Tudelaun castillo del reino de Asturias en el entorno de la corte de Oviedo. Avance de la investigación arqueológica

Resum

The castle of Tudela is one of the most important and significant fortresses of the kingdom of Asturias. Along with the castle of Gauzón, Tudela is a fundamental site to understand better the process of formation and expansion of the kingdom, of special interest to unveil some riddles about the location and creation of the court of Oviedo in particular, and about the territorial configuration of the central space of the region from a more general perspective.According to the chronicles, it was built by Alfonso III around 883 in the vicinity of Oviedo to control and protect the ways to the royal capital. From then until the 15th century it played an important political, military and socioeconomic role in central Asturias.The castle is located in the Picu Castiellu, on the village of La Fócara (Olloniego, Oviedo), located on a hill of high strategic value controlling the valley of the Nalón River and the old road to León through the passes of the mountain. At the top of it many building structures are recognized: moats, embankments and enclosing walls, along with a central tower, the main building of the castle.We present in this congress a first advance of the preliminary archaeological stu-dies proposed in the site, centered on the analysis of some mortar samples taken in the walled enclosure and in the central tower.