Archaeology

Citânia de Santa Luzia (Santa Luzia fortified village) 
The Iron Age/Roman era fortified settlement of Citânia de Santa Luzia, known locally as Cidade Velha (Old Town), is one of the best-known castros (fortified settlements) in the North of Portugal, and undoubtedly one of the most important for the study of Protohistory and the Romanisation of the Alto Minho.

Its strategic location meant that it not only dominated large swathes of the riverside coastal area but it could also, in particular, control the entrances and exits at the mouth of the Rio Lima, which in Classical Antiquity would have been navigable for much of its course.

The settlement has very particular characteristics, especially in terms of architectural features, such as the building stones arranged in a polygonal fashion, used in some of the houses, which had a circular floor plan with a vestibule or atrium. 

In some, it is possible to see that they also had ovens to bake bread.