Remains of the Osuna pre-Roman wall

In 1903, two French archaeologists, Pierre Paris and Arthur Engel, excavated the defensive enclosure of the Iberian population of Urso, being the last stronghold of the Pompeian’s troops in their fight against the troops of Caesar.

Subsequently, in 1973 the area was studied by Ramón Corzo with a modern methodology. The stretch of the wall is located in the San José path. The defensive system of the primitive settlement wasn´t totally perimetral but was comprised of discontinuous elements which protected the most accesible and less naturally protected places.

Traditionally, the wall has been dated back to the middle of the first century before Christ, although the most recent studies show an older chronology. In the intervention, a wall about 95 meters long was discovered, reinforced with four semicircular towers. Its profile with a slope keeps the same disposition than the quarry in which is located, forming a great curve to the right. Among the filler material, the famous collection of “Osuna reliefs” was found, which can be currently seen in the Archaeological National Museum in Madrid, after being trasnferred from the Louvre Museum.

After both interventions, the discovered structures were covered again, although some remains emerge allowing to glimpse its impressive layout.