Pendia Fort

The history of research into this small hill fort is directly linked to that of the Castelón de Coaña, as they were excavated simultaneously in the early 1940s by Antonio García y Bellido and Juan Uría Ríu.

However, the first records of its existence are attributed to Bernardo Acevedo y Huelves, who produced an initial description of the ruins in 1898, which was expanded upon by Alejandro García in 1929. In 1934, José Artime, a resident of Boal, carried out some excavations, and finally, in 1940, work began to uncover the rest of the settlement.

In 1999, the Department of Culture of the Principality of Asturias undertook theexcavation of the most important buildings as a preliminary step towards the comprehensive consolidation of the site, as part of the interventions scheduled under the Navia Basin Archaeological Master Plan; this work was carried out under the direction of Fernando Rodríguez del Cueto and Ángel Villa Valdés.

The castro has been described as an enigmatic settlement due to the striking disproportion between the monumental fortifications (moats and walls) and the small enclosure they protected, within which barely a dozen huts have been unearthed.

Access is via a narrow path which passes the defensive moat on the left, which isolated the settlement from the rest of the mountain range. On its inner escarpment, one can see the wall, which culminates in a tower at the highest point of the enclosure and from which a splendid panoramic view can be enjoyed.

Inside, there are a dozen huts, circular or oblong in plan, amongst which the one in the northern sector stands out for its size and isolation; it was built within an enclosure separated from the settlement by a second wall.

These large structures are common in castros and are interpreted as buildings for communal use. This is similar to the case of the two saunas. These are distinctive structures, common in the castros of the Navia region, with a rectangular floor plan and false vaulted ceilings; the oldest has a semicircular apse, whilst the second has a square one.

The settlement dates back to the Iron Age (4th–1st centuries BC), although it remained occupied until the 1st century AD, by which time it was under Roman rule.

HOW TO GET THERE: Signposted access from the AS-12, as it passes through the village of Pendia at kilometre marker 19. Local road for 2 km, followed by an unpaved track for 1 km.