Carlos Sanz Mínguez

El Soto de Medinilla: Archaeology of an Early Iron Age tell on the Iberian plateau

Carlos Sanz Mínguez is a Professor of Prehistory at the University of Valladolid and a widely recognized specialist in the Iberian Iron Age, with particular expertise in the Late communities of the middle Duero basin and their transformation through Romanization. He is a member of the AHMAT Research Group, which supports the integration of archaeological research with heritage-focused and interdisciplinary approaches.

He directs the Centro de Estudios Vacceos “Federico Wattenberg”  (The “Federico Wattenberg” Center for Vaccean Studies) and has led the long-term research program at the Pintia oppidum, directing excavations there for four decades. Under his leadership, Pintia has become an exemplary project in public archaeology and outreach, receiving multiple distinctions for its social impact and heritage work—most notably the Hispania Nostra Award (2020) for the rehabilitation of the Las Ruedas necropolis. His work combines sustained field leadership with scholarly research on social organization, ritual practices, and the material expressions of Iron Age societies in western Iberia.