Landscape, geology and defensive architecture of the Spanish Civil War in the SW sector of the Guadarrama Range. A new methodology for geological-archaeological research

Abstract

The Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, in collaboration with the Spanish Association of Friends of the Castles, started the project “Landscape, Geology and Military Architecture in 2016. The defensive constructions of the Madrid Front (1936-1939)”. Following the current trends of collaboration between multidisciplinary teams, both historical-archaeological and geological techniques have been used. This study, focused on highlighting the petrological and morphological characteristics of the constructions (preferably made of masonry) and their spatial location in their environment, has allowed us to develop a specific work methodology. An area of about 13,000 ha has been studied in the Guadarrama Range, in the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela, Santa Maria de la Alameda and Valdemaqueda, where more than one thousand defensive elements have been located on both sides of the conflict, classified into 18 types of construction. The final result of the project will allow society to know and enjoy the historical, cultural and heritage background that these spaces represent, replacing the concept of a natural landscape with that of a geo-cultural landscape.