The Iron Age Saunas of the Northwest Iberian Peninsula: An Archaeoastronomical Prespective

Abstract

In some of the Iron Age hillforts of the northwest Iberian Peninsula (“Gallaecia”, in antiquity), public buildings used as saunas have been found. So far some twenty examples are known, in different states of conservation. These are distributed between two separated regional clusters, northern and southern. The southern cases display a single pedra formosa (“beautiful stone”) to define the entrance to the sweat room. In some cases these are richly decorated with “astral” motives. This fact, and the longitudinal pattern of the layout of the buildings, invites a search for eventual astral alignments. 21 saunas (10 northern and 11 southern) were measured. The results confirm the regional difference also in this respect: Only three of the northern saunas show solstitial orientations, but four of the southern are oriented towards the southern lunar standstill and three others towards dates compatible with the mid-season Celtic feasts.