Castellar de la Frontera in Roman times

 

The presence of the Romans in the Iberian Peninsula dates back to the III century B.C when this village defeated the Carthage army and evicted them from this country. The Roman invasion became very important to the whole of  Spain and, obviously, in the areas near the Straits of Gibraltar, where they established two powerful cities: Carteia and Baelo Claudia.

There is good evidence that Castellar de la Frontera area was visited by the Romans and that they settled in this region. It is thought that there was an important enclave, Torre Lascutana, in this village, which lies under where today the castle is situated. There was a Roman road that united Carteia with Cordóba and it is thought that there was an army in this enclave to watch out for the armies on their way to Cordoba and vice versa. There is also evidence of another smaller Roman road that would link the main one to this site.

The Deer's Bellow

Nature is always offering us wonderful scenes. In Cádiz province there are important spaces with a wide range of flora and fauna where nature lovers can enjoy amazing views and where they can see how different animals live and behave. Nowadays, rural tourism is a very popular phenomenon and our province is an important attraction for this activity lovers.

Castellar in the prehistoric times

Castellar de la Frontera and its surroundings have been a strategic point for many invaders and settlers throughout history. But, what about prehistoric times? Was this part of Campo de Gibraltar area also important in this period?

Many many years ago when man appeared on earth, a great part of what is today our continent, was submerged under water. Several fossils related to this fact have been discovered in the area of Castellar, amongst them some shark teeth, some clam’s shells and various plants.

An itinerary thrrough castellar castle

The following is a guide that will help the visitor to travel through one of the few examples of inhabited fortresses existing in Spain: Castellar Castle.

The fortress of Castellar is built on a Roman assent whose main objective was to watch out the possible invaders coming from the sea. From the XIII century, Castellar became an important defensive building and it was a direct witness of the confrontation between Christians and Muslims. The castle dates back to this century. There is a village within the walls that has been inhabited for centuries.

If we access through the inferior entry, we arrive at the first flanking tower, whose main objective was to defend a weak area. After this first tower, and after walking through a passage with barbicans at both sides, we find the second albarrana tower. With these two towers and the barbican, the entry to the fortress was well protected and the enemy attack became very weak.