Archaeological site · Molina de Aragón
Prao de los Judíos (Molina de Aragón): the Jewish quarter beneath the castle
Prao de los Judíos is an archaeological site of around 1,700 square metres in the highest part of Molina de Aragón, beside the Abogalobos gate of the castle’s outer enclosure. Occupied from the Caliphate period until the 16th–17th centuries, it has been excavated since 1997, yielding plasterwork with Hebrew letters and benches that may belong to a medieval synagogue. It was Castilla-La Mancha’s first archaeological site opened to visitors.
Lands and landscapes
From here, follow the memory of the territory
These readings connect Prao de los Judíos (Molina de Aragón): the Jewish quarter beneath the castle with the history, work, and villages around it.
This place across time
Which eras you can read here
A single place can preserve traces from different eras. These layers connect what you see with the stories in the atlas.
- Municipality
- Molina de Aragón
- Province
- Guadalajara
- Altitude
- 1,082 m
- Jewish quarter
- Hebrew plasterwork
- Visitable
- Beneath the castle
A neighbourhood beneath the castle
On the slope beneath the castle of Molina de Aragón, in an area known as Prao de los Judíos, excavations have brought to light the remains of a significant urban quarter: streets, houses, workshops, and communal spaces.
Hebrew letters
During the 2000 excavation campaign, fragments of decorative plasterwork appeared, one with three letters in the Hebrew alphabet, alongside part of a capital—rare finds in a Christian town. Subsequent digs uncovered plaster benches likely belonging to a medieval synagogue. When translated, the inscriptions proved to be religious texts, some matching Psalms. Everything indicates that part of Molina’s Jewish quarter stood here, home to prominent figures like the notary Samuel.
Open to visitors
It was the first visitable archaeological site in Castilla-La Mancha, and access has been upgraded. See also the historic centre.
Location
● Reference point · ● Villages · ● Places
Location diagram. Detailed map with tracks and names loads on zoom.
Reference villages: Molina de Aragón · Castilnuevo · Rillo de Gallo · Corduente.
Open the full map and historical layers →Nearby routes
All routes →
GR-160, Camino del Cid, through the Señorío de Molina
The Camino de los Tratantes: from Molina de Aragón to Motos
