Los proyectiles de artillería romana en el Oppidum de monte Bernorio (Villarén, Palencia) y las campañas de Augusto en la primera fase de la guerra cantábrica

Abstract

The oppidum of Mount Bernorio is known as one of the most prominent fortified sites in the Iron Age in the Cantabrian coast. It dominated an important crossroads across the Cantabrian Range that connected the North Sub-plateau and the central area of the Cantabrian Strip. The conquest of this oppidum became essential during the military campaigns of the Emperor Octavio Augusto against the Cantabrians and the Asturians , as the recent archaelogical excavations campaigns have shown. This piece of work reveals news related to the conquest of the site by the roman legions, as well as the remains of arms found during the excavations, especially the artillery projectiles used for the attack. The evidence of artillery projectiles of small-bore caliber could prove the use of this kind of machines in the Early Imperial Age.