 The Phoenicians established in this area different dried and salted cod stations and their presence together with the presence of the Ancient Greeks is well documented by historians like Herodotus, Strabo, Pomponius Mela, just to mention a few classic ones including Ptolemy.In Roman times, in the 1st century BC, a fishing port existed which also trade in metals (like Silver, Gold, Tin and Iron ) as well as wild horses in the bay of Ferrol in the neighbourhood of Nerium "there is a place called Narahio" "famous for its medieval castle which phonetically resembles a bit Strabo's Nerium" "modern day Cape Prior" in these parts of Iberia dominated in ancient times by the Artabri (or Arrotrebae) giving name to the Portus Magnus Artabrorum (Form not just by the bay of Ferrol but the three rias of Ferrol, Betanzos and Corunna).Ferrol, was then, just as it is today a first class natural harbour, in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, very well guarded, not surprisingly, described often in history as the best natural port in Europe.