Excavation. 17th-century fort contained Portuguese invasion

An archaeological excavation campaign at the As Torres (Tomiño) fortress in Pontevedra, Galicia, suggests the possibility that it was a strategic fort to contain a Portuguese invasion.

This intervention, part of the youth work camp promoted by the Xunta (regional government), provided new details about this 17th-century defensive enclave, the Europa Press agency reported on Thursday.

Archaeologist and historian Rebeca Blanco-Rotea explained that initial cleaning and survey work suggests that the site, initially identified as a strategic defensive battery, may have actually been a fort built of earth and partially faced with stone.

This defensive system would have been strategic for controlling the routes connecting A Guarda to Tui and Tui to Baiona, and may have played a fundamental role in containing a possible Portuguese invasion of these locations.

The entrance to the fortification is clearly preserved, with traces of a defensive parapet, on which a wooden palisade was originally erected. This structure obscured the view of the interior and served as protection. Next to it, a platform providing access to the enclosure has been documented.

One of the most notable elements is a defensive system consisting of two ditches and a counter-wall.

Researchers believe that these two ditches used the old gold mining ditches from the Roman period, adapted to the defensive needs of the Portuguese Restoration War of the 17th century.

Preliminary analysis also indicates that materials native to the area, such as local granite and Minho pebbles, were used. These elements likely formed part of the parapet and some areas of the fortification's cladding.

Excavations will continue in the coming months, with the aim of documenting the construction techniques and internal layout of the fortress in more detail.