- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF in spring and winter, Portugues, Sanabres: 2024
I want to learn more about the ancient - Roman or even Pagan - sites I will pass along the Camino Frances and Camino Invierno this spring. Any recommended reading?
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I carried that huge book on my first camino, and it was HEAVY (of course those were the days before chargers and electric coils ). Having an e-book option is fabulous. Though I personally may not have scrutinized the thirty pages or so dedicated to the cathedral in Burgos, having quick access to such in-depth information about each and every historically and architecturally valuable site was really a plus. I remember reading all about the little church in Eirexe and its engravings and learned about things I never would have seen or appreciated otherwise. Too bad there isn't a similar book for the Vdlp or some of the other caminos that are also chock full of amazing sites.Annie,
That book is the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by Gitlitz and Davidson which is a good overview of the CF route and is available on Amazon as both paperback and ebook.
MM
Read up on the city of Lugo. Only city in theworld left with an intact Roman wall. Also, Castro on the Primitivo has very interesting ruins of a Roman village, moat and massive leader's house, where you can still see the bath, oven and columns that jad to be brought in from what ks now Italy because thae type of stone they are made with is found there and not in Spain. It has a museum, so I'm sure you can find information on line about it. And yes, it's all about the mines.
I made the short detour to Santa Eulalia, well worth it, but people should make sure to check on opening hours in Lugo before setting out. I seem to remember that Kiwi-family made the detour only to find the site closed.The Primitivo has two more Roman sites: The Roman gold mine A Freita in Hospitales, and the arqueological site in Santa Eulalia de Bóveda, near San Román da Retorta.
A walk to the castle atop Castrojerez is very revealing too.
The opening hours are now posted on the sign that sends you in that direction. Right?I made the short detour to Santa Eulalia, well worth it, but people should make sure to check on opening hours in Lugo before setting out. I seem to remember that Kiwi-family made the detour only to find the site closed.
Not sure, but I remembered that Juanma had a post on that on his albergue's page (he runs the very highly rated Albergue in Ponte Ferreira). It is very informative, nice pictures, and lists hours.The opening hours are now posted on the sign that sends you in that direction. Right?
It can only be "The pilgrimage road to Santiago - The complete cultural handbook" by D Gitlitz and L K Davidson. 440 pages and also available as e-book.
Ditto, Don. If you please?Ok, biarritzdon, spill the beans. I have never made it up to visit the castle, though I have thought about it. What did I miss???
It is well preserved and has a spectacular view of the region. One can get a good idea of what life might have been like living there in 900 AD. There is an earlier Roman settlement site a short distance away and it is easy to imagine the movement of traffic in the region during Roman times. If you walk the road from the west end of town it is not that strenuous a walk up the hill.Ok, biarritzdon, spill the beans. I have never made it up to visit the castle, though I have thought about it. What did I miss???
It is well preserved and has a spectacular view of the region. One can get a good idea of what life might have been like living there in 900 AD. There is an earlier Roman settlement site a short distance away and it is easy to imagine the movement of traffic in the region during Roman times. If you walk the road from the west end of town it is not that strenuous a walk up the hill.
As I understand it (I may be wrong) the word "pagan" usually refers to a variety of different religions and not to the whole culture and way of life of the people who were there before the Roman conquerer came. Maybe that word let me astray a bit .
I bought this book in paperback before walking, and then downloaded it onto my kindle paperweight (reader with no internet access). My son and I would read the sections in the evenings or when we took breaks from walking. I love history, and just wish I had had more.Annie,
That book is the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by Gitlitz and Davidson which is a good overview of the CF route and is available on Amazon as both paperback and ebook.
MM
I'm enjoying this thread immensely, and curiosity sparked by Tincatinker's post also sent me here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Spain)
A fairly broad brush, but Galicia's ancient Pre-roman history is fascinating.
Very important site is Las Médulas on Camino de Invierno, which is a Roman gold mine. There was a huge mining activity in the Roman period in NW Spain, in fact the city of León was built on the place where the Legio VI was located to protect the gold deliveries towards Rome. On internet there is quite a few information in English about Roman mining in Spain.
It is nothing more than an empty plateau about 1 km away from the Castle.Thanks! Did you also visit the Roman settlement?
I'm enjoying this thread immensely, and curiosity sparked by Tincatinker's post also sent me here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Spain)
A fairly broad brush, but Galicia's ancient Pre-roman history is fascinating.
Great little overview, thanks! I was using the term "Pagan" because I thought it encompassed all the pre-Christian, pre-Roman civilizations there. So now I will ask just about Celts and Vizagoths!
I've been electrified when I read recently on the forum about "Santa María de Lara, a rare visigothic church of c650AD in the sierra de la Demanda, south of Burgos. It's an amazing building, just outside the village of Quintanilla de las Viñas. The walls are covered with intricate stylised carvings showing plants, birds, vines and dogs". I had NO idea!
All we learnt in history lessons is that the Visigoths roamed around, ended up in Spain and then disappeared ... And this is the first time I hear of the Suabian kingdom! Astonishing. Thank you!
I can't see myself walk to all these places so there will have to be a car trip one day, hopefully, but I wonder whether there is Visigothic art to be seen along the Camino Francés?
Along the Camino Frances there isn´t any church from the Visigothic period. The closest are Ermita de Santa María in Quintanilla de las Viñas (40 kms from Burgos) and San Juan in Baños de Cerrato (50 kms from Carrión de los Condes).
Once you get to Santiago, you have a wonderful resource available on all things archaeological and historical on the camino and in Galicia. His name is Jose Suarez Otero, a researcher, historian and archaeologist whose father was the same before him. He did much of the excavation of the the tombs beneath the cathedral, he's in charge of excavating a hillside site near Pontevedra that sticks out into the Atlantic (like Finisterra, but south) used for thousands of years by different waves of cultures... he knows of pre-Santiago pilgrim routes north-south that link sites related to St. Andrew, altars to Astarte, Viking raids on the Pico Sacra, and how to get to and get inside just about anywhere.
Hire him for a day, and pay him well above what he asks, because he is unappreciated now that the university and Xunta is divesting itself of such historians. He will run you ragged showing you history you never imagined, and you will eat and drink at exquisite and seldom-seen farmhouses and drinking dens only a local boy knows.
I will let you track him down yourself. Be sure you get a good night's sleep beforehand. Jose speaks English, but you do a whole lot better if you speak Castilian, or Gallego!
In my humble opinion, it was the Basque who pre-dated the Celts and were possibly the founders of that population.About Celts in Spain there are tons of information. Regarding Galicia, there are authors who say that everything in Galicia is celtic whereas other defend that this influence was small. So, as far as I know there is no agreement on this point. Nevertheless, there are places (and rivers) in Galicia with similar toponomy to the British islands
The genetics shows similarities in all Western European countries from the British Islands to Portugal
Hoplogroup R1b (R-M269) is the most common Y in those countries . But that connection is from Neolitic period, so, previous to the Celtic invasion.
The Visigoths had a Kindom in Spain that lasted almost 300 years. In Galicia and North Portugal the Suabian Kingdom lasted 180 years independent and finally was absorbed by the Visigoths. There is a lot of Germanic toponomy in Galicia.
Not sure how far back your "ancient" history interest may be, but I found this 1980 article interesting:
Ice-Age Subsistence in Northern Spain
A 12,000-year record of man's quest for food in Pleistocene times has been found in a cave near the Bay of Biscay. Changes in the use of resources suggest a response to increasing demographic pressure
By Geoffrey A. Clark, Jesus A. Ortea, Jesus Altuna and Lawrence Guy Straus
Ok, biarritzdon, spill the beans. I have never made it up to visit the castle, though I have thought about it. What did I miss???