Nogalte Castle in Puerto Lumbreras is a medieval Islamic fortress. Although the lack of documentary sources prevents specifying the exact date of its foundation, the constructive characteristics of the fortress as well as the materials recovered in the excavations could place it in the first half of the 13th century, in a period in which in the old Muslim kingdom In Murcia, the rural castles that protected the numerous agricultural operations in the surroundings proliferated.
The so-called upper enclosure corresponds to this time, probably used as a fortified barn, and built in a time of insecurity in which rural communities generated a series of community infrastructures that allowed them to secure their resources. Next building phases were made after Reconquista by Alfonso X for the kingdom of Castile in 1261.
Architecture
The excavation campaigns carried out in the Nogalte castle since 1999 have made it possible to determine that the fortification is made up of two well differentiated enclosures connected by an angled door and delimited by wall structures.
The upper enclosure corresponds to the first phase of occupation. It covers an area of approximately 1000 m². It is part of a polygonal plan, 60 meters long by 18 meters wide. Its access is located on its eastern slope, through a break that describes a right angle to avoid direct access. In its interior, at least three quadrangular spaces have been located, attached to each other, inside which several millstones were located, and which must have been used for the storage of grain. A large cistern, measuring 12.5 by 2.8 meters, stands out, built in concrete mud with a hydraulic mortar coating.
The lower enclosure belongs to the second phase of occupation of the Castle of Nogalte, after the Christian conquest. From this enclosure it has been possible to identify the northern, eastern and part of the southern slopes. Inside, a series of earth walls have been found that make up a set of adjoining spaces with a rectangular floor plan. This second phase of occupation not only consisted in the construction of a new enclosure, since the old Islamic construction was also reformed by means of the construction of a tower and the reinforcement of the walls of the wall. To solve the communication between both enclosures, a series of parallel walls are built that make up a triple elbow.
Cave houses
Construction began in the 18th century, at a time of demographic growth in the population of Puerto Lumbreras. These constructions, which respond to a model of housing with modest family economies, modeled the appearance of the hill on which the Castle is located to constitute one of the most important examples of cave habitat in the Region of Murcia and that have recently been the object of a project of musealization and interpretation of some of the cave houses that are part of this complex.
Today Nogalte Castle is heavily restored, but the visitor can know through a guided itinerary, both the Islamic fortress and the cave complex.
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