The Cantabrian stelae are monolithic stone disks of different sizes, whose early precedents were carved in the last centuries before the

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

in northern

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. Cantabrian stelae include

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

triskele A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting either of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or of other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean s ...

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

es,

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

es, warriors or pre-Roman funerary representations among their usual ornamentation. The most famous is called ''Estela de Barros'' (Barros Stele) which can be visited in the ''Parque de las Estelas'' (Stelae Park) in the town of Barros, in

Los Corrales de Buelna Los Corales de Buelna is a municipality in Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities an ...

. This stele is part of the current

coat of arms of Cantabria The coat of arms of Cantabria has a rectangular shield, round in base (also called ''Spanish shield'' in heraldry) and the field is ''party en fess''. In field azure, a tower or crenellated and masoned, port and windows azure, to its right a shi ...

and the meaning of

tetraskelion The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few African and American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely recognized as a symbol of the German Nazi Party who appropriated it ...

would be related to solar worship. The Barros stele giant size represents the main difference to the smaller stelae found in other parts of northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In addition to the ''Estela de Barros'', we can see another larger, fragmented stele in the ''Parque de las Estelas''. Other found stelae are exhibited in the Regional Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria in Santander. There are two stelae found in Lombera, another found in Zurita, showing the iconographic decoration of a vulture pouncing on a fallen warrior, and another from near the

Cantabri The Cantabri (, ''Kantabroi'') or Ancient Cantabrians were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. These peoples and their territor ...

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

of Espina del Gallego. In turn, fragments of other Cantabrian stelae have been found, like the third of Lombera and the Stele of San Vicente de Toranzo, where on one side is depicted a cantabrian warrior on horseback, along with other smaller. The Cantabrian stelae are the most important testimony of the

pre-Roman people and one of the most representative symbols of Cantabria today, being still used in Cantabria during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and even during the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, like the old ones, but losing partly the discoid shape and replacing the solar motives with crosses. The medieval and modern discoid stelae were also typical of other regions of northern Spain. Numerous examples were found in the Basque Country, and several in

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, as well as in Cantabria.

Current impact

A modern interpretation of these stelae and the Roman flag, ''Cantabrum'', gives rise to the current Cantabrian lábaru, an unofficial flag but widely used among Cantabrian people. In the same way, stonemasons and artists from many parts of Cantabria reproduce ancient stelae or create new ones like those, carved in stone or wood, sometimes used as ornaments for new constructions. Similarly stelae reproductions, in wood or metal, are commonly found in pendants and small figures, all of which give an idea of the importance as a Cantabrian symbol.

Cantabrian stelae of Roman and pre-Roman times

Although the ancient

people produced many stelae, the best known are the giant stelae, of which five are known, four of them having been discovered in the

valley of Buelna A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ve ...

. They are usually dated from the 1st century B.C. to 1st century A.D., although there are differences between them, and some could even be 5th or 6th century B.C.

References

External links

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Cantabrian stelae in Guerras Cántabras
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantabrian Stelae Steles Cantabrian mythology Cantabrian symbols Culture of Cantabria Heraldic charges Archaeological artefact groups