Roman Camp Discovered Near Iron Age Hillfort in Spain!
Archaeological excavations at an Iron Age hillfort in northern Spain are shedding new light on the Roman conquest of the region. Evidence of a devastating fire, the destruction of two temples and the discovery of a nearby Roman military camp are helping researchers investigate what happened when Roman forces attacked the settlement.
The site, known as La Peña del Castro, lies in the province of León. Researchers believe the discoveries could reveal more about the military operations that took place during the Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BCE), the campaigns that brought northern Hispania under Roman control. However, one of the most significant questions concerns the destruction itself. Did the Romans simply devastate the settlement while fighting its inhabitants, or did they deliberately destroy buildings that held religious and cultural importance to the local population?
Archaeologists from the University of León, co-directed by Eduardo González Gómez de Agüero, are investigating these possibilities. Their work has identified a Roman military camp covering approximately 1.7 hectares, located around 500 metres from the hillfort. Discovered during surveys in spring and investigated further through summer excavations, the camp provides new evidence of the Roman military presence in the area.
Photo Credit: Universidad de León
Long before Roman forces arrived, La Peña del Castro was home to a distinctive religious complex. Archaeologists have identified two temples dating to the second and first centuries BCE, making the site particularly significant for understanding religious practices in northern Iberia during the Iron Age. The temples stood opposite one another along a main street near one of the settlement's entrances. Both featured unusual D-shaped layouts, stone construction and raised entrances, although they differed in their dimensions and building materials.
The smaller temple measured approximately six metres across and was constructed from yellowish sandstone. Inside, archaeologists discovered a large rectangular altar bearing traces of repeated burning, suggesting that fire played an important role in ceremonies conducted there. Excavations also uncovered charred animal bones and cereal remains. These finds provide evidence that offerings involving both domestic animals and agricultural produce formed part of the site's religious activities.
A second temple, excavated in 2014, was larger, measuring around eight metres in diameter. Built using reddish stone, it contained three rooms, including one with an altar made from stone slabs. Archaeologists also recovered objects associated with ritual practices, including a large sacrificial knife and vessels that may have been used in purification ceremonies. A pit near the entrance could also have served a ceremonial purpose.
The two buildings were connected by a raised stone passage, suggesting that they formed part of a wider religious complex rather than functioning as entirely separate structures. Researchers believe the ceremonies performed there may have involved deities connected with agriculture, the cycles of nature and the powers of the earth. Together, the temples reveal something of the beliefs and traditions that shaped life at La Peña del Castro before the Roman conquest. They were not simply buildings within the settlement, but places where inhabitants gathered to perform ceremonies and make offerings.
Both temples were eventually destroyed by a major fire that also damaged part of the surrounding settlement. The circumstances surrounding this destruction are now central to the investigation into the Roman attack.
One of the most important recent developments is the identification of a Roman military camp approximately 500 metres from the Iron Age settlement. Covering around 1.7 hectares, the camp occupied a position overlooking La Peña del Castro and its approaches. Its location would have provided Roman forces with a strategic advantage during military operations in the area.
The enclosure had a roughly quadrangular layout, with an entrance incorporating a feature known as a clavicula. This curved defensive arrangement was used at Roman military camps to make it more difficult for attackers to enter directly. The perimeter was reinforced with a stone wall approximately 1.5 metres wide, constructed using locally available materials. Although less than half a metre of the wall survives today, researchers estimate that it originally stood at roughly twice that height.
An earthen platform, approximately 12 metres wide, was built behind the wall. This would have strengthened the defences while raising the interior of the camp above the surrounding slope. It also provided space for movement along the defensive perimeter. The scale of these fortifications is notable, particularly given that the installation appears to have been a temporary military camp.
Photo Credit: Universidad de León
Excavations have also recovered fragments of military equipment and iron hobnails associated with Roman footwear. These small metal studs were attached to the soles of shoes to improve their durability and grip. Although the footwear itself has not been reported among the discoveries, the hobnails offer tangible evidence of the soldiers who occupied the camp.
The preservation of the military installation has attracted particular attention from the research team. González Gómez de Agüero has highlighted how unusual it is to find a Roman camp associated with an Iron Age hillfort in such a well-preserved condition.
The discovery provides an opportunity to investigate not only the Roman military presence in the region, but also the relationship between the camp and the settlement it overlooked. The latest excavations have also helped researchers establish the direction from which Roman forces attacked La Peña del Castro. Evidence indicates that the assault approached from the hillfort's northern slope, supporting conclusions suggested by earlier archaeological investigations.
Previous excavations had already uncovered extensive fire damage within the settlement. The destruction affected important buildings, including the two temples that formed the heart of its religious complex. However, the sequence of events remains uncertain.
One possibility is that the temples and surrounding structures were destroyed during the fighting itself. Fires could have broken out as Roman forces attacked the settlement, leaving buildings damaged or completely destroyed. Another possibility is that some of the destruction occurred after Roman soldiers had already captured the hillfort.
Researchers are investigating whether additional buildings were deliberately demolished following the settlement's occupation. Establishing when this damage occurred will be essential to understanding the nature of the Roman assault. If the destruction happened during the fighting, it could reflect the consequences of a military attack. If buildings were intentionally demolished after the settlement had fallen, however, it would raise further questions about how Roman forces treated the defeated population.
Archaeologists have also identified a watchtower on the upper part of the hillfort. This structure could help researchers understand how the Romans monitored the settlement and maintained control over the area following its capture.
Further excavation will be needed to establish the chronology of the destruction and determine whether the damage resulted from the initial assault or subsequent actions by the occupying forces. The destruction of the two temples has raised questions about whether Roman military operations were intended to achieve more than a straightforward military victory.
González Gómez de Agüero has suggested that the destruction may have formed part of a wider strategy to undermine defeated communities by attacking the places and traditions that connected them to their territory. As he explained in an announcement from the University of León, the objective may have extended beyond defeating an enemy to humiliating the population, erasing its identity and breaking its connection with the land. This remains a hypothesis rather than an established conclusion, but the archaeological evidence provides an important starting point for further investigation.
The temples are particularly significant because of their role in the community's religious life. Their altars, ritual objects and evidence of offerings suggest that ceremonies conducted there were an established part of local traditions.
Destroying such buildings could have had consequences beyond the physical damage to the settlement. If the temples were deliberately targeted after the Roman conquest, their destruction may have affected the community's ability to continue practising its religious traditions in familiar surroundings.
Nevertheless, archaeologists have not yet established that Roman forces specifically targeted the temples to suppress local beliefs. The fire could have resulted from the fighting, and the possibility of deliberate destruction after the conquest still needs to be investigated. Distinguishing between these explanations will be crucial to understanding what happened at La Peña del Castro.
Photo Credit: Universidad de León
The discoveries at La Peña del Castro contribute to our understanding of the Cantabrian Wars, fought between 29 and 19 BCE as Rome sought to establish control over the peoples of northern Hispania.
These campaigns marked the final stage of Rome's conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, a process that had unfolded over almost two centuries. The fighting involved the Cantabri and Astures, among other communities in the region, and brought the direct involvement of Emperor Augustus. The eventual Roman victory extended imperial control across northern Hispania, although the archaeological evidence from individual settlements can help reveal what this process meant for the people who lived there.
At La Peña del Castro, the newly identified military camp offers a clearer picture of Roman operations near an Iron Age stronghold. Its defensive features and strategic position may help researchers reconstruct troop movements through the valleys crossing the Cantabrian Mountains. The evidence of destruction also provides an opportunity to investigate how the conquest affected established communities, including their buildings, religious practices and connections to the surrounding landscape.
For now, the precise circumstances surrounding the destruction of the hillfort's temples remain unresolved. Further excavations will be needed to establish the sequence of events and determine whether Roman forces deliberately demolished buildings after capturing the settlement.
The most important question is whether the destruction at La Peña del Castro was simply a consequence of warfare or whether it also represented a deliberate attempt to undermine the identity of the conquered community. The answer could provide valuable insight into the impact of Rome's expansion into northern Hispania and the experiences of the people who lived through it.