There are many archaeological sites of great historical and cultural importance that we find in Spain. And there are more and more extraordinary finds that teams of archaeologists make in the peninsular territory.
In this sense, it is worth talking about a town in Castilla-La Mancha, Lezuza, in the province of Albacete, where there is a complex made up of the vestiges of a castle and an Ibero-Roman site: Fromsand the town of the Orethean town that had become a stipendiary city of Rome and ended up destroyed during the Sertorius War that devastated Hispania between the years 82 and 72 BC
This site is significant because Its continuous occupation from the Bronze Age to medieval timesproviding a rich historical and cultural perspective. Consequently, it is a privileged area that stands out because civilizations such as the Iberian, the Roman and the medieval have left their mark on it, later becoming a religious-military defensive complex after the Reconquista.
The archaeological site of Libisosa, of about thirty hectares, is located in Cerro del Castillo in the municipality of Lezuza. Archaeological excavations began in 1996 by a team from the University of Alicante led by José Uroz Sáez.
It should be noted that this place has gone through three historical phases: the Iberian, Roman and medieval times. Consequently, the site has lived andl paso from different cultures.
The reasons why this place has been occupied for so long have to do with its privileged location, in addition to the fact that this place had a large amount of water, agricultural and hunting resources that favored settlements. In Antiquity, it was located at a key crossroads on the Via Heraclea, the only communication channel that existed in Republican times for the passage of military contingents between the South and the Levant of the peninsula.
In the 4th century BC, Libisosa It was an important Iberian settlement. The archaeological remains include walls, homes and necropolises that show the development of a complex community.
Furthermore, at this site, around a hundred coins from this same late Iberian period have been recovered, as well as an exceptional set of around thirty weapons from the same time, such as an iron helmet, several swords of type Spanish sworddaggers, arrowheads or shield elements.
In fact, excavations have documented some remains from the 4th-3rd centuries BC on the north slope. Of these vestiges, it is worth highlighting that some belong to Iberian funerary monuments, as well as some painted Iberian ceramics.
Then, during Roman times, Libisosa became a Roman colony, known as Coloia Libisosa Forum augustanain the 1st century BC It is believed that the Romans had already arrived at this place around the year 180 BC, especially due to the strategic and defensive value that this place had. the town. Cabe It should be noted that the geographical location of Libisosa was key for the Romans to undertake the conquest of the south of the peninsula.
From this period, remains of urban infrastructure have been foundsuch as the forum, thermal baths and paved streets, as well as an important wall, which is three meters wide and surrounds the highest part of the hill. It must be taken into account that the colonial condition of Libisosa is referenced epigraphically: in the municipality of Lezuza there is an inscription from the time of Marcus Aurelius.
Later, due to the Sertorius War (82-72 BC), the the town Ibero-Roman suffered instant and systematic destruction. However, the occupation continued during the Visigoth era, with evidence of a consolidated settlement. And later, in medieval times, the place continued to be inhabited, although with less intensity.
In what has to do with the history of this settlement during the Middle AgesIt should be noted that a medieval castle or watchtower that gives its name to the hill corresponds to this historical moment, as well as a building that must have performed a religious-military function.