Balma Dera Castèra
Partially fortified rock shelter in Bossòst, Val d'Aran, at the foot of the rock of the turó dera Castèra hill, with remains of the chapel of the vanished castle.
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Balma Dera Castèra
Partially fortified rock shelter in Bossòst, Val d'Aran, at the foot of the rock of the turó dera Castèra hill, with remains of the chapel of the vanished castle.
Bossòst · Val d'Aran
Length: 15 m
Updated record
https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/balma-dera-castera
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Partially fortified rock shelter in Bossòst, Val d'Aran, at the foot of the rock of the turó dera Castèra hill, with remains of the chapel of the vanished castle.
Description
Morphology
Rock shelter about 20 metres wide by about 15 deep, still facing SE, with a very irregular floor, which has recently served as a fold for livestock.
Progression
No survey is available.
Other details
Beside it there are some stretches of wall, heavily covered by vegetation, which have been identified as the remains of the chapel of the vanished castle. It seems that a third of the construction was beneath the rock shelter and formed part of the defence tower at the eastern angle of the fortification and that, because of its situation, it controlled the access path.
History
This rock shelter is mentioned as an ancient dwelling place and later, possibly during the 12th-13th centuries, as a fortified refuge, being of great importance against the French incursions of the 14th century.
After the Treaty of Corbeil (1258), during the 14th century, a defence tower was built on top of the hill which, later on, became a castle and which apparently was no longer in use by the 17th century.
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Bibliography
Aymamí, G. (2006).- Coves fortificades de Catalunya. 35 pp. Unió Excursionista de Catalunya i Federació Catalana d'Espeleologia. Barcelona.
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Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/