Abstract

In the first half of the 12th century, several military works were developed throughout the territories under Almoravid rule, above all after 1126, both in the main towns and the rural areas of the Empire. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to present the results achieved in the framework of the PREFORTI R&D Project (BIA2015-69938-R) concerning the particular case of these military constructions built in the region of Southeast Al-Andalus (Granada and Almeria, Spain). To achieve this aim, we have studied their remains during field work, as well as documentation contained in archives, written sources and historiography, focusing on the risks that affect their conservation. The analysis of six cases of study has been included, where a sample of the systematic method based on preventive conservation measures has been detailed in two particular cases: the walls of the Alcazaba Qadīma (Granada) and the walls of La Hoya and Cerro de San Cristóbal (Almeria). The proposed method has been validated by the public bodies responsible for the protection of this heritage. Its importance lies in the guarantee to slow down the deterioration of this heritage, which facilitates the implementation of effective and economic strategies for its conservation.

Highlights

  • In the first half of the 12th century, during the Almoravid occupation of Al-Andalus, important military works were developed throughout the territories under its rule

  • (pp. 168–172); [52] (p. 42); [2] (p. 147), almost none of these have been preserved. Those of a military nature stand out. This type of architecture reached a height of development during the Almoravid period, representing an important precedent for the great reforms of the poliorcetics implemented by the Almohads [4]; its development is linked to the very essence of that movement, which since its birth was based on territorial expansion and religious orthodoxy, the latter understood as

  • Among the reforms implemented during the first half of the 12th century in the works performed in rammed earth in Granada, as included in the catalogue prepared in the framework of the PREFORTI Project, the walls of the Alcazaba Qadıma and the city walls of Guadix stand out

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Summary

Introduction

In the first half of the 12th century, during the Almoravid occupation of Al-Andalus, important military works were developed throughout the territories under its rule. In which an improvement in the defensive conditions of the Almoravid territories was imperative, it was necessary to deliver some military works in rural areas, which, so far, have been scarcely assessed In this context, the aim of this article is to present part of the results obtained in the framework of the R&D Project Sustainable methodology for the Conservation and Maintenance of medieval rammed-earth fortifications in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Having approximated the methodology followed in the development of the Project, the list of the six constructions selected in this study, with their particular historical-artistic characteristics, as well as the historical risks that have jeopardized their conservation, is included Given their importance within Andalusi military heritage in the selected nuclei, the particular cases of the walls of the Alcazaba Qadıma (Granada) and the walls of La Hoya and Cerro de San Cristóbal (Almeria) included have been chosen.

Objectives and and Methodological
Qadıma
Molero
Granada
Walls of the Alcazaba Qadıma
Elevation
Almeria and Its Port in the First Half of the 12th Century
Walls of La Hoya and Cerro de San Cristóbal
Urban Wall of Almeria
The Castle of Bacares
Synthesis of the Results
Discussion
Systematic Measures for the Wall of La Hoya and Cerro de San Cristóbal
Final Remarks
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