1794 fort uses 2,000-year-extinct cyclopean masonry. Built in 1794, over 2,000 years after cyclopean construction went extinct in Europe Located at Pancorbo Gorge, the gate into the Basque country Built for the War of the Convention against the French, which Spain lost
In 1794, Spain built the La Fortaleza del Crestón at Pancorbo Gorge. Star-fort with bastions and ditches, designed to stop the French during the War of the Convention. Rushed construction used dry-stacked blocks to resist cannon fire.
Key Facts
- Built in 1794, over 2,000 years after cyclopean construction went extinct in Europe
- Located at Pancorbo Gorge, the gate into the Basque country
- Built for the War of the Convention against the French, which Spain lost
- It's a star-fort with bastions and ditches - the most up-to-date design of the time
- Built in a rush with less excellent stonework due to time pressure
- Spanish army was failing at containing revolutionary French forces in 1794
- Designed to withstand cannon fire using a technique that predated cannons by millennia
- Proved that cyclopean walls can resist cannon fire despite being built for pre-cannon warfare
Related site: La Fortaleza del Crestón — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: The Puzzling Basque Case - How did they know? by One-eyed giant building walls