479
Documenta Praehistorica XLIII (2016)
Landscape construction and time reckoning
in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
A. César González-García 1, Marco V. García Quintela2 and Juan A. Belmonte 3
1 Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, ES
a.cesar.gonzalez-garcia@incipit.csic.es
2 University of Santiago de Compostela, ES
marco.garcia.quintela@usc.es
3 Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias & Astrophysics Department, ULL, La Laguna, ES
jba@iac.es
Introduction
A calendar reflects a particular conception of time
constructed to meet the needs of a given society.
How this time reckoning may have been first observ-
ed and recognised and later reflected in a calendrical
system is a matter of debate (see e.g., Marshack 1985
and references thereafter), also taking into account
its symbolic implications, as they are well known
from the classical work by Martin P. Nilsson (1920).
In this paper, we report on three areas in the Iberian
Peninsula that were used at least during the Iron Age
and the early stages of Romanisation, where observa-
tions of astronomical phenomena in the landscape,
rock carvings and Latin inscriptions point to a parti-
cular method of time reckoning which may be seen
as attempts at establishing a calendrical system. These
sites are the rock art area of Campo Lameiro in the
province of Pontevedra (Spain), the Panoias Sanctu-
ary, near Vila Real in the North of Portugal, and the
Celtiberian site of Peñalba de Villastar, next to the
town of Teruel (Spain; Fig. 1). All of them are sites
which have been well known for decades, although
a number of profound revisions have been carried
out in recent years, and we had the opportunity to
ABSTRACT – In this paper, we report on three areas of the Iberian Peninsula that were occupied at
least during the Iron Age and the early stages of Romanisation, where observations of astronomical
phenomena in the landscape, rock carvings, and Latin inscriptions point to a particular method of
time reckoning. All of these sites have previously been connected with the Celtic culture. The knowl-
edge of the natural world that Classical sources assigned to these peoples need not have been reflect-
ed in a monolithic calendrical system used by all Celtic communities on the Continent. In fact, such
a ‘Celtic calendar’ may have had different expressions in different areas, expressed in different ways,
although sharing some common characteristics such as the particual use of the lunar and solar cycles.
IZVLE∞EK – V ≠lanku poro≠amo o treh obmo≠jih na Iberskem polotoku, ki so bila poseljena vsaj od
∫elezne dobe in za≠etka romanizacije, kjer smo na podlagi opazovanj astronomskih fenomenov v
pokrajini, na podlagi skalnih rezbarij in latinskih napisov prepoznali posebno metodo merjenja ≠a-
sa. Vsa predstavljena najdi∏≠a so bila doslej povezana s keltsko kulturo. Znanje o naravi in svetu, ki
so ga klasi≠ni viri pripisali Keltom, se ni nujno odra∫alo v monolitskem koledarskem sistemu, ki so
ga uporabljale vse keltske skupnosti na celini. Tak∏en ‘keltski koledar’ se je lahko v razli≠nih obmo≠-
jih izra∫al na druga≠ne na≠ine, vendar je pri tem ohranil nekatere skupne zna≠ilnosti, kot je npr.
posebna uporaba Luninih in Son≠evih ciklov.
KEY WORDS – archaeoastronomy; cultural astronomy; calendars; Celtic Spain
DOI> 10.4312\dp.43.25 
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
480
carry out field work at all three of
them. All of these sites have been
previously connected with the Cel-
tic culture.
A critical view of the European sec-
ond Iron Age has led to what has
been referred to as ‘Celt-scepticism’
(Merriman 1987; Hill 1993; Sims-
Williams 1998; James 1999). This
view was inspired mainly by an in-
depth re-examination of the archaeo-
logical evidence presented by schol-
ars of the 19th and early 20th centu-
ries (Collis 2003; Brunaux 2006).
Nevertheless, the samples of data,
analyses and studies accumulated
over the last century in areas of
knowledge other than archaeology,
highlight the presence of shared cul-
tural forms by Celtic language spea-
kers, who also present diverse forms
of social organisation, and who lack-
ed a common political structure (like, for example,
the Ancient Greeks; Megaw, Megaw 1996). Thus, we
face the apparent paradox of the presence and ab-
sence of the Celts. Possibly, following Simon James
(1999), the traditional understanding of the term
‘Celtic’ might be misleading, and those societies were
more varied than usually assumed. Not all ‘Celts’ may
have shared a common ‘cultural package’; however,
some common features could have been shared in
some instances. Arguably, how time was managed in
a broad sense could be one of these and deserves in-
vestigation.
According to the traditional view, the Celts were re-
luctant to adopt writing, a common cultural fact in
the Indo-European tradition (Sergent 2005). The
only written records about them come after inspir-
ing ethnographers from antiquity (Tierney 1960;
Nash 1976), by adopting writing from other cultures
(Jordán 2007; Lejeune 1985; 1988) or after the in-
troduction of a new cultural/religious manifestation,
such as Christianity (as happened in early medieval
Ireland).
Celtic calendar
As mentioned above, one of the supposedly common
cultural aspects could be the Celtic calendar. How-
ever, this requires a renewed study in order to reveal
its religious, cultural and intellectual frameworks,
and the likely differences among varying Celtic areas.
In fact, a large part of our knowledge of the Celtic
calendar relies only on the Coligny calendar.
The Coligny calendar was discovered in 1897 at Co-
ligny, 100km North of Lyon in France. It is comprised
of several dozen broken fragments containing Gallic
language inscriptions in Latin script dated on a pala-
eographical basis to the end of the second century
AD. The inscriptions are arranged in sets of twelve
groups repeated five times, which seems to point to
a series of 5 lunar years of 12 months, with each
month having either 30 or 29 days. There also seems
to be the possibility of introducing intercalary months
at appropriate times (Duval, Pinault 1986; see also
McCluskey 1990).
In a paper published in 1904, J. Loth pointed out the
parallelism between the temporal notations in the
Coligny calendar and the temporal formulae present
in modern Celtic languages and folklore (Loth 1904;
in a similar line, see Duval, Pinault 1986; Laurent
1995). The foundation for such a calendar would
have been the knowledge of astronomical pheno-
mena that Graeco-Latin ethnography attributed to
the Druids (see, e.g., Caesar, De bello gallico VI, 18;
Pliny, Naturalis historia XVI, 95; Diodorus of Sicily
V, 31; Strabo IV, 4,4) and, to the Celtiberians of an-
cient Iberia (Strabo III, 4, 16).
However, it is one thing to identify and admit this
type of knowledge, and quite another to state what
Fig. 1. Iberian Peninsula sites and cities mentioned in the text.
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
481
this knowledge was about. What celestial phenom-
ena did they identify? For example, it is interesting
to note that Julius Caesar (De bello gallico VI, 14, 3)
mentions that Gallic druids were trained over a 20-
year period. Could this period be related to a know-
ledge of the Metonic lunar cycle of 19 years within
the framework of the general astronomical science
attributed to the druids? Also, it is necessary to estab-
lish the temporal and geographic dimensions of this
knowledge (Gaspani, Cernuti 1997; Gaspani 1999;
Kruta et al. 2008). Did the traditionally claimed Cel-
tic tribes throughout Europe share this knowledge,
or were there differences among them?
In this case, it is important not to rush to conclu-
sions. Instead, we must design a methodology to
study the relationship between landscape and time
in places and periods where the consideration of
the Celtic cultural background is firmly based. In
the present paper, we present the results of a preli-
minary attempt to investigate the differences and si-
milarities in time reckoning systems from three sites
in Iberia traditionally linked with that Celtic milieu.
When dealing with calendrical issues, it is important
to note the problem of incommensurability. This
problem arises due to the inequality of the solar and
lunar cycles. The simplest way to accommodate both
is the three-year cycle with 37 months; 37 synodic
lunar months amount to 1092.61 days, while 3 tro-
pic solar years are 1095.73 days, or just three days’
difference1.
Iron Age ‘Celtic’ Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula has commonly been neglect-
ed by traditional continental Celtic studies, basical-
ly due to the absence of the La Tène style art. How-
ever, it must be stressed that, other than Gaul, Clas-
sical writers use the term ‘Celtic’ to describe several
tribes in Iberia (James 1993). Alberto Lorrio and
Gonzalo Ruíz Zapatero (2005) offer a general char-
acterisation of the period between the end of the
Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the Iberian Penin-
sula, and discuss the problems posed by the Celtic
question in Iberia.
From the Roman conquest of the Iberian northwest
in 19 BC, there are theonyms and anthroponyms to-
gether with toponyms in Celtic language that coex-
isted with another language, to an extent that is still
debated, conventionally known as ‘Lusitanian’ (Prós-
per 2002.311–312, 357–382; De Bernardo, García
Quintela 2008). The Celtiberian area, in central Ibe-
ria, is where most texts in a Celtic language have
been recorded from antiquity. These were first writ-
ten in paleo-Hispanic characters and later in the Latin
alphabet (Jordán 2007; 2008). We must bear in mind
that in both cases, we face situations of cultural in-
tersection.
There are some precedents to our study linking the
landscape and the sky in several archaeological sites
in the Celtic-speaking area of the Iberian Peninsula.
Juan Antonio Belmonte and Michael Hoskin (2002)
indicate that the ‘verracos’, sculptures created by the
Vettons in central Spain (Toros de Guisando, Ávila,
Spain) face the sunrise at the equinox. However, this
could be a unique case, as no systematic study on
these sculptures has followed this first attempt. The
sanctuary of Ulaca belongs to the same culture, and
was recently reported as having some astral connec-
tions (Pérez Gutiérrez 2008). Isabel Baquedano and
Carlos M. Escorza (1998; 2008) report that the ste-
lae in the necropolis of La Osera are also oriented
with respect to the skies, notably with some stars,
to some extent. Among the Celtiberians, Manuel Pé-
rez and Francisco Burillo (2009) claim that a pecu-
liar, possibly ritual, building found on the outskirts
of Segeda is aligned with summer solstice sunset
(Pérez, Burillo 2009). Necropolises such as Tiermes
(Argente, Díaz and Bescós 2001) and Herrería (Ro-
dríguez et al. 2007) have been claimed to include
astronomical orientations, although these are high-
ly debatable. Finally, Luis Valdés (2005) links the
orientations at the Iron Age sanctuary of Gastiburu
in the Basque Country with control of a seasonal ca-
lendar. Also, the rock art site of A Ferradura (Ouren-
se) in Galicia has several engraved panels that have
been linked with astronomical alignments (García
Quintela, Santos Estévez 2008).
All these works point towards a possible interest in
devising and perhaps using some kind of time-reck-
oning system. Most are linked to the sun and per-
haps the moon, although for some of them stellar
alignments are also investigated. However, it is dif-
ficult to draw a common picture from these analy-
ses. All of these studies lack the general treatment
and methodology we are seeking, including a truly
interdisciplinary approach. While each individual
study offers a sound and scientific treatment of the
1 This simple system has been proposed before for different cultures both in the Mediterranean (e.g., Ancient Greek calendars
may have incorporated cycles of this kind; see Hannah 2005) and in the Canary Islands (Belmonte, Hoskin 2002.235–42).
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
482
data, we believe the way to advance further is by ex-
ploring the data simultaneously from several points
of view.
Therefore, we begin by discussing the methodology
of our approach. Secondly, we develop study cases.
We then situate the results within the framework of
the religious and historic context and the symbolic
structure of the landscape in order to finally reach a
series of conclusions and propose further work for
the future.
Disciplines and methods
Calendar studies find their place necessarily at a
crossroads of disciplines. The first issue is the rela-
tionship between calendar and landscape. A number
of authors argued that the normal perception of rea-
lity in different societies begins with space (Bender
2002; Criado 1989; 1999; Ingold 1993), and with
other interests (Levinson 2003; Burenhult, Levinson
2008). Filling in the landscape with content helps to
apprehend a territory. This can be achieved by asso-
ciating tales that give meaning to the natural land-
scape, or by building monuments.
Using this general idea as our starting point, we
based our research on the tenets of landscape ar-
chaeology. This perspective considers that societies
always leave a ‘footprint’ in space at several levels
of intensity. These footprints may overlap in several
ways with older ones, leaving a more or less firm
imprint, leading us to read the landscape as a palim-
psest. However, each human group in a given terri-
tory assumes the landscape completely or in part ac-
cording to its own intellectual code. In other words,
a landscape, i.e. the natural and/or artificial elements
placed in a given space, forms part of the present in
each historical moment, regardless of when they
were built or created (Parcero et al. 1998).
Secondly, from an archaeoastronomical point of
view, we are faced with the duality of the possible
methodologies. On the one hand, there is ‘ethnogra-
phic’ archaeoastronomy, which considers architectu-
ral alignments with heavenly bodies detected in hi-
storic contexts according to knowledge derived from
written and/or oral sources2. On the other hand, ‘sta-
tistical’ archaeoastronomy mainly operates by study-
ing possible statistical regularities in prehistoric re-
mains. The two perspectives are not contradictory,
as they merely refer to the way of adapting the in-
vestigation to the available information resources,
and most archaeoastronomical studies include both
approaches to a certain degree (see Iwaniszewski
2009 and Ruggles 2011 for recent papers on these
issues).
Thirdly, the temporal and cultural framework (see
below) allows us to introduce the comparative me-
thod of the history of religions. The Indo-European
horizon presents a well-known framework of refe-
rence on the symbolic plane identified by landscape
archaeology (García Quintela, Santos Estévez 2008).
With respect to archaeoastronomy, the same Celtic
cultural horizon allows to contrast the astronomi-
cal observations with ethno-historic evidences. This
said, the places studied are not outside the histori-
cal process and, as we will see, including Latin in-
scriptions, and also the Christian saints who were/
are worshiped in these landscapes, provide addition-
al strata of information and meaning that are wor-
thy of inclusion within the general interpretative
framework.
Of course, other disciplines could have been applied,
but given the nature of the investigation presented
below, we considered that these methodologies were
the most fitted for the problem that concerns us: how
these peoples may have imprinted their sense of
time, their calendar and perhaps their rituals on the
landscape, and whether we can learn something
about their notion of time by studying their archae-
ological remains. It will finally be interesting to see
how this picture contrasts with traditional views on
the Celtic calendar.
In order to address these questions, we endeavoured
to make a series of archaeoastronomical measure-
ments at the several sites of interest. After determin-
ing the direction from which to set the orientation,
we take the azimuth for this direction by using two
tandems including a precision compass and an incli-
nometer; one is a Suunto 360PC/360R and the other
a Silva Surveymaster. The error of an individual read-
ing judged by the scale of the instrument is ± 1/4 °
for the azimuth and ± 1/2 ° for the height of the ho-
rizon. Note that the individual azimuth determined
will have a larger possible error due to, above all,
the condition of some of the remains measured.
2 This type of investigation also relies on iconography and other types of contextual evidence. It should not be confused with
another methodology also called ‘ethnoastronomy’, which is the study of astronomical concepts in ethnographically documented
societies.
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
483
Since the instruments used are magnetic, we cor-
rect magnetic declination readings. This value was
estimated for the fieldwork dates from the models
available in http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov.
The data can be compared with estimates for celes-
tial objects visible in that section of the horizon. To
perform this comparison, our measurements were
translated to declination, resulting in an error esti-
mate around 1°.
Calendars and landscape
Campo Lameiro: carved deer and time reck-
oning
The prehistoric rock carvings found in the northwest
of the Iberian Peninsula are among the most impor-
tant of this type of artistic manifestation. Discovered
between the 1920s and 1930s (Sobrino 2000), they
have been studied fundamentally from a formal, chro-
nological and inventory-based perspective. These
carvings are concentrated in the southwest of Galicia,
coinciding with the present-day Spanish province of
Pontevedra, although more and more carvings are
appearing in other zones, not always in the same
style. Also, the carvings do not appear at random,
but are situated at specific points and on specific
rocks, and arranged in patterns that are discovered
little by little, as they are not always easy to deter-
mine. The largest concentration of these carvings ap-
pears in the area known as Campo Lameiro. This
area includes carvings of great variety, including cir-
cular motifs (spirals and labyrinths), swords, and
many others, with only two written inscriptions in
Latin. Among the different motifs that they include,
deer are the most important (Santos Estévez 2008b).
Carved deer appear forming herds and, on some oc-
casions in hunting scenes (Peña-Santos, Vázquez-
Varela 1996.41–58; Peña-Santos, Rey-García 2001).
The common size of these deer is between 40 to
50cm (Santos Estévez, per. comm.), and here we
consider four in which an oversized deer (mean of
100cm) is represented. These are in Laxe dos Carbal-
los and Rotea de Mendo (both in Campo Lameiro),
Laxe das Cruces and Campo de Cuñas (both in Pon-
te Caldelas, an area some 20km from Campo Lamei-
ro). They are the largest of the carved deer known in
Galicia (Fig. 2). In three out of four cases, a ‘great
deer’ dominates an unusually complex carved panel
and has an unnatural number of tines per antler.
Only the one at Campo de Cuñas (our fourth great
deer) appears alone.
Previous studies have linked the petroglyphs in Ga-
licia with calendric issues. Alonso Romero (1983)
found some numerical relations on the carved pan-
els from Muros (Pontevedra) that he interpreted as
calendric. A dual time-reckoning system (solstices
and mid-season Celtic feasts) was identified in the
engraved rocks of the Ferradura
area (Ourense) (García Quinte-
la, Santos Estévez 2008.231–
295). But both proposals are li-
mited to isolated cases. The case
we will now present possibly
overcomes this handicap.
The carvings considered in this
study are located at a series of
places with common characteris-
tics at which we find huge deer at
sites where astronomical events
might be witnessed in particular
areas of the horizon. Moreover,
these deer present an ‘abnormal’
number of tines in their antlers.
Their representation is not ‘natu-
ralistic’. Arguably, apart from the
landscape orientations, a possible
way of counting the tines may
link them with a calendrical
meaning. This is the case with
three of our four great deer.
Fig. 2. The four great deer: a Laxe dos Carballos and c Rotea de Men-
do are located in Campo Lameiro, while b Laxe das Cruces and d Cam-
po de Cuñas are located in Ponte Caldelas.
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
484
Laxe dos Carballos (Fig. 2a) is the only carved panel
with a relevant adjacent and datable stratigraphy out
of the fifteen or so excavated in Galicia over the last
ten years. Radiocarbon dating gives 800 BC as a date
post quem relevant to these carvings (Santos Esté-
vez 2008a).
The iconographic and topographic characteristics of
the great deer and panel of Laxe dos Carballos are:
❶ The deer is much larger than the average size of
those in the region. 
❷ The deer faces right.
❸ The horizon is open to the southeast. 
❹ This horizon has significant astronomical events
(solstices and/or lunastices).
❺ The deer is in front of a large, circular motif, sur-
rounded by other smaller similar motifs3.
❻ A carving is located within the antlers.
❼ The antlers have an excessive number of tines
(i.e. ≥ 11, as opposed to the standard of 7 in small-
er deer).
❽ There are three isolated ‘strokes’ beside the right
antler.
❾ The way of counting the number of tines could
evoke an ‘astronomical’ number (12, 13, 15, 30).
The distant horizon from Laxe dos Carballos opens
to the southeast (see Tab. 1), and it is in this direc-
tion that we find the only two written inscriptions
in all Campo Lameiro: two rocks with the Latin text
DIVI. They are located at the top of two low hills on
a ridge in front of that far horizon, which is itself
dominated by a distant mountain. Around 800 BC,
sunrise at the winter solstice and moonrise at the
southern major lunastice (SML) occurred close to
the locations of the rocks inscribed later with the
two DIVI inscriptions (Fig. 3; Tab. 1)4, i.e. the most
southerly rising position of both celestial bodies.
Arguably, the number of tines in the antlers and the
way they are distributed may evoke some interesting
astronomical numbers (see Fig. 4): 12 is the num-
ber of lunar months in a single solar year, while (12
+ 3) x 2 = 30 is the whole number of days in a lunar
month. We might also count the tines in a sequence
suggested by the three isolated strokes next to the
Fig. 3. SE horizon from Laxe dos Carballos. The two small inset pictures indicate sunrise at the WS (lo-
wer left), and full moonrise at the SML of July 2006 (upper right). The drawings indicate the shape and
location of the two DIVI inscriptions. The numbers indicate the astronomical declination for different
points in the horizon.
3 This is not surprising, given the frequent connection between deer and concentric circles in Galician rock art. However, this partic-
ular setting appears only in 25% of the cases, as noted by Åsa Fredell (2006.129–130), while in our sample it appears in three out
of four cases.
4 Normally called the lunar standstill, we prefer the nomenclature of lunastice, as opposed to the also common name lunistice. First,
the term lunastice is a parallel to the solar solstice, meaning solar standstill. Second, the Latin word Luna declines to luna-stitium,
or lunastice.
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
485
right antler. Starting at the farthest
to the right and counting three times
(right-left-right), we obtain 12 + (12 +
1) + 12 = 37, which is the number of
lunar months in three solar years, as
explained above (Fig. 4). The isolat-
ed stroke in the upper part of the left
antler may represent the intercalary
month.
The carved panel at Laxe das Cruces
(Ponte Caldelas; Fig. 2b) is 20km to
the south of Campo Lameiro. The
large deer in this panel complies
with all of the characteristics found
in the deer of Laxe dos Carballos, so
this is not a ‘unicum’. There is a dis-
tant horizon to the southeast, as in
Laxe dos Carballos where the moon-
rise at the SML occurs at a notch in
the intersection of this distant hori-
zon with a closer mountain (Fig. 5;
Tab. 1). Moreover, this deer also presents three
strokes next to the right antler, again perhaps indi-
cating a counting procedure. The tines of the antlers
could be counted in the following way: (11 + 2) +
12 + 12 = 37, again giving the number of lunar
months in three solar years. Admittedly, this way of
counting is subjective, but the similarities with the
deer in Laxe dos Carballos, especially the horizon ob-
servations, are remarkable and seem to back up each
other.
Our third panel in Rotea de Mendo is situated to the
east of the Campo Lameiro area (Fig. 2c). Large eu-
calyptus trees surround this panel at present, which
prevented us from observing the horizon. We were
able to reconstruct the visibility with a 3D GIS mo-
del of the area (Fig. 6), although the horizon recon-
struction is approximate, as we lack the fine detail,
the most distant horizon opens to the southeast,
with interesting possible landmarks towards SML
and WS happening at the intersection of distant and
closer lines of horizon.
Other smaller deer and circular motifs, including a
large circle to its right, surround this great deer. It
faces right and fulfils eight of the characteristics in-
dicated. The only exception is the absence of the
three strokes beside the right antler. The deer has
two large symmetrical antlers, each with 13 tines,
although the left antler seems to have an extra fea-
ture with another 4 tines. The sum of 13 + 13 + 4 =
30 once again yields a lunar number.
Our fourth great deer in this region is located at
Campo de Cuñas (Ponte Caldelas; Fig. 2.d). How-
ever, apart from its size, none of the characteristics
so far analysed apply to this deer, not even the ho-
rizon, as it is located in a place with a rather close
horizon in all directions. As a result, we would con-
sider this as merely a large representation of a deer.
While this deer and most of the normal size deer in
the Galician carvings have a mean of seven tines,
the previous large deer are not ‘naturalistic’ repre-
sentations: deer in nature usually have an average of
seven tines on each antler. In nature, eleven or ten-
tine deer are found in exceptional cases.
These carvings present a particular example of how
time reckoning and landscape may be intimately re-
lated: the choice of carving site was intentional, fa-
vouring places with a clear view of the south-eastern
horizon, where it is possible to observe important
moments in the movements of the sun and moon at
particularly interesting points. Also, the carvings
might present, in an intuitive way, how the people
who carved them may have tried to combine in the
simplest possible way the cycles of the sun and moon
(in a lunisolar cycle of three years).
In summary, the carved great deer with ‘abnormal’
antlers are animals that are ‘good for thinking’ (Sper-
ber 1975), in this case in relation to the apprehen-
sion of astral events with the panel’s topographic
location, and with a symbolism related to the same
order of facts: the possible knowledge of simple luni-
Fig. 4. The calendrical marks of the deer of Laxe dos Carballos. Each
antler has 12 tines, with an extra stroke marked in the left one.
The two antlers end in a three-tine mark. Finally, there are three
additional strokes next to the right antler. For more on the calen-
drical details, see text.
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
486
solar cycles. In particular, the panels at Laxe dos
Carballos and Laxe das Cruces with the three isolat-
ed strokes may indicate a three-year cycle, when na-
ture’s clock could be gauged in a simple but still par-
ticular and important way through the observation
of particular astronomical events.
Panoias: Latin texts and indigenous timekeep-
ing
The rock sanctuary of Panoias (Vila Real, northern
Portugal) has been known since the eighteenth cen-
tury; it consists of a series of excavated rocks with
different structures and up to five inscriptions (see
Alföldy 1997, for all of the archaeological and epi-
graphic issues), one of which
is now destroyed, and ano-
ther in bilingual Greek-Latin,
concentrated next to rock no.
1. In formal terms, it has well-
known parallels in North Por-
tugal (González-Ruibal 2006–
2007.562–567; Santos 2010)
and Galicia (García Quintela,
Santos Estévez 2008.97–
142), as they are based on
large rocky surfaces subject-
ed to an intentional harmoni-
cally distributed work in the
form of holes, reliefs, decorations, etc. The inscrip-
tions clearly reveal the culturally mixed nature of
the Panoias sanctuary, as they make equal mention
of local divinities, the standard Latin divine expres-
sions diis deabusque (two occasions), and a mystic
cult dating to the second or third century AD, with
careful observations of superimposed carvings re-
vealing different stages of production (Santos 2010).
We were able to take a number of measurements of
the rocks conventionally numbered as 2 and 3, as
other rock inscriptions and carvings in the settle-
ment did not offer measurable patterns. The exca-
vated area around rock number 2 is interpreted as
Fig. 5. The calendrical marks of the deer of Laxe das Cru-
ces. The left antler has 12 strokes, while the right one now
has 11, plus 2 additional ones in a side mark. This deer
also presented the three strokes next to the right antler as
the Laxe dos Carballos one. The right pictures show the southeast horizon observed from Laxe das Cruces
(bottom) and the SML moonrise for July 2006. The numbers indicate the astronomical declination for dif-
ferent points in the horizon. For further details, see text.
Site A(°) h(°) ϕ δ(°)±1° Astronomical Event
Laxe dos DIVI N 126 1\2 2.5 42°32’ –24.1 WSS (–24°)
Carballos DIVI S 134 1\2 3.0 42°32’ –29.0 SML(–29°)
Rotea de North 125 1.5 42°32’ –23.9 WSS(–24°)
Mendo* South 132 1.5 42°32’ –28.4 SML(–29°)
Laxe das Cruces 133 1.0 42°24’ –29.5 SML(–29°)
*The alignments to horizon landmarks for Rotea de Mendo were obtained from a Digital
Terrain Model.
Tab. 1. Archaeoastronomical observations in Galicia. Columns 1 show the
observation point, 2 the azimuth A, 3 the height of the horizon h, 4 the la-
titude of the site, 5 the given declination and 6 the corresponding astro-
nomical event (WSS = winter solstice sunrise; SML = southern major lu-
nastice).
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
487
a platform for the foundations of a building, such as
those mentioned in the inscriptions (aedes, inscrip-
tion no. 2), whose gate, also excavated on the rock,
was facing moonrise at SML and may suggest a lunar
association for the corresponding shrine5. Rock 3
is a complicated structure that includes a number of
deeply carved basins. There is no gate in this cluster
of ritual elements; however, most of the carved and
excavated structures cluster in the eastern part of the
rock, so we considered this as the most probable for
our measurements. Thus, an overall orientation of
the main elements of the platform can be established
at 124.25°, a suggestive figure, as it is close to the
minimum declination of the sun at the winter sol-
stice (Fig. 7; Tab. 2).
It is relevant to note that both measurements can be
easily related to the three occasions (one
reconstructed) when the word templum
appears in the local inscriptions (no. 1:
diis [deabusque templi] huius …; no. 2:
Diis Seve[r]is in hoc templo lo[ca]t[i]s …;
no. 3: omnibusque numinibus et Lapi-
tearum cum hoc templo sacravit …). We
must recall that the function of
the Roman augur was to estab-
lish a templum in caelo (Cipria-
no 1983; Magdelain 1990) and
thus we can infer the conscious
use of orientations looking to-
wards the horizon. Far away
from Rome, the word can easily
be used to integrate or to under-
stand more romano, the orien-
tations mentioned above, or oth-
ers we cannot recognise.
These observations suggest a
different materialisation, the re-
sult of a different local history,
from the case studied in Cam-
po Lameiro: a relationship be-
tween the ‘monument’ (the
great deer of Laxe dos Carbal-
los or the platform/basins in Pa-
noias) and the inscriptions con-
nected with the sunrise at the
winter solstice and moonrise at
the southern major lunastice.
The horizon at this site does not offer a particular
feature in those directions, but these are signified by
the orientations of the different elements.
Celtiberia: Numantia and Peñalba de Villa-
star, a cultural crossroads and the organisa-
tion of space/time
The Peñalba de Villastar sanctuary is located some
10km south of Teruel (Spain), and occupies a cliff
at the top of a plateau flanked to the east by the Ri-
ver Turia. It has been studied since the early twen-
tieth century due to the accumulation of rock inscrip-
tions in Celtiberian and Latin languages and, to a
lesser extent, due to the carvings etched in the soft
limestone. Francisco Beltrán et alii (2005.938–939;
Marco, Alfayé 2008) describe a set of newly disco-
vered Latin inscriptions called the ‘Great Panel’.
Fig. 6. Visibility of the eastern part of the landscape seen from the deer
of Rotea de Mendo with an indication of the lines for WS and SML. In-
set: reconstruction of the SE horizon seen from the engraved panel; the
grey shaded area corresponds to a closer feature seen in the background
of more distant hills.
Tab. 2. Archaeoastronomical observations at Panoias. For
legend see Table 1.
Site A(°) h(°) ϕ δ(°)±1° Astronomical Event
Rock #2 132 1\4 1 41°17’ –29.8 SML(–29°)
Rock #3 124 1\4 1 41°17’ –24.5 WSS(–24°)
5 The second Christian Council of Braga, a city near Panoias, held in 572, strictly forbade Christians to observe some pagan tradi-
tions such as observare et colere elementa at lunam aut stellarum cursum. Braga Council II, 72, (Vives 1963.103; similarly, at
the XII Council of Toledo in 681, Vives 1963.398). While it is impossible to strictly connect the observations from Panoias (and else-
where in northwest Iberia) with these Christian prohibitions, they do reveal the interest in and opportunity to use archaeoastro-
nomical observations in order to try and understand what really lay behind the previously mentioned pagan astral observations.
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
488
There, a local god, Cordonus, is identified by the La-
tin epithet Cornutus, which is strongly suggestive of
the god Cernunnos, well known in ancient Gaul. Ano-
ther Latin text from the same Great Panel mentions
actions related to the winter solstice and a feast dur-
ing the last days of April (García Quintela, Gonzá-
lez García 2010).
The motifs carved in the limestone cliff that could be
dated to the Iron Age (Fig. 8), are grouped in the
areas of the rocky wall where the inscriptions are
also located, leaving empty areas between. As shown
in figure 8, these parts of the cliff systematically face
southeast in the broad sense. Of course, we do not
claim that the perpendicular to the surface they were
carved on points precisely to the winter solstice sun-
rise or the southern major lunastice. The panels face
in the general southeasterly direction. This is the ge-
neral orientation of the cliff, but particular areas of
the cliff with different orientations lack ‘ancient’ in-
scriptions and carvings. The inscriptions appear only
in areas that are roughly face southeast. It must be
stressed that nature is not intentionally oriented, but
the Turia valley in this area has several other pla-
teaus with cliffs which could have been used.
Inspecting the eastern horizon from these sites, we
verified that the carvings face the point where the
sun rises at the winter solstice through a notch on
the distant horizon. Moonrise at the SML is also rel-
evant, as it would occur on top of one of the farthest
observable mountains in that part of the horizon.
Finally, the so-called ‘Great Panel’ is located in an
area with difficult access, where the cliff twists, mak-
ing it possible to observe only an important land-
mark on the horizon, a peak where sunrise could
occur close to October 29th (see Fig. 8, the peak
marked with –12.6° of declination).
It is interesting to stress that the reference to the
winter solstice on the ‘Great Panel’ inscription ap-
parently coincides with the archaeoastronomical ob-
servations on the horizon. Also, the date at the end
of April forms a pair with the eastern point, where
sunrise occurs on October 29th: It shows that the
sanctuary was facing sunrise in the dark part of the
traditional Celtic year (conventionally between No-
vember 1st and May 1st, a period that would include
the SML during the years of the lunar cycle when
this actually happens)6.
These observations share some similarities with those
mentioned for Campo Lameiro (in García Quintela,
González-García 2010 we stressed the differences
between the two places, as it is not our intention for
the similarities to be so general) and A Ferradura
(García Quintela, Santos Estévez 2008.231–295),
because we may see the ‘natural’ observation of par-
Fig. 7. Archaeoastronomical orientations of the carved rocks of Panoias. Left rock 2, right rock 3. The
arrows indicate the measured directions considered in the text (adapted from Alföldy 1997).
6 Here it is interesting to note one of the precepts of the first Christian Council of Zaragoza, held 380: between 17th December and
6th January it was strictly forbidden not to attend church (nulli liceat de ecclesia absentare), for anyone to carry out private activ-
ities, or to fall victim to pagan practices such as travelling to the mountains or walking barefoot (nec montes petere, nec nudis
pedibus incedere) Zaragoza Council I, 4, (Vives 1963.17).
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
489
ticular moments of the solar and lunar cycles (sol-
stices and lunastices). However, it might include
other variables not observed at Campo Lameiro such
as mid-season festivals. Also, they convey what we
have already referred to: the relation between the
‘monument’ (the whole sanctuary in this case), the
inscriptions (with explicit references to particular
dates in this case) and the observations on the ho-
rizon.
To complete the case, it should be noted that nu-
merous deer are depicted among the carved motifs
in Peñalba, although none has the characteristics
of the great deer in Galicia. Nevertheless, the deer is
commonly found in Celtiberian art on metallic or ce-
ramic supports, mainly associated
with solar or lunar symbolism. We
could also mention a decorated pla-
que (usually interpreted as a ‘breast-
plate’) that may be an iconographic
complement to the observations in
Peñalba de Villastar.
The plaque (Fig. 9) was found dur-
ing the excavation of the Numantia
necropolis (Jimeno et al. 2004). Si-
milar pieces have been found in
other Celtiberian necropolises, espe-
cially in the Arcobriga collection (Lor-
rio, Sánchez de Prado 2007; Lorrio
et al. 2005). The plaque was part of
tomb no. 68, which due to the num-
ber of objects (17) is one of the ri-
chest at this site. It is important to
stress the mutual exclusion of arms
and decorated plaques and that these
appear in the tombs of both women
and men (Jimeno et al. 2004.208,
341, 382). The piece is described
thus: “The plaque in tomb 68 is
composed of three rectangular
sheets (6.7 x 5.1cm), joined at their
smaller edges by two rings; two tra-
pezoidal plaques ending in astral
or lunar discs hang from the third
or bottom plaque. A staircase-like frieze frames
all the articulated elements. The three plaques
bear the same motif: a schematic horse with a flat
muzzle and standing, with four flat legs and horse-
hairs simulated with thin lines like a crest. A small
sheet in the upper part decorated with a concentric
circle and drilled with a needle allowed it to be
hung.” (Jimeno et al. 2004.210).
As a result, the plaque reproduces a count similar
to that found in the deer of Laxe dos Carballos and
Laxe das Cruces, this time replacing the deer with
a horse, a fact well known in Celtiberia (Lorrio, Sán-
chez de Prado 2007.151): counting the number of
horsehairs of the three horses there are 37 with 12
on the top and bottom horses,
respectively, and 13 on the cen-
tral horse. It is true that the
calendric significance of this
number is speculative, but the
astral meaning of this series of
representations is commonly
accepted (Jimeno et al. 2004.
205–216).
Fig. 8. The rock art sanctuary of Peñalba de Villastar. Above, a ge-
neral view of the rock wall as seen from the valley from the south-
east; in the centre, the location of the ‘old’ carvings, sharing their
position with the inscriptions. The Great Panel is located in the far
right inscription symbol; below, the southeastern horizon from Peñ-
alba with the relevant points in relation to astronomical events.
Tab. 3. Archaeoastronomical observations at Peñalba de Villastar. For
legend see Table 1.
PEÑALBA DE VILLASTAR
Site A(°) h(°) ϕ δ(°)±1° Astronomical Event
Horizon notch 122 3\4 0.75 40°15’ –23.6 WSS(–24°)
Distant Mountain 132 1 40°15’ –29.5 SML(–29°)
Great Panel 107 1\4 0.25 40°15’ –13.2 Sunrise Feb 13\
Oct 29 (~200BC)
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
490
Once again, we are aware of the differences: here
we are dealing with metal, not stone, and the animal
is a horse, not a deer, although the connection be-
tween both species and solar symbolism was a con-
stant feature of the Bronze Age (Briard 1987; Kri-
stiansen, Larsson 2006.355–407; Bradley 2006;
Garrido, Muñoz 2000), and an apparent substitution
of the deer by the horse in artistic remains through
time has been postulated (Lorrio, Sánchez de Prado
2007.151–153). In any case, a more detailed study
would be necessary, considering the same series
found in this plaque in the context of other similar
plaques.
In summary, in the three cases explored we have a
‘monument’ (rock carvings, rocky sanctuaries, or
both) with observations on the horizon and possible
calendric information (either explicit in Peñalba, or
suggested by horizon features and perhaps ‘abnor-
mal’ antlers).
Diachrony, landscape and structure
We will now incorporate a diachronic process. The
astronomical events we have referred to, the south-
ernmost rise of the sun or moon, were not affected
by secular changes, and would have changed by less
than 1° due to the variation in the obliquity of the
ecliptic, (less than the precision claimed by our mea-
surements) throughout the period of the first and
second Iron Ages for the area (from nearly 900 BC
to the change of era). Unfortunately, a diachronic
analysis is possible only if we apply the knowledge
derived from an intensive archaeological, geomor-
phologic and palaeo-environmental study in Campo
Lameiro, but we lack such information for the other
areas studied here. Furthermore, in Campo Lameiro,
we depend largely on the results of the Laxe dos Car-
ballos excavation (Santos Estévez 2008a).
We will use the relative stratigraphic study carried
out on the great deer of Laxe dos Carballos by Åsa
Fredell (2006) (Fig. 10), noting that it is a working
hypothesis in which we have combined Fredell’s pro-
posal with the archaeoastronomical observations in
that area. Such a proposal indicates the existence of
several phases in the evolution of the carvings in
Laxe dos Carballos where we might see the intro-
duction of the astronomical elements investigated
above.
❶ There is a clear difference in depth between the
great deer and the surrounding carved motifs (Fig.
10 – top left panel). There are two explanations:
either the more superficial carvings were subject to
more prolonged erosion, or they were carved with
‘softer’ tools. Either reason, or a combination of
both, would mean that the great deer is more recent
than the others, according to Fredell, who dates the
deer to the end of the Bronze Age (c. 800 BC; Fig.
10 – bottom left panel), although we do not know
if this date is relevant for the astronomical observa-
tions.
❷ We take Fredell’s phases two and three together
(Fig. 10 – top right panel). These phases have been
dated through the adjacent stratigraphy to the first
Iron Age, and continue until the change of era with
the working calendrical count. This count relates the
cycles of the sun and moon, and so it is probable that
the two astronomical events on the horizon were re-
cognised at this stage.
❸ According to Fredell, the last part to have been
carved is the groove through the deer’s neck (Fig.
10 – top right panel). This could be a necklace or,
we suggest, a torque, considering the omnipresence
of this attribute in Cernunnos iconography (Bober
Fig. 9. Decorated bronze plaque from Numantia
(after Jimeno 2004).
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
491
1951). The DIVI inscriptions on the first line of the
horizon are also dated to the beginning of the era,
highlighting the relationship between Laxe dos Car-
ballos and the southeastern horizon.
❹ Finally, it is possible to identify the chronologic-
cultural moment of the introduction of Christianity,
according to an already identified model (Ayán
2005; García Quintela 2006): the patron saints of
the hamlets of Praderrei (Saint Blaise, February 3rd)
and Paredes (Saint Anthony, January 17th) next to
Laxe dos Carballos are celebrated close to the Celtic
mid-season feast of winter. Also, the Fentáns slope
(the one close to the DIVI inscriptions) is Christia-
nised by the saints Justus and Pastor, whose feast
day is on August 6th, close to the Celtic mid-summer
feast. These saints are all palaeo-Christian, and there-
fore it could be justified to date their introduction in
late Antiquity.
Thus we see that the elements associated with a ca-
lendric system in this carved panel could be connect-
ed with a cultural horizon from the first Iron Age,
which, as mentioned above, is certainly indo-Euro-
pean and perhaps Celtic in this region of Galicia.
Turning away from Galicia, the cases in Panoias and
Peñalba de Villastar appear to be more firmly em-
bedded due to the local inscriptions which explic-
itly mention events, dates or gods that lend substan-
tial support to our interpretation, but which also
present chronological problems. Firstly, there are no
excavations or substantial geomorphologic studies
to make a geological and palaeoenvironmental his-
tory of both sites possible. Under these conditions,
the chronology depends on the correct interpretation
of the given data.
In Panoias, fortunately, the inscriptions explicitly re-
fer to a previously existing religious cult of native
gods and the implementation of a new religious stra-
ta and meaning by the hand of notable and cultivat-
ed Roman from the Imperial Age. Also, the detailed
examination of the carved pits made by Maria J. San-
tos reveals traces of overlapping and, therefore, long-
lasting, but still imprecise, use (Santos 2010).
Peñalba is a more difficult case, as people from all
periods left signs of their presence on the soft lime-
stone of the cliff. The problem is to establish when
the religious aspects make it possible to define the
site as a ‘sanctuary’. The dominant epigraphic re-
search limits the temporal gap to the history of
writing in this specific place – starting in Celtiberian
times – the question being whether some carvings
are earlier and have a religious meaning. In any case,
it is interesting that, according to the inscriptions in
the Great Panel, the site was already recognised by
Roman times as a sacred area where ritual had to be
performed on specific dates. Finally, the plaque from
Numantia is clearly from Celtiberian times, a few
centuries BC.
This possible Celtic milieu points to the active cul-
tural role of priests, known as druids in other Cel-
tic areas; known from Classical sources as physiol-
ogoi, they were knowledgeable on heavenly bodies
(supra, and see García Quintela 1999 and Marco
Simón 1994, for the druids in
Spain). Apparently, Celtic ideol-
ogy was dominated by a dual
conception expressed in partic-
ular in their organisation of time
reckoning, beginning with the
“dark side”, meaning night be-
fore day or winter before sum-
mer (Caesar De Bello Gallico VI,
18, 2; Duval, Pinault 1986.404–
405). Finally, a number of inves-
tigations have indicated the per-
sistence of Celtic elements in
Christian traditions (Guibert de
la Vaissière 2003; Laurent
1995; McCluskey 1989; Mac-
Neill 1962).
However, a chronological inter-
pretation of the different ele-
Fig. 10. Fredell’s stratigraphic-chronological proposal for the Laxe dos
Carballos deer.
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
492
ments carved in each panel or site is not the same
as interpreting the panel itself or, even less so, a
number of panels in a certain area, or the sites as a
whole. In any case, one of the peculiarities of our
analysis is that it uses archaeoastronomical observa-
tion as the common factor that connects different
parts of the landscape. This structural understanding
allows us to elaborate some ideas on the methodol-
ogy and relations between space and time.
Space/time continuum and sacred landscape
We have used the archaeological data to propose an
iconographic analysis which considers the different
sites as the result of an on-going process during a
prolonged period of time. This proposal makes it
possible to incorporate cultural elements from the
Iron Age into the process of interpreting the motif.
As an astronomical matter, we have proposed a pos-
sible case for one or several lunisolar calendars,
whose best-known example in the Celtic cultural
tradition would be the Coligny calendar, but which
need not be the only materialisation of knowledge
of the skies among peoples of Celtic cultural tradi-
tions.
Finally, the combination of landscape archaeology
and the history of religion allows us to propose an
interpretation. This proposal consists of achieving
a global comprehension of the carved panels in a
given area by examining their possible connections.
Archaeoastronomical observations make it necessary
to carry out this type of analysis, as they give added
value to a number of other elements (the nature of
the rock, configuration of the landscape, habitat dis-
tribution, panel placement, motifs used, etc.).
It is interesting to note that the cases studied so far
(the carved deer from southern Galicia, Panoias,
Peñalba and the plaque from Numantia) could be
considered as structural variables materialised in
different ways in each area according to specific hi-
storical constraints. According to these facts, shared
elements such as time reckoning through lunar phas-
es and festivals, particularly solar dates, may have
led people to try and find ways to coordinate both
cycles, first through practical observations, such as
those which could have been performed in the Ga-
lician ‘Great Deer’ and finally through a ‘model’ ca-
lendar, such as the three-year cycle calendar, the
18.6 or 19 year cycle, or the five-year Coligny calen-
dar. It is necessary to emphasise that it is not our in-
tention for the observations made at these different
sites to be considered as the direct precedents of the
Coligny calendar, but rather that this framework
could have been in place in different Celtic areas
with different results. Table 4 may help to elucidate
this line of thought.
We use the term ‘observation point’ or ‘back sight’
to refer to the spot from where the viewer may look
towards the horizon. It may be in itself a naturally
oriented site (towards the southeast in most cases),
or artificial (Panoias). Next, we consider the ‘horizon’
where the ‘landmarks’ or ‘foresights’ make it possi-
ble to situate the astronomical events, which were
essentially two: the winter solstice sunrise (WSS) or
the southern major lunastice (SML); although in Pa-
noias, the fact that the ‘back sight’ is artificially ori-
ented makes it possible to dispense with landmarks
on the horizon7.
The ‘texts’ share the space with the rock carvings,
and together, they either construct the ‘monument’,
or make it possible to select the ‘observation point’,
or indicate relevant points on the horizon. Also, in
all the recorded cases, the ‘texts’ contain mentions
or allusions of a religious kind.
It is clear that we are dealing with areas that were
culturally constructed and ‘thought’, which are the
properties of a ‘landscape’. The accumulated mate-
rials are footprints through which it is possible to
identify the key cultural elements in this ‘landscape’.
These footprints are always a combination of natu-
ral elements, natural/artificial elements (when a na-
tural element contains an anthropic action) and pu-
rely artificial elements (such as the inscriptions).
On a global scale, the sites studied provide a consi-
stent way of understanding the relationship between
space and time. This is due to a very fundamental
aspect: the reversibility of space and time for an ob-
server at a given spot. The rising and setting of the
main celestial bodies will coincide year after year
7 This is a complex issue. The Latin rule to establish a templum implies that the augur sets some references on the horizon, which
may be a perishable element, such as a tree (Varro, Lingua Latina 7, 8–9). The Celtic term nemeton (found in other sites in
Hispania) would also fit this consideration and its meaning, ‘sacred place’ (Lambert 2008.140), perfectly fits our requirements.
In pre-Columbian Mexico the so-called ‘Teotihuacan markers’ are identified as key elements in the astronomical relations of cer-
tain monuments (Iwaniszewski 2006.151–153). We could never know which perishable elements were used in each case, and it
is extremely difficult to discern a mark with an astronomical meaning without a relevant study in its context.
Landscape construction and time reckoning in Iron Age Celtic Iberia
493
with certain areas in space. This simple observation
may be conferred a special meaning in certain places
for a number of reasons, and it is possible that the
aggregation of natural features and observations,
such as the ones mentioned here, led to more pro-
longed use in time and their progressive monumen-
talisation: in our case, this basically means carving
motifs and texts in different ways.
The texts examined here underline this equivalence
between space and time. The DIVI inscriptions in
Campo Lameiro are in positions which, when viewed
from Laxe dos Carballos, coincide with the WSS and
SML; in Panoias the inscriptions mention an orient-
ed celestial space, templum, whose existence is veri-
fied by the astronomical orientation; in Peñalba, the
inscriptions offer time indications related in different
ways to important landmarks on the horizon. The
religious nature of all of these inscriptions puts be-
yond reasonable doubt the sacred nature of all these
spaces, and of the space/time combinations fixed in
the landscape.
It is true that the differences between all the sites
and artefacts examined here are important. They
appear as a result of their inherent morphological
and geographical characteristics, and from the dif-
ferent ways in which humans modified the site.
We have also referred to the difficulty of correctly
analysing ethnographic texts in order to discover
how much was known about astronomical pheno-
mena. So the question remains open, although we
can state that, at least, the observations and analy-
ses performed point to the need for further research
along these lines.
Conclusions
A calendrical system is a way of comprehending
time and its cycles. The religious and practical is-
sues related to developing a calendar have been
highlighted throughout the paper. According to our
results, and those stated in the introduction, the dif-
ferent Celtic tribes in the Iberian Peninsula might
have comprehended space and time by observations
of the solar and lunar cycles, notably the winter sol-
stice sunrise and the moonrise at the southern major
lunastice, from certain interesting viewpoints in the
landscape. These observation points were therefore
‘monumentalised’ in different ways (by carving ani-
mals in an initial stage and later by engraving inscrip-
tions), including symbolic representations of the
events they were interested in, or an inscription with
a dedication to a given god or a festival to be carried
out at a particular time of the year.
Observation Horizon Archaeoastronomical Archaeological Religious Carved 3 \18.6
point observations indications indications deer Year Cycle
GALICIA
Os Carballos. Landmarks WSS \ SML Monumentaliza- DIVI \ DIVI Yes Yes\Yes
Looking SE tion of landmarks
Laxe das Cruces. Landmarks WSS \ SML Yes Yes\Yes
Looking SE
Rotea de Mendo. Landmark WSS \ SML Yes |\Yes
Looking SE
PANOIAS
Rock 2. WSS Rock 1 DIIS NO |\Yes
Aedes SE “observatory”> DEABUSQUE\
Rock 3. SML indicate DII SEVERI\
Basins SE templum NUMINA
LAPATIARUM
PEÑALBA DE VILLASTAR
General> Landmarks WSS \ SML In observatory Local gods Yes |\Yes
Looking SE
Great Panel. Landmark 29th October In observatory, God labelled Cornutus
Looking SE indicate WSS
and end of April
NUMANTIA
Plaque Horse Yes\|
Tab. 4. Summary of relevant information.
A. César González-García, Marco V. García Quintela and Juan A. Belmonte
494
Therefore, we would like to highlight a series of con-
clusions:
● Evidence is seen of the use of spatial relations
with astronomic events at sites connected in some
way with Celtic traditions in the Iberian Peninsula.
We highlight the prominence of the winter solstice
sunrise and the southern major lunastice moonrise.
● This evidence, which reveals an interest in the sun
and moon and their observations at important points
of their cycles, is also supported by ethnographic and
epigraphic information from these sites, and at a
later date, in the interdicts of these observations es-
tablished by Christianity.
● We may speculate about efforts to create a calen-
dar, although this calendar is not known.
● There is some evidence of a possible calendric cycle
of 37 months which was used, in the simplest possi-
ble way, to adjust the lunisolar cycles at Iron Age
sites in Galicia, and in the plaque from Numantia.
● This calendar was not necessarily the same at all
of the sites inhabited by speakers of Celtic languages.
In other areas with Celtic traditions, similar observa-
tions may have led to other proposals, such as the
calendar of Coligny.
It will also be necessary to extend the range of our
observations, as other rock art sites are known in
Galicia, and other cliffs with archaeological remains
are known both in Iberian culture and Celtiberian
areas (Peñalba is located on the frontier of both
areas). Also, Francisco Marco and Simón Alfayé
(2008) introduce other sites in the Iberian Peninsula
in their study. As a result, it would be interesting to
carry out further research in these areas.
Silvia Alfayé Villa was our guide in Peñalba de Villa-
star and Manuel Santos Estévez our guide to the pet-
roglyphs in Galicia. Åsa Fredell, Alberto Lorrio Alva-
rado, César Parcero Oubiña and Yolanda Seoane
Veiga helped us with the images. The discussion with
Daniel Gricourt and Dominique Hollard was the key
to interpreting Campo Lameiro. Alfredo González
Ruibal read the text and helped us to avoid some er-
rors. This work was partially financed by the projects
AYA 2004–01010 and AYA 2007–60213, Orientatio
ad Sidera I, II and III of the Spanish MICINN. ACGG
is a Ramón y Cajal Fellow of the Spanish MINECO.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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