Castle of Faria

Perched on a steep rocky slope on the northwestern flank of Monte da Franqueira, the site commands views over the Cávado River and the road between Franqueira and Milhazes. The settlement is arranged as a sequence of defensive rings, the visible result of an Iron Age hillfort that was later adapted in medieval times. Much of the surviving fabric is fragmentary, but excavations have revealed the plan of successive occupation phases and exposed the stonework of the fortified terraces.

The outer line of defence faces east and was accompanied by an extensive trench excavated before the road opening that links Franqueira with Milhazes. That outer wall and its ditch functioned as the first barrier for the castro community, and the trench remains evident in the landscape. Portions of the wall were rebuilt in the twentieth century, while the trench survives as an earthwork feature that marks the approach to the hill.

Between the outer wall and the next inner wall on the eastern side archaeologists uncovered the foundations of ten living structures from the castro period. These dwellings vary in plan, some circular and others oval, and a number include clear domestic features such as small entrance vestibules and fireplaces. The stone bases exposed in situ show the simple building techniques of the hillfort phase and retain the footprint of that settlement layer.

On either side of the second eastern wall there are further vestiges of both circular and rectangular buildings, indicating alterations of plan over time and the introduction of more rectilinear architecture in later phases. These structures illustrate the transition from purely castro-style houses to forms used in subsequent centuries. The remains stand as low walls and foundations in place, in a condition described as fragmentary but archaeologically informative.

Within the upper courtyard stands the medieval tower keep laid out on a rectangular plan, accompanied by the ruined walls of what is called the palace of the alcalde. Between that building and a lower lateral wall a sloping terrace supports the upper level of the castle. Defensive features recorded in the medieval plan include a barbican guarding an entrance and a battlemented curtain wall surrounding the enclosure. One description of the medieval phase emphasizes a Romanesque character, with a roughly quadrangular layout around an internal courtyard.

Archaeological work has exposed the Iron Age fortification system beneath the medieval fabric and has revealed a range of movable finds. Excavations yielded metalwork such as buckles, helmet fragments, swords, sections of chain mail and other military gear, alongside coins from the period of King Ferdinand. Many of the finds recovered during early twentieth-century digs were retained by the local excavation group. Partial reconstruction of walls and towers was carried out in the twentieth century, leaving the site today as a mixture of conserved ruins, restored masonry, and visible archaeological levels.