The municipality of Cieza has gained a new space to know its history more precisely. This is the old tower and defensive wall built after the Nasrid attack of 1477 that the different buildings of recent centuries had hidden. They saw the light again with the beginning of the reconstruction works of the old Casa de la Encomienda. The official presentation took place this Saturday with the attendance of the mayor, Tomás Rubio, and the regional deputies of Vox Alberto Garre and Antonio Martínez, among other authorities. The director of Cieza Archaeological Heritage, Joaquín Salmerón, was alerted to the discovery in 2021, and then proceeded to a remodeling of the initial project that has now completed its first phase.
Located in the Balcón del Muro, these historic buildings can now be visited while waiting for the final phase consisting of the rehabilitation of the old Encomienda mansion to be completed. During the presentation, Salmerón pointed out that both the tower and the wall found “we thought did not exist today, since various written sources attested that the materials of the wall had been used for other buildings in the town.” “Fortunately,” he noted, “during the works we realized that they were still there.” Furthermore, and according to the archaeologist, “the pavement found confirms what sources say that the town was burned, as it has a thick layer of coals, ashes and blackened ceramics.”
New arches inside the house
Regarding the findings recorded in the Casa de la Encomienda, the director of the excavations reported that “four consecutive arches of 2.40 meters and five partially covered arches were found during the last 526 years.” During the work on the commander's residence, erected inside the fortification, all of the original walls of the house were found, which had been built of lime mud. The municipal architect, Juan Buitrago, spoke about the fencing that will protect its interior as well as the lighting that has been provided to the space, who insisted that it is a “virtually emergency action to prevent the deterioration of the tower and the Wall”.
During the presentation, members of the Brotherhood of San Bartolomé staged the visit ordered by the Catholic Monarchs to the town in 1495, once the construction of this defensive bastion with a quadrangular plan was completed, topped with four towers in its corners, plus a keep. . The vestiges declared Assets of Cultural Interest are protected by a fence.
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