Dominating Marbella Old Town, the castle and walled fortifications have witnessed much of Andalucía’s turbulent history. Close to Orange Square, an area of the city often overlooked by house-hunters seeking a holiday home in Marbella, the castle and remnants of the walled fortifications have long puzzled historians. A new study has thrown doubt on the castle’s age: the Moorish ruins built during the reign of the Umayyad may conceal an even older structure.
Such was Marbella’s importance in the early Middle Ages that the city became one of the most important administrative and economic centres during the reign of the Moors in the province of Malaga.
Walled fortifications and castle are the only remaining architectural remains of the Moors in the Old Town. Murallas del Castillo, the castle walls, formed once part of an imposing Moorish citadel, believed to have been built in the 10th century. After the Catholic re-conquest of Andalucía in 1485, the citadel was transformed into the type of mini-city that was much in evidence throughout Europe at that time. Its walls would have contained market stalls and a smithy, perhaps an early hospital and the usual dwellings of nobles and their servants, fishermen and merchants.
New archaeological Study throws up more Questions
New excavations at the castle have revealed that the Moors may have built their castle on the remnants of a much earlier fortress, but it is still unclear when the older castle was built.
The discovery has excited historians. Speaking for the Archaeology Faculty at Malaga University, José Suárez Padillo explained the importance of two recent surveys. The results are so intriguing that green light has been given for further excavations to be carried out on the site. Up to now it has only been conjecture that Marbella was already a sizeable settlement during ancient Roman times, but further excavations may prove that there was already an important town on the site some 2,000 years ago.
Previous digs have thrown up tantalising glimpses of some kind of Roman settlement, but nothing concrete was ever discovered that would have led archaeologists to believe that a much older structure could be lurking beneath the Moorish castle and walled fortifications in Old Town.
The lay-out discovered under the Moorish castle suggests that a much older fortress dominated the site, but who built it, why or when is still a mystery. Could this part of Marbella Old Town be evidence of a previous housing boom two millennia ago? Did tourists in antiquity demand the same level of amenities near their holiday homes in Marbella as their modern counterparts? If so, it would explain the Roman baths found in Guadalmina!
More archaeological Tests are needed
Awaiting test results that should date the construction beneath Marbella Castle,
Pedro J. Sánchez Bandera, the man in charge of the latest study, explains how the pre-Moorish construction can be traced on three of the castle complex’s four sides. This includes the tower in Calle Trinidad and the tower by the Plaza de la Iglesia as well as the Homage Tower on the northern aspect of the site. So far the excavations have not come up with any concrete evidence on the western side of the castle complex, because various changes carried out in the intervening centuries have incorporated much of it into the present day Old Town centre.
Further tests may reveal that Marbella was indeed the Roman city “Cilniana”, a settlement historians are aware of but unable to locate accurately at present. These new tests are twofold:
• To determine whether the older structure is Roman through finds like coins or household artefacts like pottery shards or through inscriptions;
• To discover if Marbella is indeed the fabled town of “Cilniana”.
According to historical data, the frequent outbreak of civil war during the Roman-Republican era in the 1st century BC meant that Rome was forced to take defensive measures and fortify many coastal areas. As soon as the Pax August was in place, settlements arose near the sea and those fortifications became small walled towns.
There are already three fine examples of Roman origin in Greater Marbella: the baths at Guadalmina, the Vega del Mar basilica and the Roman Villa at Rio Verde, a luxury Marbella property any foreign buyer would have been proud of inhabiting in 1st century BC.
One can still catch the occasional glimpse of the walled fortifications in Calle Peral and Calle Aduar. Originally, there were three medieval gates: Puerta del Mar allowed access to the seafront, Puerta de Ronda in the north gave access to the mountains, and Puerta de Malaga in the east allowed pilgrims and traders easier access to the City of Malaga City. Marbella Castle is not open to the public, but the walled fortifications are accessible.
Local historian Catalina Urbaneija, who is the president of the Cilniana Association, believes that the city was long occupied before the Moors arrived. “It’s logical because documents state this was a natural enclave that was protected because of its own geographical location. The Phoenicians weren’t going to build at Rio Real, and the Romans at Río Verde, and completely ignore Marbella,” she asserts, adding she is hopeful that this time the findings will prove her belief in a much older Marbella is correct.
The area’s strategic location is like to have appealed not just to the Moors – and Marbella’s continued attraction for house-hunters today suggests how much real estate in Marbella must have been prized by people in antiquity, who would have seen the castle, both the older and the one built by the Moors, as protection against pirates and invaders, as well as a great opportunity to start up in trade in a place blessed by sunshine, fertile soil, beaches and rich fishing grounds.