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Hillfort of Yecla la Vieja

Yecla de Yeltes, Vitigudino, Salamanca

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Spain › Castile and León › Salamanca › Vitigudino › Yecla de Yeltes › Hillfort of Yecla la Vieja

Hillfort of Yecla la Vieja

Nature · Yecla de Yeltes, Vitigudino, Salamanca

A kilometre from the village, on a promontory to the south beside the Varlaña stream, this Iron Age Vettonian hillfort covers about 5 hectares and retains its wall perimeter, its field of standing stones and three gates intact. Its origin goes back to the 5th century BC, when the Vettones inhabited the district, and it remained inhabited in Roman times and into the early Middle Ages. After it was abandoned, the hermitage of the Virgen del Castillo was built within the enclosure in the time of the Catholic Monarchs, and still stands and is in use. On one of the ashlar blocks a hunting scene was carved, and on the west flank, outside the walls, the field of vertical standing stones may have served as protection against cavalry. It is one of the finest examples of Vettonian architecture.

Photo: Luistxo (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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