Watchtower of Riba de Saelices

Watchtower of Riba de Saelices

The Watchtower of Riba de Saélices is located on the hillside where a ancient Arab settlement from which it takes its name. In the area around the watchtower it has been discovered that 11th century pottery and some Arabic coins of the mint of Saragossa.

It has a square ground plan with a high entrance facing south and two storeys with a false vault.

The optimal location of this enclave was already known from the Palaeolithic period, as the exceptional Cueva de los Casares, which contains prehistoric engravings and paintings and archaeological, palaeontological and palaeoanthropological remains, is located under this very spot. Valley of Miracles.

Of Arab construction in the 9th century AD, it guarded the Berber settlement located on the same hillside and inhabited during 300 yearsThe progressive displacement of the population to the current Riba de Saelices led to its abandonment.

It is a defensive construction: more than 15 metres high and located at the top of the mountain, guarded and protected the village from possible attack. It also formed part of a more complex surveillance system with other watchtowers distributed around the area with which it maintained visual contact. In this way, they used visual signals (fire and smoke) to alert the other villages in the event of attacks or raids.

The reconstruction of the tower in 2007 and the installation of walkways and internal staircases make this construction, which has now been converted into a lookout point, fully accessible to visitors. Here you can see the layout of the masonry of the walls, the false vault built using the archaic technique of "approximation of courses" and the panoramic view of the settlement and the valley from the top of the tower.

At its feet is a good recreational area where you can park and take a rest after having made the ascent to visit the whole complex.

We recommend request information of visits to both the Watchtower and the Cave on the village's official website.