Bobastro is the ruins of an old castle in the Province of Málaga. The castle was of Roman origin, but rebuilt by Umar ibn Hafsun during his rebellion against the Caliphate of Cordoba in the 9th century.
There had been a structure at the site since Roman times. In 880 AD, Umar ibn Hafsun settled in the ruins of the old castle of Bobastro near Ardales, in which he incited the muwallads and mozarabs to join his cause against the unfair, heavy taxation and humiliating treatment they were receiving at the hands of Abd ar-Rahman II and his successors. The rebels constructed a church within the castle which lasted until the end of their autonomy on January 19, 928.
In 888 AD, Al-Mundhir of Córdoba was murdered at Bobastro by his brother Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, who later succeeded him.
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.