4 Iberian settlements

Before the Romans disembarked on the coast of what we know today as Catalonia, the peoples generally referred to as the Iberians occupied the length and breadth of the area between the 6th and 1st centuries BC. They often built hilltop settlements, some of which have survived to the present day. Come and explore 4 Iberian settlements that have been turned into museum facilities. The regions of Barcelona were home to different tribes and each of these sites is devoted to one of them.

1. Olèrdola Mountain

Control of this outstanding strategic site in the 4,000 years and all its settlers left their mark there. The large fortified settlement was built on the site by the Cessetans, an Iberian tribe, who skilfully adapted its construction to the difficult terrain, taking full advantage of a wall built there by previous settlers.

2. L'Esquerda

Close to the present-day municipality of Roda de Ter, at the top of a rocky cliff that towers over a meander of the Ter River, with panoramic views of the Vic Plain, the Ausetan tribe built a settlement enclosed by six-metre-thick walls and with two solid towers at the entrance. Inside, you can clearly make out a main street that crossed the settlement from one end to the other. The nearby Archaeology Museum displays the most noteworthy finds of the excavations completed there.

3. El Cogulló

While the Ausetans of L’Esquerda controlled the crossing of the Ter River and the Vic Plain, the Lacetans of El Cogulló had a commanding view of the Llobregat River and the Bages Plain. Excavations are ongoing at the site but everything seems to indicate that for many centuries it was an important stopping point for trade, as well as a strategic site for controlling the surrounding area.

4. Ca n'Oliver

This site is home to both an Iberian settlement and a museum. It’s located on a hilltop in the Serra de Collserola range, in the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès. Some archaeological remains of the settlement have been restored and replicas have been made of two houses and a workshop to give visitors a better idea of what life was like there for the Laietans more than 2,000 years ago.

  • The four sites described above from part of the Iberian Route, coordinated by the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia.


More information:

Olèrdola Park
L'Esquerda Museum and Site
El Cogulló
Ca n’Oliver
Iberian Route
Archaeology Museum of Catalonia