A realidade arqueológica do litoral entre o Neiva e o Cávado : da romanização à formação das paróquias

Abstract

When romanization began to settle on the western edge of southern Galeccia there was a reasonable number of well-sized and structured settlements that survived on the exploitation of marine and mining resources, without neglecting other interests such as agriculture and shepherding. The Roman influence was felt in many different fields, changing food, dress and trade habits and left deep marks in the interior of the settlements, such as in the typology of dwellings and urban modifications that were not always well achieved. With the advent of Romanization some villages were extinguished, but not all of them. “Cidade Velha” of Santa Luzia, Castelo de Neiva and St. Lawrence Castro are more than convincing examples. The people who abandoned the castros descended to agricultural lands situated on the outskirts of the castros giving birth to villae, casais and even small farms. These were served by a network of secondary and regional roads that gained importance over time and still exist in the present. The permanent abandonment of castros occurred at the end of the Empire, but there are cases where people still lived there in the early centuries of the Middle Ages. The change of administration at the end of the Empire did not affect much in the economy of the region. More severe was the attempt of Muslim colonization, but that did not originate any serious break that would cause a prolonged desertion.