The second archaeological campaign at Castro das Hortas, located on land adjacent to the LIFE INSULAR intervention areas in the Illas Cíes, made it possible to confirm that the hillside where the remains are located was occupied from the Castro period to the Middle Ages. This is the main conclusion of the work carried out in the archipelago between the end of April and the beginning of May by the Grupo de Estudos en Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio (GEAAT) of the Universidade de Vigo, with the collaboration of the Xunta de Galicia.
It should be emphasized that Castro das Hortas is one of the best-known Iron Age archaeological sites both because of its location on an island and because of its impressive position at the southern end of Illa do Medio or Illa do Faro, a very steep place that nevertheless allowed total control of maritime routes.
In view of the good results obtained in the campaign carried out last year, a second intervention was proposed for 2026, which began at the end of last April with the clearing of surface vegetation in the intervention areas, tasks directly undertaken by the National Park staff. The action to enhance the value of the cultural heritage creates important synergies with the natural heritage improvement actions promoted by LIFE INSULAR.
