Urkulu Roman Tower

Orbaizeta, France

Urkulu (1,419 m) is a mountain in the Basque Country straddling the border between France and Spain. The main feature of the mountain is the remains of a Roman tower topping the summit, erected in the 1st century BC. to commemorate the recent conquest of Aquitaine.

With the summit providing excellent views over the northern and southern slopes alike, it was used as a watchtower in medieval times.

The tower has a truncated-conical shape, measures 19.5 meters in diameter at the base and is 3.6 meters high. Its original height should have been 4.5 meters. The thickness of the walls is 2.6 meters and its interior is filled with the remains of the original stonework.

References:

second.wiki

Address

Orbaizeta, France

See all sites in Orbaizeta

Details

Founded: 1st century BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in France
Historical period: Roman Gaul (France)

More Information

second.wiki

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Royal Collegiate Church of Roncesvalles (7,5 km)

Church of San Saturnino (41,5 km)
Pamplona Cathedral (41,1 km)
San Nicolás Church (41,6 km)
Museum of Navarre (41,5 km)
Bayonne Cathedral (53 km)
Xavier Castle (50,3 km)
Monastery of Leyre (45,9 km)
Citadel of Pamplona (42,2 km)
Sorde Abbey (55,8 km)

User Reviews

CTN Taplin (9 months ago)
What an amazing hike... And a great view at the summit

Hyper Stef (4 years ago)
Great! Magic Moment with wild horses and 360° view!

Sander Zwaenepoel (5 years ago)
Great view

Valentin Toma (6 years ago)
Good 30 min hike, probably in a better type of weather day is even more spectacular. You can drive all the way to the start of the small hike.

Ian Huang (7 years ago)
Beautiful trek!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.