture located in the Portuguese civil parish of Sanfins de Ferreira in the municipality of Paços de Ferreira.[1] The construction of the Castro site developed over many phases, between the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE.[2] The Castro had a period of Roman occupation that started during the 3rd Century CE, being abandoned during the 4th Century CE. The site also includes a chapel dedicated to Saint Romanus (c. 14th Century) and 34 graves belonging to a Christian cemetery from the Medieval age (c. 13th Century CE). The Castro was first dug in 1895 by Francisco Martins Sarmento e José Leite de Vasconcelos and the last interventions were in 1995, when one of the houses was reconstructed and a warrior statue replica was put near the entrance of the second wall.[3]
The Citânia was protected by three lines of walls, with an exterior wall protecting the West and South and a moat in the North and South. These walls were created using local granite blocks. About 160 houses have been found within the Citânia walls.[4] Most of these houses are circular, with diameters of about 5m, granitic stone walls, and conic ceilings made of perishable materials. These houses typically form neighborhoods of 4 or 5 buildings, facing a common patio and surrounded by a wall, forming areas of 200-300m2. On the periphery of the Citânia, a public bath building was found. Warrior statues were found in the Citânia, one of them overseeing the main entrance of the Citânia. The Citânia has a main road with a north–south orientation and collateral roads of east–west orientation.
The archeological findings in Citânia de Sanfins belonged to multiple eras, for example:
Many of the findings are displayed in the nearby Museu Arqueológico da Citânia de Sanfins in Sanfins de Ferreira.[5]