Castles and towers of the order of Calatrava in the Sierra Sur de Jaénarchaeological study of the Torrevieja castle and the Algarrobo tower (Fuensanta de Martos, Jaén, Spain)

Abstract

The Sierra Sur de Jaén was a frontier between the Crown of Castile and the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada from the 13th to the 15th century, which determined the presence of multiple defensive elements belonging to both Castile and the Nasrid Kingdom. The territory located between the current provinces of Jaén and Córdoba was donated to the Order of Calatrava for its defence. There are numerous fortresses and watchtowers controlled by the Order of Calatrava, but their study has been limited to the fortress of La Peña de Martos and the castle of Alcaudete and to a lesser extent the castle of Víboras. This proposal aims to initiate the archaeological study of the castle of Torrevieja and the tower of Algarrobo and to offer new data that allow a better understanding of this sector of the Castilian-Nasrid frontier. With the application of the Archaeology of Architecture we will carry out a non-invasive analysis to document the process of fortification of the territory and the elements used for the control and defence. This project marks another step in investigating the mountain landscape of the Sierra Sur de Jaén, an area historically overlooked by archaeological research. Its goal is to highlight its rich heritage.