Iberian settlement of Castellot de la Roca Roja
VISITS
Guided tours of the Castellot de la Roca-Roja take place from Easter (Monday to Friday) because they are linked to navigability, as you get there with the sailboat. There are no guided tour does during July and August. You can also visit the Castellot on your own.
Visits, which are for groups, must be arranged previously either by calling 977 26 78 00 or sending a message to covesmeravelles@gmail.com.
The visit begins at the Benifallet pier where visitors must take the Llagut Benifallet which will lead you to the Castellot pier, where there will be a guided tour. Castellot de la Roca Roja is one of the best preserved Iberian villages in Catalonia. The Iberian settlement is located on a rocky hill on the left bank of the Ebro approximately 40 meters above sea level and about 50 meters above sea level.
In 1998 a team from the University of Barcelona, under the direction of Joan Sanmartí, Jaume Noguera and Maria Carme Belarte, set out to start an archaeological research project on the Castellot de la Roca Roja, which included the complete excavation of the site with the intention to museumise it. The first step before starting this project was the study and publication of the materials recovered in 1974 by Jaume Noguera. The Classical, Protohistoric and Egyptian Archeology Research Group carried out five excavation and consolidation campaigns between 1998 and 2002.
Today you can still see defensive constructions up to 5 meters high and a simple urban plot, with streets perpendicular from where you access the houses, usually rectangular plant. The Roca Roja settlement is not an isolated case, as a whole network of settlements with similar characteristics has been identified in the lower course of the Ebro. All respond to the characteristics described for the Castellot: they occupy the extremities of the fluvial terraces or small hills near the Ebro, with a very small area and a tight urbanism that accommodated very small towns of less than a hundred people.