Medieval Islamic town of Los Casares

Distance:
Country

Spain

Region

Castilla-La Mancha

Age

Medieval

Provenance

Medieval Islamic town of Los Casares

The Islamic town of Los Casares is located 3 kilometers north of the
small town of Riba de Saelices (Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha). It
is located in an area of great natural beauty, crossed by the Linares
river, and as a gateway to several valleys. The town sits on a
hillside that is crowned at the top by a defensive tower built by
Muslims around the 10th century AD. This tower allowed the control of
the territory, especially the entrance and exit to the valleys located
further north. The tower rises above the entrance to a cave that
preserves an important set of Paleolithic paintings and engravings.
The town had at least two phases of occupation in Islamic times. The
discovery of a small treasure trove of coins from King Alfonso X,
dated between 1,252 and 1,284, testifies that the area continued to be
occupied for some time after the Christian conquest of the territory.