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Spanish medie al a chaeology: an
app oach wi h a b ie bibliog aphy
Magdalena Valo s
In oduc ion
Medie al Spain is a e y peculia
pe iod in ela ion o medie al Eu-
ope. In Spain i encompasses a long
pe iod ( om he 5 h o he 15 h
cen u y) and a he same ime h ee
di e en ci ilisa ions, namely Visi-
go hic, Islamic and medie al Ch is-
ian. Fi s o all, each one o hese
ci ilisa ions has had i s own specialis s
since he beginning, so we can speak
abou :
- Visigo hic A chaeology (5 h o
7 h cen u ies): This has adi ionally
been s udied in Classical His o y De-
pa men s, bu also in A chaeology
Depa men s. The con ibu ion o he
Deu sches A chäologisches Ins i u in
Mad id has also been e y impo an ,
no only on accoun o exca a ions
ca ied ou , bu also on accoun o
publica ions.
- Ch is ian kingdoms (8 h o 15 h
cen u ies): A e he A ab conques o
he Ibe ian Peninsula, he Ch is ian
pa was educed o he a No h o
he peninsula. The e o e, om he
mid 8 h cen u y o he la e 15 h
cen u y we wi ness he conques o
he Muslim p o ince, i.e. he conques
o al-Andalus. Se e al kingdoms like
As u ias-León, Cas illa, and Na a a
and A agón made i possible o ex-
pansion owa ds he Sou h as a as
he Due o i e (in he 2nd qua e o
he 9 h cen u y). Appa en ly his was
caused by he Muslims’ inabili y o
sus ain he demog aphic occupa ion
o he e i o y. The a chaeology o
Spanish medie al kingdoms is no he
mos de eloped. The bes known pe-
iod is he Ea ly Middle Ages om he
8 h o he 10 h cen u y, bu is a he
same ime he less known h ough he
w i en sou ces. As u ias-León and
Ca alonia a e he egions wi h he
longes adi ion in hese kinds o
s udies.
- Al-Andalus a chaeology (8 h o
15 h cen u ies): The mos de eloped
in Spain. This chap e o Spanish
medie al his o y began o be s udied
a e he Roman ic mo emen . Ce -
ainly Spain has p ese ed a lo o
Islamic monumen s, which we e es o-
ed om he ea ly 20 h cen u y.
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MAGDALENA V ALORS
T adi ionally esea ch has been
ocused on G anada (Alhamb a), Co -
doba and Medina Azaha a. Nowadays
he e a e many o he places o in e es
like Se ille, Mu cia and Badajoz. Also,
esea che s we e p e iously mo e
in e es ed in he Omayyad pe iod. In
ecen yea s, we ha e gained much
mo e in o ma ion abou he Almohads
and abou he Nas id dynas ies.
Uni e si ies, Museums and he Casa
de Velázquez (dependan on he Cen-
e Na ional de la Reche ché Scien i-
ique o F ance), a e he ins i u ions
dealing wi h his discipline.
The kind o opics a e e y simila
o hose deal wi h by Eu opean Med-
ie al A chaeology. In his espec we
can disce n di e en pe iods:
1) The mid 20 h cen u y
Ceme e ies, chu ches and me al-
wo k we e he mos s udied opics in
Visigo hic A chaeology. Ca es, cas os
(p e-Roman o i ied se lemen s) and
ci ies oge he wi h es o ed chu ches
and cas les we e common opics o
Ch is ian A chaeology. Palaces and
mosques we e esea ched by a chi ec s
and a his o ians, o de ec he
buildings’ s uc u es.
2) The 60’s and he 70’s
Du ing hese yea s an impo an
change came abou . The esea ch was
concen a ed no only on he s udy o
excep ional a e ac s o a chi ec u al
s uc u es, bu also on he a chaeo-
logical con ex and on he analysis o
con inui y, changes and e olu ion.
Tha was a signi ican change ha can
be egis e ed in he a ious aspec s
and cul u es. Fo example, in he case
o Ca alonia and As u ias-León he
s udy o epopula ion has been e y
de eloped, specially o he pe iod
be ween he 8 h and he 10 h cen u y
in di e en aspec s, like he e olu ion
o se lemen s, socie y and economy,
and he on ie wi h al-Andalus.
The case o Al-Andalus a chaeology
was he comple e opposi e. Resea ch
was ela ed wi h es o a ion, he e o e
wi h a chi ec s. The Alhamb a, he
mosque o Co doba and Medina
Azaha a we e managed by a chi ec s.
The conseqence is ha we know a lo
abou he a chi ec u al s uc u es bu
no hing abou he a chaeological
con ex . So, in his case monumen al
a chaeology was he main aim.
3) The 80's
The de ini i e change in Spanish
Medie al a chaeology occu ed in he
80’s. The easons we e:
Fi s ly, in 1981 he Spanish Asso-
cia ion o medie al a chaeology was
ounded. Academics and expe s om
uni e si ies, museums and he s a e
adminis a ion o med an associa ion
o demand a place in Spanish a chaeo-
logy, and o es ablish means o con ac .
Secondly, In 1985 he i s Spanish
Cong ess o Medie al A chaeology
ook place in Huesca. This is a e y
impo an da e, no only because i
was he i s gene al mee ing, bu also
because o he Ac s ( i e olumes
de o ed o: Me hodology (I), Visi-
go hic (II), Andalusi (III and IV), and
Ch is ian (IV and V) a chaeology.
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Many o he cong esses ha e aken
place in ecen yea s:
The 2nd in Mad id in 1987
The 3 d in O iedo in 1989
The 4 h in Alican e in 1993
The 5 h in Valladolid in 1999
Thi dly, in 1986 issue 0 o he
Bole ín de A queología Medie al was
published. This s a ed li e as a book
wi h modes p e ensions, bu began
o ecei e many mo e con ibu ions
a e 1989.
Topics and aspec s o al-Anda-
lus a chaeology
Since he A ab conques (711–716)
o he inal de ea o he Nas id’s eign
(1492), we ha e eigh hund ed yea s
o A ab ci ilisa ion in he Ibe ian
Peninsula. We should ha e in mind
h ee di e en pe iods, which a e:
1) Co doba´s Emi a and Calipha
(713–1031).
Especially impo an in his pe iod
was he Umayyad dynas y coming
om Sy ia a e 756. Two and a hal
cen u ies, du ing which occu ed he
islamisa ion o Visigo hic Hispania.
In hese yea s began he ans o ma-
ion om ci ies, he pe manen
exis ence o a on ie wi h Ch is ian
eigns, he new e i o ial o ganiza ion
and e iden ly he beginning o a new
cul u e in Wes Eu ope.
2) Pe y kings and Almo a ids
(1031–1147).
The pe y kings signi ied he
b eakdown o he Calipha and he
bi h o a la ge quan i y o small poli ies
eigned by small dynas ies. A his
ime ook place impo an changes in
he o ganisa ion o he e i o y,
especially a e y in ensi e p ocesses o
o i ica ion.
The Almo a ids was a No h A i-
can dynas y, which en e ed he Ibe -
ian peninsula helping he pe y kings
agains he Ch is ian kings, and inally
conque ed each o hem, con e ing
al-Andalus in o ano he p o ince o
hei No h A ican empi e.
This cen u y signi ied a con inui y
o he Umayyad pe iod. The a chi ec-
u e con inued o be in he same way,
bu no mally mo e deco a ed.
3) Almohad calipha (1147–1212
o 1248).
This is a e y unknown pe iod a he
momen , bu i seems o ha e been a
e y impo an cen u y. Al-Andalus was
much smalle , and o esis he Ch is-
ian conques hey had o eo ganise he
on ie and he e i o y, speci ically
he o i ica ions. A he same ime came
a de ini i e aes he ic change. A new
a chi ec u e cha ac e ised by huge
buildings, a p ocess ypical o he pe-
iod a e 1172 and exis ing h oughou
he Middle Ages.
The inal de elopmen o his e-
no a ion was G anada’s Nas id eign
(1232-1492), wi h a simila de elop-
men like he Umayyad calipha and
he pe y kings. Tha means, he same
aes he ic wi h mo e complica ed dec-
o a ion.
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MAGDALENA V ALORS
In he esea ch o al-Andalus
a chaeology, he esea che s we e a
he beginning dealing wi h a and
a chi ec u e and e y li le wi h
a chaeology. Basic s udies we e pub-
lished in he 50’s by Manuel Gómez
Mo eno and Leopoldo To es Balbás;
he mos s udied si es we e he
Co doba mosque, Medina Azaha a
and he Alhamb a palace in G anada.
Since 1985 we a e expe iencing a
eal explosion o publica ions, his
ime wi h scien i ic a chaeological
app oaches, bu p obably wi h a lack
o ambi ious p ojec s.
Ci ies, owns
1) The u ban s uc u e (Fig . 1 and
2)
The Ibe ian Peninsula was an
in ensi ely u banised a ea e en be o e
he A ab conques . The e was a
con inui y in places wi h p e-Roman
o Roman o igins. This was he same
si ua ion as in Sy ia; ch is ian ci ies
wi h an o ganised housing scheme,
and some imes o i ied. The isla-
misa ion o hese p e-Islamic ci ies
consis ed in:
- The ans o ma ions o chu ches
in o mosques. A he beginning he
same building was used o bo h cul s,
a e wa ds he chu ch was des oyed
and in he same place a mosque
cons uc ed. We know a ew examples,
like Co doba’s F iday mosque, and
he i s F iday mosque in Se ille,
named Ibn Adabbas.
- The bi h o a poli ical cen e,
named alcáza , nex o he F iday
mosque. Palace a eas we e cons uc ed
a one ex eme o he ci y walls, wi h
possible con ac wi h he ou ski o
ci ies. This was named Da al-Ima a.
- The de elopmen o he ma ke
a ea a ound he F iday mosque. The
di e en a s and c a s we e o gani-
sed in ca ego ies, and depending on
his hey we e nea o a om he
emple.
We don’ know exac ly he ch o-
nology o he ci ies’ islamisa ion,
because he e a e ew se ious p ojec s
o u ban a chaeology. Fo example, in
he case o Se ille we can say h ough
he w i en and a chaeological sou ces
ha un il he middle o he 12 h
cen u y he Roman Hispalis was
espec ed. The e we e e iden ly im-
po an changes because hey buil a
F iday mosque in 829 and a he same
ime he e exis ed a go e no ’s palace
(Da al-Ima a) and a p incely palace
on he ou ski s o he ci y.
In he case o Co doba, he i s
phase o he mosque was no buil
un il 788, ha means 77 yea s a e
he A ab conques .
A e he A ab conques p e-Islamic
ci ies s ill exis ed, con inui y and
islamisa ion was he common si ua-
ion, bu he e we e also ci ies ounded
by he muslims, he mos in e es ing
example wi hou doub is Medina
Azaha a. This ci y was ounded by he
i s caliph o Co doba, Abd al-
Rahman III in 937 and exis ed un il
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1010. Cons uc ed pa ly in Sie a
Mo ena moun ains, i was o ganised
in o h ee e asses. The highes was
he palace a ea, in he middle he
ga den a ea, and in he lowe pa he
ci y. The F iday mosque was buil
be ween he second e ace and he
ci y.
This a chaeological si e was one o
he e y i s places exca a ed in Spain.
We know many aspec s o his place
no only h ough he w i en sou ces,
bu also h ough he con empo a y
ch onicles. This monumen is e y
impo an o he whole al-Andalus
a and a chi ec u e de elopmen .
Fig. 1. Co dobas ci y plan. A Roman shape whe e he F iday mosque and Alcza a e a he pe iphe y , nex
o he b idge and he i e Guadalqui i . A ound he mosque he ma ke a ea was de eloped, he baza s.
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47
MAGDALENA V ALORS
E e y al-Andalus king o caliph in he
nex cen u ies ied o know Medina
Azaha a and o euse some a chi-
ec u al elemen s, and also o be
inspi ed by he deco a ion.
2) The ci y walls
Mos o he ci ies ha he con-
que o s ound had Roman walls. Some
o hem, in places nex o he on ie
wi h he Ch is ians we e p ese ed;
bu commonly hey we e abandoned,
and p obably he s ones we e eused
in new buildings. So he Za agoza’s
ci y walls s ill exis ed a e he
conques , while Se ille’s ci y walls we e
abandoned and ha is he eason why
he Vikings did no ha e p oblems o
en e he ci y in 844.
C ea ed ci ies, like Medina Azaha a,
Badajoz o Mu cia we e o i ied. Bu
we should speak no only abou he
cons uc ion, bu also abou he de-
s uc ion o some o hem, especially
in he case o ebellion agains
Fig. 2. Se illes ci y plan wi h he wo u baniza ion phases, which a e: 1) The plan un il he middle o he 12 h
cen u y, whe e we can see he F iday mosque and he alcza a he ci y bo de . A he ou ski s was also buil
a p ince palace. 2) The Almohad expansion was eally signi ican . No only because he walled su ace was much
la ge , also because hey eno a ed he cul u al and poli ical cen e o he ci y. The poli ical cen e (alcza ) wen
h ough a de ini i e change, om a g oup o palaces in o a ci y wi hin he ci y, o med by many enclosu es wi h
di e en unc ions. They we e dedica ed o ga dens, o cha ds, ceme e ies, wo kshop a eas o palaces.
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Co doba. This is he case o Me ida o
Écija, bo h e y impo an owns in
Roman imes, bu in decadence a e
he 9 h cen u y.
Mili a isa ion was a cons an
h ough he al-Andalus his o y om
he beginning o he end. The walls
no only de ined he ci y, hey
p o ec ed i , and he leade s also
de ended hemsel es agains he
ci izens.
Umayyad walls we e no mally buil
in s one (Silla es), and we ha e many
examples in Me ida, Balague o Se ille
(Fig. 3). Bu he mos equen buil-
ding ma e ial was abiya ( ig. 4). This
is a mix u e o soil, wa e and lime pu
in a wooden mould. The ha dness
could be like s one, i depends on he
lime quan i y added. B icks we e e y
common in al-Andalus since he 9 h
cen u y. I was used o pa emen s,
aul s and a ches. A he end o he
12 h cen u y i began o be used o
comple e buildings.
The majo i y o he ci y walls ha
we can see oday we e buil a e he
12 h cen u y, and only pa ly we can
ind agmen s o ea lie phases. The
mo e equen cases come om he
Almohads and he Nas id e a.
3) The palaces
A e y in ensi e, u banised ci ilisa-
ion had o ha e lo s o palaces. Today
e y ew s ill exis and many o hem
a e mu ila ed. We can ind palaces
Fig. 3. Reused Roman s ones in Se illes alcaza enclosu e.
C-Valo s 06-06-15, 15.5548
49
MAGDALENA V ALORS
om he 10 h o he 15 h cen u y.
I is impo an o s a e ha he
layou o hese palaces has a epe i i e
s uc u e du ing his long pe iod. We
can see buildings in a ec angula o m
o ganised wi h a cen al pa io and
ooms a ound. The p incipal ooms
used o be in he sho e wings,
some imes exclusi ely so. The pa io is
a ga den and i is used as a house space.
While he s uc u e o hese palaces
was epea ed, we can see an e olu ion
in deco a ion. The Omayyad models
su i e un il he second hal o he
12 h cen u y, wi h some de elop-men ,
bu he s onges aes he ic change ook
place wi h Almohads. (Fig 5 and 6)
The high empe a u es in summe
made i necessa y o cons uc sum-
me palaces. In he case o ho wea he
hey used o make unde g ound o
semi-unde g ound palaces. In he
Alhamb a, nex o he Sie a Ne ada
moun ains, i was no necessa y, bu
hey buil in he highes a ea o his
place pa ilions su ounded by ga d-
ens. Vege a ion and wa e was essen-
ial o his kind o a is oc a ic houses.
A he same ime, emi s, kings o
caliphs used o cons uc an almunia
a he ou ski s o he ci ies in places
wi h a nice iew and good com-
munica ions wi h he alcáza . (Fig.
7)
Fig. 4. Tabiya.
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4) The mosques
Mosques comp ice h ee elemen s:
- The Pa io, bigge han he p aye
hall, is he place o make ablu ions, o
ha e a es , o adminis e jus ice and
he place o he Ko anic school. I is
also he space used as a p aye hall on
F idays.
- The owe o mina e , use o
ad ise he ci izens abou he p aye
ime. In al-Andalus mina e s a e
equen ly si ua ed nex o he main
ga e o he pa io, in he no h side.
- The p aye hall, e iden ly he
mos impo an elemen . Al-Andalus
mosques we e o ien a ed o he Sou h,
he sou h wall is much wide han he
o he s. In he cen e is a niche named
mih ab, which indica ed he di ec ion
o he p aye .
We mus no e ha he e a e di e-
en kinds o mosques: he mos
impo an is he F iday mosque
(compa able o a ca hed al wi h he
Ch is ians), u he he e a e dis ic ’s
mosques named masyid (like pa ish
chu ches) and also o a o ies. Only he
F iday mosques ha e he h ee ele-
men s (pa io, mina e and p aye hall),
Fig. 5. Palace o Se illes alcaza .
I is a e y common ype, a c oss-
ga den, o ganised in wo passages
and ou ga den spaces. Vege a ion
in Islamic ga dens was e y ich,
hey used o mix a lo o plan s, local
and impo ed, ege ables and o na-
men al.
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MAGDALENA V ALORS
in Có doba, a ious mosques in To-
ledo, and also esea ching in Mo occo,
speci ically on Almohad mosques.
Bu he e a e also some Hispanis s
who a e no connec ed o hese kinds
o ins i u ions. Some o hem ha e
published wo k in ecen yea s like:
Ch is ine Mazzoli-Guin a d . Villes
d’al-Andalus. L’Espagne e le Po ugal à
l’époque musulmane (VIIIe-XVe siècles).
Rennes. 1996.
Thomas F. Glick. F om Muslim
o ess o Ch is ian cas le. T owb idge.
1995.
The bes way o ind some publi-
ca ions om Spanish a chaeologis s
a e in he ac s o Medie al Eu ope,
1992 and 1997, he i s in e na ional
mee ings o Eu opean Medie al
A chaeology. Each one o he ac s,
which a e di ided in o se en di e en
a eas, ha e some a icles. In some
cases hey we e w i en by Spanish
a chaeologis s, and, in o he s by
Hispanis s. The e a e some signi ican
gaps, and no hing abou impo an
esea ch p ojec s like L’Esque dá a
Ca alonia de eloped by Inma Ollich.
Magdalena Valo s  p o esso id
Depa amen o de His o ia Medie al y Ciencias y
Tcnicas His o iog  icas Uni e sidad de Se illa
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