The Setefilla Castle is located on the outskirts of the town of Lora del Río. The name has its origin in a medieval place name that should refer to the Muslim fortress located on the table of the same name.
In the Middle Ages, Setefilla was an important enclave related tot eh Muslim conquest, the reconquest and the subsequent repopulation of the area and appears several times cited in the texts of historians of the time.
Of Arab origin, the Setefilla Castle seems to be based on an ancient Roman fort that in turn took advantage of a previous Iberian enclosure. It was built over the years 888-912 by the Banu Layt, the Berber tribe that controlled the region. They fortified the castro with the name of “Chadfilah” or “Chant Fila”.
The construction is polygonal and adapts to the surface of the hill where it sits. It has an area of approximately 4000 m2.
References:The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls was part of the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum (Lyon). The amphitheatre was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône and Saône.
Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building"s south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena"s dimensions are 67,6m by 42m. This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied the imperial cult, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.
The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats. In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs.