Episode 16. Los Verracos: Shrooms and Toros
2,000 years ago, indigenous Celtic Vettons inhabited the Iberian peninsula. They carved statues of bulls and wild boar made of stone, many of which can still be found today. And they participated in religious rituals involving what we would call magic mushrooms.
When the Romans swooped in, they burned and sacked the Vettons' villages.
Do you always root for the underdog? What if the underdog...stops being the underdog?
Warning: this episode leans heavily into the horror.
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1-See a map of ancient Vetton territory, a reconstruction of their village and the verracos here.
2-The most famous verracos are in Guisando (Ávila). Check out the site's official IG here.
3-Look at my own pictures of the verracos I took while recording and researching the episode. You can see them on Spanish Sundown’s webpage, or on Facebook or Instagram, where you can also join our online community.
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