When the Cultural Department of the Provincial Council of Granada bought the emblematic Castillo de Calahorra, they had no idea that there was more than met the eye.

The large central patio has a well, but the well was really an entrance to a huge underground structure built to contain rain water.

A group of archaeologists lowered themselves into the well and found themselves standing on the floor of a water cistern or aljibre. Large stone columns support the domed roof of this subterranean discovery, measuring seven metres from floor to ceiling, ten metres long and seven metres wide.

The central patio on the surface was build to catch rainwater, with the gargoyles directing the water down where it would gather under the well. Archaeologists could see the previous high-water marks on the wall.

Obviously, the aljibre would provide water during a seige, when full, for up to two years and not just for daily needs in times of peace.

Unfortunately, members of the public won’t be able to see it, for the time being, as after paying 6.5m euros for the castle, there are still many priorities, like providing modern bathroom facilities for visitors and staff, for example.

Yet this inner structure is not the only aljibre discovered because archaeologists recently discovered another cistern just outside the entrance to the castle, dating back to the 10th Century (Nasrid Epoch) measuring 3.5 metres wide and eleven metres long.

Excavations around the castle that we can see today from the Renaissance period show that the Nasrid fortress that pre-existed it was at least four times bigger.

Readers will remember that the Castillo de Calahorra was used in the making of several films, including:

Doctor Zhivago with Omar Sharif & Julie Christie (1965)

Navajo Joe starring Burt Reynolds, (1966)

Once Upon A Time in the West starring Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Charles Bronson (1968) 

Stardust starring David Essex, Adam Faith, Larry Hagman and Keith Moon (1974) 

The Wind and the Lion (1975) starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen and John Houston, 

House of the Dragon (2022) used to recreate the fictional city of Pentos

(News: Calahorra, Baza, Altiplano, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Cistern, Central Patio, Aljibre, Nasrid, Renaissance, Filming, Once Upon A Time in The West, Doctor Zhivago, Stardust, The Wind and the Lion, House of the Dragon

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