Erasmus: A Visit to Siyasa and Cueva de la Serreta

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We got a guided tour of the archaeological site of Medina Siyasa which is one of the best preserved 11th to 13th century Moorish town settlements of the Spanish peninsula. Medina Siyasa is located on the Monte del Castillo de Cieza 5 km outside of modern day Cieza. Siyasa is enclosed within a walled ring of protection covering an area of 11 hectares. 19 houses have been excavated but it has been estimated that the town contained 787 houses and had about 4000 inhabitants.

The southern Iberian peninsula was occupied by Moorish invaders from Africa in 711 and remained under Islamic rule until the middle of the 13th century, Granada even longer until 1492 when the Reconquista was completed.

Siyasa was a wealthy town. It occupied a strategically important location with the Segura valley as a natural communications route, The site high up on the mountain allowed to monitor any movement in the valley below. There is no evidence of destruction within the ruins of Siyasa only abandonment.

On the archaeological site we could walk between the excavated remains of the houses and got a good impression how the town was built.

Afterwards we visited another site in the valley of Segura River: Cueva de la Serreta.

Cueva de la Serreta is located on the left bank of the Segura River, on the edge of the impressing karst canyon of Los Almadenes. The Segura River runs through this canyon encased between vertical walls that in some sections reach 100 meters in height. The karst nature of the environment has given rise to a large concentration of caves, chasms and shelters that were used by prehistoric man as a refuge.

In 1973 Cueva de la Serreta was discovered and in 1998 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the many cave paintings originating from the Neolithic age.

To get into the cave we had to climb down a narrow 16 meter high chasm before we came to a large opening to the gorge. We could see clearly a lot of paintings showing animals and human beings. The red color is ironoxide: rocks crashed to powder and mixed with oil or grease. Amazing that the paintings are still so lively after 7000 years!

The next item on the programme took us to the Abaran Waterwheels.

 

All posts about the Erasmus project can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

erstellt am: 25.11.2024 von Julia Kabatas

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