Female burial found among 23 warrior monks of the Order of Calatrava in Guadalajara

By:
Mark Milligan
Date:

June 3, 2024
Anthropology

A study led by archaeologists from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Max Planck Institute has found a female burial among the remains of 23 warrior monks of the Order of Calatrava in Guadalajara.

The Order of Calatrava was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order in Castile. The order was founded as a military branch of the Cistercian family at Calatrava la Vieja in Castile during the 12th century by St. Raymond of Fitero.

The burials were exhumed in a cemetery associated with the Castle of Zorita de los Canes-Alcazaba de Zorita, a large fortress in the Province of Guadalajara in Spain’s autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha.

The castle was first built by the emir Muhammad I of Córdoba in the year 852 to defend the passage of the Tagus river through the Santaver cora. In 1174, Alfonso VIII of Castile granted the fortress of Zorita to the newly established Order of Calatrava, which continued to use it as a stronghold against Almohad incursions.

More:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/06/female-burial-found-among-23-warrior-monks-of-the-order-of-calatrava-in-guadalajara/152160