Late Medieval Castles Built with Rammed Earth in Castile, Spain

Abstract

Several of the fortifications built in the Crown of Castile during the Late Middle Ages (14th–15th centuries) used the technique of rammed earth. Five rammed-earth buildings are analyzed in the article as examples. Several of them have been erroneously dated as Islamic, despite their late construction. They were built with lime-crusted rammed earth in which the putlog holes are passant. To permit the reuse of the putlog beams, the hole is formed by a lintel of stones placed over the putlogs to allow their extraction; this is one of the differences between the Christian and Islamic Medieval Spanish rammed-earth techniques. The study of the techniques is fundamental, by establishing chronological and constructive types, to propose an approximate date when there are no architectural, aesthetic, or documented criteria that yield this information.