Atalaya (watchtower)

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Atalaya de Venturada

In Spain, Atalaya is a watchtower and signal tower from Islamic times ( Al-Andalus ). Such towers served to secure the border between Islamic and Christian spheres of influence.

etymology

The term comes from Arabic ( Arabic الطليعة, DMG at-talîʿa ) and means something like "guard", "guard post", "lookout" or "outpost".

Islamic atalayas

location

The Islamic atalayas mostly stand on remote rocky peaks along a mountain range (cerro) in the former Christian-Islamic border areas north of the Duero and Tajo rivers . Communication between neighboring towers was possible with the help of mirrors or torches at night. Most of the preserved atalayas are in the province of Madrid (e.g. near Talamanca de Jarama ) and in the province of Soria (e.g. near El Burgo de Osma , San Esteban de Gormaz , Caracena and near Venturada and Caltojar ). The term is also common in Portugal.

architecture

Islamic atalayas are only known to have a round floor plan; the tower diameter is always around 6 to 7 m with a wall thickness of no more than 1 m and a height of around 9-11 m - a conical tapering towards the top can only be observed in a few cases. Atalayas were usually built from unworked rubble stones (no pebbles !) The size of a fist or head that were found on site , which were connected to one another by smaller wedge stones and a little clay mortar - a similar masonry technique can be found in the Berber regions in southwest Morocco (see Agadir (Speicherburg) ). In a few cases the stones were sorted by size or roughly hewn to create an irregular masonry bond.

The high entrance to the buildings is about 2.50 m high and was usually only accessible via a ladder that could be pulled in in the event of a defense. Inside the towers, which were formerly subdivided by wooden false ceilings, there were no stairs either, only additional ladders by means of which the individual floors, which served as a storage room, entrance area, lounge and bedroom or as a guard platform, could be reached.

crew

Due to their limited space, it can be assumed that the towers were only occupied by two, at most three men. A regular replacement of the guards is to be assumed.

  • Atalaya El Vellon

  • Atalaya El Berrueco

  • Atalaya de Valdenarro

  • Atalaya de Tiñon

Coastal watchtowers

Especially on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts as well as on Malta ( Redin Towers ) , Corsica ( Genoese towers ) , the Balearic and Canary Islands , the Christians built after successful defense or reconquest ( reconquista ) of the areas occupied by Muslims from the 15th to the 18th century also watchtowers. These could have both round and square floor plans; they were partly made of stone and were used to defend against attacks by pirates . The entrance to the early watchtowers of the 16th century was also about 2.50 meters high; the entrance to the later watchtowers was mostly at ground level. In some cases, the Christian watchtowers resemble small fortresses due to the presence of encircling battlements ( maschikulis ) . In some cases it is possible to confuse the watchtowers with the mostly round stumps of windmills close to the coast (e.g. near Torremolinos ); however, such a double function was also intended.

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