Alcazaba of Almeria
Pedro Gurriarán Daza, Salvador Garcia Villalobos
The northern front of Alcazaba presented serious pathological problems, which required an urgent restoration work. We must point out that it is an element that, although it had received some specific interventions recently, as a whole it had not received much attention. In this way, we find walls and towers with their constructive formalization prior to any restoration, with many centuries of abandonment in their mortars. The need for this project seems forced to all intents and purposes, with the aim of scientifically consolidating these materials.
In addition, this will be a good opportunity to delve into the evolution of the monument by studying its wall stratigraphies, in those areas that are preserved with hardly any contamination. On the other hand, and taking into account the resounding restoration works that have been undertaken on other parts of the Alcazaba, this project will serve as a reflection and, even, a possible guideline for other interventions to be developed in the future in other defensive sectors.
The following project intended to define the guidelines for the restoration of a flanking tower on the southern front of the Alcazaba de Almería, specifically, in the fortress's first enclosure. This action demands the existence of a set of pathologies of a certain size, which make the state of conservation of this construction quite precarious. It was restored a little over three decades ago, however, many of the solutions used then have not been satisfactory or have led to the appearance of new problems recently.
Following, this restoration project is presented in order to establish the consolidation of the tower of the first enclosure of the Alcazaba. The following initial objectives were adopted: Advance the knowledge of the monument; Guarantee its protection and conserve the monument adequately and coherently with the original historical and technological criteria; Eradicate security problems, avoiding the detachment and fall of construction material on the slopes of the Alcazaba, with the consequent risk for pedestrians.
