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PINTIA VACCEAN REGION
In the Iberian Peninsula the Iron Age dates
from the early first millennium to the Roman conquest.
In this time frame, important social and economic changes take place.
Among them, town planning, the establishment of iron metallurgy
or the adoption of the potter's wheel.
The peoples living in the Peninsula during this period
responsible for those changes
are known thanks to the written classical sources.
The Vaccaei are the pre-Roman ethnic group
who lived in the central Douro basin.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Their urban development shows a peculiar settlement pattern
with the first towns in our history
which could have hosted thousands of inhabitants.
These urban nucleus were governed by warrior aristocrats
as classical sources and archaeology show.
VACCEAN ECONOMY
The Vaccean economy is mainly based on agriculture and livestock.
Cereal farming is especially important.
It provides enough surplus to trade with other territories.
In only 20 generations, the Vaccaei left their mark on this land:
architecture made of adobe and wood
cultivation and farming based on cereals
or the wine and feast cultures, have survived to this day
as part of a heritage that belongs to all of us.
LOCATION OF PINTIA
Pintia is located in the easternmost end of the province of Valladolid
in the municipalities of Padilla del Duero and Pesquera de Duero.
The University of Valladolid
through The Federico Wattenberg Center for Vaccean Studies
has been working in the site for more than 30 consecutive years.
The enclave has become a reference
for the study of the Vaccean civilization.
PINTIA'S ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Pintia's Archaeological Site takes up 125 hectares.
Its abundant heritage gives testimony of its occupation
by the Vaccei, Romans and Visigoths for over 1000 years.
Several functional areas are identified in Pintia:
on one bank of the Douro River, the area of Las Quintanas
protected by moats and ramparts; Las Ruedas necropolis
the 'ustrinum' or cemetery of Los Cenizales, and a possible shrine.
In the opposite bank, the craft quarter of Carralaceña
with a residential area, a necropolis and pottery production centres.
Croplands, pastures, mountains and paths are also part of the town.
PINTIA'S JEWELLERY
In the Vaccean area, the lack of raw materials
for bronze-artisans, blacksmiths and metal smiths is evident.
Raw metals had to be imported, as well as granite
used for their traditional mill wheels to grind grain.
However, the high technical and aesthetic development
of the metal artifacts from Pintia
prove the existence of highly specialized crafts.
In several Vaccean enclaves, the jewelry unearthed
give evidence of a marked personality.
Three treasures were found in Pintia's residential area Las Quintanas.
This finding, hidden in a domestic environment
dates back to the 2nd to 1st century BC.
The findings include pendant earrings and earrings
torcs, spiral-shaped bangles, bracelets, rings
brooches or safety pins, and other small objects.
In most cases objects are made in silver
but there are also gold earrings and rings.
In Las Ruedas cemetery, in Pintia
clay jewelry has also being uncovered
together with clay replicas of jewelry buried with the deceased
while the originals were kept in the family over time.
They are all proofs of the costumes of an elite of aristocrats
that found in jewelry a form of marking differences.
OUR VACCEAN ANCESTORS
Metal smithing is just another element
that lets us rebuild the history of our Vaccean ancestors
pre-Roman civilizations whose idiosyncrasy
is still present in this land and in its inhabitants.
A heritage which is part of our identity and, so, belongs to all of us.
The preservation of the site
for its study, and the joy of future generations
is part of the determination of the researchers
of the University of Valladolid
who work in this archaeological site
declared Site of Cultural Interest in 1993.