Urban structure Cividade de Terroso

1 urban structure

1.1 stages
1.2 family settings
1.3 streets

urban structure

the acropolis surrounded 3 rings of walls, , within walls diverse types of buildings existed, including funerary enclosures, extremely rare in castro culture world. @ peak, acropolis had 12 hectares (30 acres) , inhabited several hundred people.

in archaeological works carried through beginning of 20th century, cividade seemed have disorganized structure, more recent data suggests instead organization characteristics stem older levels of occupation, had been ignored during first archaeological works.

each quadrant of town divided family nuclei around private square, paved flagstone. houses possessed forecourt.

stages

the cividade had urbanization stages. archeologists identified 3 stages: settlement stage huts (8th-9th century — 5th century bc), second stage characterized urbanization , fortification robust stonework (5th century — 2nd century bc) , roman period stage (2nd century bc — 1st century ad).

during centuries, small habitations built vegetable elements mixed adobe. first stonework started in 5th century b.c., became possible due iron peaks technology. technology available in asia minor, brought iberian peninsula phoenician settlers in atlantic coast during 8th , 7th centuries b.c.

buildings during period are, characteristically, circular diameters between 4 , 5 meters , walls 30 40 cm thick. granite rocks fractured or splintered, , placed in 2 lines, smoothest part heading exterior , interior of house. space between 2 rocks filled small rocks , mortar of large sand-grains creating robust walls.

in last stage, roman 1 (starting in 138 – 136 b.c.), following destruction decimus junius brutus, there urban reorganization use of new building techniques , change in shapes , sizes. quadrangular structures started appearing, replacing typical castro culture circular architecture. roof started being made out of tegula instead of vegetable material adobe.

during stage, stonework used in home construction quadrangular; project of 2 stone alignments remained, rooms wider , filled large sand-grains or adobe , rocks of small average size, resulting in thicker walls 45–60 cm.

family settings

family housing set.

the family settings, having 4 or 5 circular divisions, encircle flagstone paved yard doors of different divisions converged. these central yards had important role in family life area daily family activities took place. these nuclei closed key, granting privacy families.

the building interiors of second stage, prior roman period, possessed fine floors made of adobe or large sand-grains. of these floors decorated rope-styled, wave , circle carvings , motifs, in fireplaces. in roman-influence stage, these floors had become well-taken care of, being denser , thicker.

streets

decumanus street.

the family settings divided narrow roads public spaces. 2 main streets had typical roman orientation of decumanus , cardium.

the decumanus city s main avenue followed wall east west , curved southwest crossroad cardium (north-south street), later reaches entrance of citadel. exterior access fulfilled slight descending reaching way still used today enter in town.

these main roads divided settlement in 4 parts. each 1 of these parts had 4 or 5 family settings.

in areas of city, vestiges of sewers or narrow channels had been discovered; these have been used channel rain water.