During the months of June and July OF 2026, an international research team will take part in the archaeological excavations at Casaio, in the municipality of Carballeda de Valdeorras, as part of an intervention that is providing new data on forms of territorial occupation in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula between the end of the Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages.

This year’s campaign, directed by Carlos Tejerizo, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Salamanca, brings together researchers and students from several universities in Spain and Portugal, consolidating Casaio as a space for cross-border scientific cooperation. In this context, the involvement of Archaeology students from the University of Minho is particularly noteworthy, made possible through the collaboration established between the Archaeology Unit of the University of Minho, Lab2PT – Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory – and the team responsible for the intervention. The students’ participation will take place under the coordination of Professor Rebeca Blanco-Rotea, from the University of Minho and Lab2PT, and Celtia Rodríguez-González, visiting researcher at Lab2PT and the UAUM. This collaboration will strengthen the students’ practical training in archaeological methodology, stratigraphic recording, the processing of materials and the historical interpretation of excavated contexts, while also promoting the exchange of knowledge between Galicia and Portugal.

 

The excavations at Casaio constitute an exceptional opportunity to advance the study of the communities that inhabited this territory between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Through the analysis of domestic spaces, archaeological structures and recovered materials, the research contributes to a better understanding of the social, economic and territorial dynamics of the north-western Iberian Peninsula during a period of profound historical transformation. In addition to its scientific dimension, the campaign will include a programme of visits open to the public, with the aim of bringing archaeological heritage closer to society and encouraging dialogue between the research team and the local community. Those interested will be able to visit the excavations between 22 June and 11 July, from Monday to Friday, between 10 am and 1 pm.

The intervention is promoted by the Comunidade de Montes de Casaio e Lardeira and the University of Salamanca, and is being carried out with the collaboration of Sputnik Labrego, COIDARQ, Arqueotempos, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the University of Minho, Lab2PT, CISPAC, Nexus Durii Arqueologia, the Xunta de Galicia and the other participating organisations. This initiative reinforces the importance of international cooperation, practical training and the social transfer of knowledge as fundamental elements of archaeological research today. Casaio is thus established as a meeting place for universities, research teams, students and the local community, from which to continue building new interpretations of the past of the north-western Iberian Peninsula.

 

Organization: Celtia Rodríguez-González, Rebeca Blanco-Rotea
Promoting Institutions: Comunidade de Montes de Casaio e Lardeira, Universidade de Salamanca, Unidade de Arqueologia Universidade do Minho, Lab2PT, Sputnik Labrego, Proxecto Coidarq, Universidade de Santiago
Initiative site: Coidarq.com