Situated on a hill just about 1.5km inland from Aldea Beach this is an archaeological site of exceptional interest, given its size and location with an area of 22 hectares at an elevation of 162 metres above sea level, giving it a commanding position.

The extensive remains, with hundreds of metres of perimeter walling, where the ruins of the walls reinforced by guard towers, are of great scientific interest.

Remains of the perimeter wall

Material recovered from a number of archaeological surveys on the site puts the first occupancy of the site at around the C8th BC around the time of the first Phoenician colonists along the coast of Andalucia around 2,800 years ago.

This stronghold could have been part of the perimeter of the State of Tartesos which had its nucleus in the lower Guadalquivir. However the ruins also display some influence from its neighbours to the East with its comparable dimensions as well as its siege contingency features.

These type of fortifications have their origins in the Near East, which would seem to be the result of early cultural contacts between peoples of the Final Bronze age and the first colonists from the East and could have served as a refuge from the territory’s rulers.

In August, 2007, it was announced that the Junta de Andalucia’s Department of Culture had approved the 2nd phase of the investigations at Castillejos De Alcorrín site, and are due to commence in the September.

Some of the artefacts uncovered in a previous dig

The excavations and research will be directed by the prestigious German Institute of Archaeology and will be carried out by them along with staff from the University Complutense of Madrid, members of the Centre for Phoenician and Punic Studies, and Manilva’s municipal archaeologist, César León.

This investigation will continue on from the first phase which centred on the Acropolis and the perimeter walls.