The history of Rute is closely linked to the vestiges of a past which overlook it from its mountain range, culminating at more than 1,170 meters above sea level. These are the remains of what we call “Old road”a fortified enclosure, about four kilometers from the city, where the population lived in medieval times and of which only its abandoned ruins remain.
Today, the Municipal Council carried out a detailed study project of the enclave for its development, financed by the Foral Deputation and carried out by the AMAT Architecture Studio, which focused on the realization of its delimitation and construction techniques. The document has already been sent to the Department of Culture of the Government of Andalusia so that the boundaries of the BIC site (one of the three that the city owns, with the ‘El Canuto’ tower and the Zambra Castle) can be redefined. . ) and move towards your conservation. In addition, a virtual reconstruction of what this place was like was created.
Rute Viejo has always been identified with what remains of the leaning tower which marks the hill where the remains of the ancient fortress are located, in a privileged place in the Subbéticas Natural Park. Some are kept 240 meters linear wall and was protected in its time by numerous watchtowers. Its degree of deterioration, due to abandonment and vegetation, is evident.
According to the editor of the study, Alejandro Amat – work in which a multidisciplinary team made up of architects, technical architects, topographers and archaeologists – participated, “the site is located in a strategic positionwith a wide visual domain. Its defensive and residential structures are visible inside. “It was densely occupied by the remains of found materials, particularly ceramics.”
Rute Viejo’s dominance was fleeting from Christians to Muslims and vice versa from 1240 to 1434, when it definitely fell into Christian hands and the population moved to its current location.
The enclosure is located in a privileged position where its defensive structures are visible
Concerning the structures documented on the site, these mainly correspond to defensive elements. In this sense, the chief architect highlights the presence of the line of the exterior wall which, in certain parameters, reaches 6 meters of preserved height.
Along the perimeter of the fortified area are other features such as numerous towers of different types or systems of access to the interior space.
Thus, the northern and western fronts of the colony are naturally defended by the vertical cut of the mountain formation in which it is located, which makes access difficult. “To this defense of nature is added an additional protection: they raise murals and towers on a level of earthworks that can currently be observed in areas where structures have been lost,” explains Amat.
For its part, the eastern flank presents a more complex defensive system, because it corresponds to the least protected area of the enclave and is parallel to the access roads to the enclosure. In the northernmost area there is a double wall line with webs, towers and lists that function as a barbican defending possible access. At the north-west end, on the antemur, the presence of a round which was originally made of concreted rammed earth and an octagonal plan and was later reinforced with masonry, transforming the plan into a semi-circular plan.
“This transformation clearly seems to reflect the architectural change “which marked the transition from Almohad rule to Christian control,” the study says. Continuing southwest along the eastern front are numerous murals from various factories and grandiose watchtowers. “One of the most significant structures is the great quadrangular tower “Erected with masonry factory with reinforcement in the corners in ashlar which resembles typical Nasrid constructions.”
Around fifty homes
Regarding the interior space of the fortified enclosure, “the current state of ruin does not allow us to know the constructive system and spatial distribution”, but it was able to accommodate some 50 houses. The most significant architectural element is found in the northwest area: the remains of an imposing quadrangular Christian construction “which could have served as a keep», underlines the architect.
All this indicates that Rute the Elder experienced its main architectural development in the medieval era due to its position of the border so that in its materiality we can observe the transformations derived from the process of conquest of the enclave. “However, this chronology must be qualified by the development of more numerous archaeological excavations capable of demonstrating older professions», recommends Amat.
