El Turmielo (Aragoncillo): watchtower and shelter of early Molina history

Two archaeological sites in one

Near Aragoncillo, along the Camino de los Carboneros, lie El Turmielo I, a small elevated settlement that functioned as a defensive watchtower, and El Turmielo II, a rock shelter beneath the cliff. Excavated between 1993 and 1995, their findings were published in the archaeological journal Kalathos, documenting prehistoric settlement patterns in the Molina mountains.

Archaeological significance

Researchers presented the site as evidence of functional diversification of settlement types during the proto-Celtiberian period, preceding the full Iron Age: not all sites were fortified villages; some operated as specialized lookout outposts, pastoral shelters, or workshops. Together with the nearby village of El Palomar, the adjacent site of La Pedriza, and the Cerrada de los Santos cemetery, it forms one of the most comprehensive archaeological micro-regions in the area.

Read more in the Celtiberians of the Alto Tajo.

Visiting

A clear distinction must be made: among all the Celtiberian hillforts in the Señorío, only two are genuinely prepared for visitors, El Ceremeño in Herrería and Peña Moñuz in Olmeda de Cobeta. El Turmielo has received little conditioning for the public: it is unadapted, virtually unsignposted, and what remains visible on the surface is very difficult to interpret without specialist guidance. If you visit, stay on the paths, do not climb on the walls, and do not remove anything from the ground.