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Castle of Carratalà

Aitona, Segrià, Lleida

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

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Castle of Carratalà

Monument · Aitona, Segrià, Lleida

Image of Aitona, not of the place itself.

The remains of the castle of Carratalà stand on the summit and slope of an elongated hill, one kilometre from the village of Aitona, in the Segrià, and are declared a national cultural asset (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection). It was a fortification of Islamic origin (a hisn), contemporary with the castle of Aitona, next to which a settlement of the same period extended. Of the enclosure, almost 150 metres long and a little more than 15 wide, sections of wall up to 2.5 metres high built with ashlar blocks survive, along with remains of rectangular-plan dwellings attached to the wall. Burials with slabs and Muslim pottery from the 11th and 12th centuries have also been found. The place name Carratalà comes from the Arabic qala, which designates a type of fortress with an associated settlement.

Photo: Abel Cerezuela Sanjulián (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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