The Pintia Archaeological Zone is located between the municipalities of Padilla de Duero and Pesquera de Duero (Valladolid), on both sides of the Duero River. It is a large archaeological complex, one of the most important in the region of Castilla y León.

The area that makes up the Pintia Archaeological Zone, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1993, occupies around 125 hectares, and presents an enormous wealth of heritage of more than a thousand years of development, with three major cultural horizons: Vacceo, Roman and Visigothic, being the Vacceo (4th century BC to the change of Era), the most relevant.

If we divide this space by functional areas, we distinguish:

• the habitat of Las Quintanas
• the necropolis of Las Ruedas
• the ustrinum or crematorium at Los Cenizales
• a presumed sanctuary between Los Hoyos and Las Ruedas
• the artisan quarter of Carralaceña, with its residential area, its corresponding necropolis and various centres of local pottery production (in the municipality of Pesquera de Duero).

Its great extension and long occupation, at least from the beginning of the 2nd Iron Age until the early Middle Ages, make it a nucleus of great interest for archaeological research:

• the exceptional and unique nature of the Vaccean and Roman necropolis, respectively, both of which are cremation sites located in the pago de Las Ruedas.
• The great documentary wealth of the stratigraphic sequence of the different human occupations recorded in the nearby settlement of Las Quintanas.
• The levels from the Vaccean period which, together with the neighbouring pottery from Carralaceña, will significantly help to establish a chronological basis for the systematisation of the Vaccean productions, especially ceramics.

The existence of public buildings and various areas of occupation from the Roman period, as well as the Visigothic necropolis, opens up research into other areas of historical knowledge.

The visibility of the archaeological remains is still very limited, but in recent years a number of landscape restoration and excavation works have been carried out to help us understand the site as a whole.

You can book your guided tour, led by archaeologists from the Centro de Estudios Vacceos Federico Wattenberg. The visit lasts approximately two hours and begins at the CEVFW headquarters (Plaza Mayor de Padilla de Duero), where preliminary information is given and you can see some of the most outstanding pieces recovered in the Archaeological Zone during the different excavation campaigns. We will then move on to the necropolis of Las Ruedas for a guided tour of this cemetery of special importance for the Vaccean culture.

You can also sign up for the different volunteer days that are organised throughout the year.

July and August: visits do not need to be arranged in advance. During the rest of the year, visits are made on demand for groups of at least 5 adults.