Vettones

Origins

The Vettones emerged in the second half of the first millennium BCE between the Douro and Tagus rivers, in modern Ávila, Salamanca and Cáceres and parts of Portugal. They grew out of the Iron Age Cogotas culture and were related to their Lusitanian and Celtiberian neighbours.

Rule and society

They lived in large fortified hillforts such as Las Cogotas, Ulaca and El Raso, and their economy was dominated by cattle and pig herding. Hundreds of granite sculptures of boars and bulls, the verracos, mark their territory and probably protected herds or pastures. Their society had warrior elites, and they spoke a Celtic or para-Celtic language.

Decline and legacy

Often allied with the Lusitanians, they resisted Rome through the 2nd century BCE and were finally subdued after campaigns including Julius Caesar's of 61 BCE. Their lands became part of the province of Lusitania, with towns such as Salmantica and Augustobriga.