Pepe el Ferreiro

Who is Pepe el Ferreiro?

José María Naveiras Escanlar, commonly known as Pepe el Ferreiro was born on March 31, 1942 in Grandas de Salime, Asturias. He worked as blacksmith in the forge of his father and in other activities related to metallurgy.

Together with two friends he discovered the first dwelling of the Castro, called Chao Samartín, in 1977. Because of the friendship he had with the owner of the estate, Don Manuel Barcia Monteserín, he was allowed to excavate this buried building, a work he accomplished together with José Manuel Villamea, and together they managed to bring to light an important collection of ceramic fragments. He took the archaeologist D. Miguel Ángel de Blas Cortina of the University of Oviedo to see the Castro, who subsequently studied the excavation site.