La Cabeza de Navasangil is an archaeological site from the Visigothic and late medieval Christian periods, with the remains of a walled village on a huge granite outcrop.
La Cabeza de Navasangil, part of the archaeological area of the Castro de Ulaca, is a settlement on top of a small, easily defended rocky outcrop, reinforced with a wall where needed. It is in Villaviciosa, 3 km from Robledillo, in the heart of the Amblés Valley.
Research at the site shows that the village was founded during the transition from Roman to Visigothic times and remained inhabited through the Visigothic period, perhaps until the Arab invasion.
Ongoing excavation, consolidation and restoration work is helping us understand Visigothic culture better, and the many building remains preserved on site make it a major cultural attraction, made easier by good road access.
The site is naturally easy to defend: a rise with steep rocky slopes, tucked into the fork where the Garganta Honda stream joins the Potrillos stream. It has wide views over the valley, making it a strategic spot, reinforced by a wall enclosing 1.8 hectares. The rectangular houses are, with few exceptions, inside the walls.
Route details
- Location: Villaviciosa, Ávila
- What it is: Visigothic settlement.
- Period: Visigothic period
- Distance: 8 km from Robledillo, 10 km by road
- Getting there: Take the N-502 towards Ávila as far as Solosancho, where there is a turning to Villaviciosa. In Villaviciosa, go straight along Calle Ulaca between the tourist office and the church; from there a dirt track climbs the hillside. After a gate, and before a bridge over a stream, a ramp on the right leads up to the entrance of the site.
- Background: After the Castro de Ulaca was abandoned following the Roman conquest, several Romanised villages grew up on the nearby plain. But it was at the end of that period and in the following one, the Visigothic era, that some very important settlements were built. One of them is La Cabeza de Navasangil, in the foothills, amid rugged, unspoilt mountain scenery of granite outcrops.
