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I ron A ge S aunas of N orthern P ortugal: State of the Art and Research Perspectives
Author(s) -
García Quintela Marco V.,
SantosEstévez Manuel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/ojoa.12049
Subject(s) - archaeology , celtic languages , history , the arts , relation (database) , geography , art , visual arts , database , computer science
Summary Special buildings used as saunas have been found in certain large hillforts in the north of P ortugal and in the C antabrian coastal area of A sturias and G alicia in S pain. The principal aim of this study is to highlight the importance of these buildings in the archaeology and art of the E uropean I ron A ge, where they are very rarely mentioned. Two approaches are developed: in P arts 1 and 2, we explain the structure of the buildings, their function, and the current debate surrounding their dating. In P arts 3 and 4, further analyses are developed on their position in the landscape, associating the saunas with the public life of the hillforts, and on the decorative structure of the pedras formosas (‘beautiful stones’) found in some of them, and their relation to certain artistic trends in so‐called Celtic art.