Castell de Bufalaranya: A Medieval Fortification in Roses, Spain
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Carolingian
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page12 sections
History
Castell de Bufalaranya is a medieval fortification in Roses, Spain, broadly constructed in the tenth century as part of the high-medieval landscape of the Empordà. The castle is documented from that century as a possession of Sant Pere de Rodes, a major medieval monastery whose ownership placed the site within a wider territorial and defensive network.
Pinna Nigra and Sant Pere de Rodes
The castle is generally identified with Pinna Nigra, meaning “Black Rock.” This name appears in documents concerning Sant Pere de Rodes and the castle of Verdera, whose territory included Bufalaranya. Count Gausfred I of Empúries-Roussillon included Pinna Nigra in a major donation to the monastery in 974. The name also occurs in papal confirmations of 974 and 990, and in a ratifying charter issued by the Frankish king Lothair in 982. Lothair’s charter confirmed the relevant territorial arrangement.
Construction is usually assigned to the tenth century, although an earlier phase, possibly from the eighth or ninth century, has also been proposed. The exact sequence remains uncertain, but the castle’s high-medieval character is clear. Its position may have given it a coastal-surveillance role. From the hill, it controlled views over the Bay of Roses and part of the Alt Empordà plain, while an opening in the keep’s eastern wall provided visual communication with Mount Pení, where a coastal lookout may have stood.
Later occupation and changing names
The castle was once believed to have been abandoned during the eleventh century. Archaeological campaigns instead established that occupation continued until the fourteenth century. A later reform and enlargement may account for the transition from the earlier name Pinna Nigra to names used in later medieval and early-modern documents.
Bufagranges is recorded in the fourteenth century, while Brufaganyes or Brufaganya appears by the seventeenth century. A deformed form of the name occurs in documents from 1798 to 1802, before the present name became established in the nineteenth century.
Archaeological importance and protection
Excavation has revealed substantial parts of the keep, rooms, southern wall sectors, and several entrances. These investigations changed the interpretation of the site’s period of use and helped establish its importance for understanding early medieval fortifications in the Empordà.
Castell de Bufalaranya received protection under Spanish historical-heritage measures in 1949 and 1988. In Catalonia it is classified as a Cultural Asset of National Interest with the status of a historic monument, a cultural-heritage designation it has held since 1988.
Remains
The castle occupies the summit of a steep, roughly conical hill associated with Serrat de Can Berta, above the Vall de la Trencada. Its irregular layout follows the pronounced changes in the ground and is organized on two stepped platforms. The upper platform lies at the northern end, while the lower platform forms the main enclosed area around it.
Upper platform and keep
Rectangular keep
The upper platform contains a rectangular keep measuring approximately 11 by 7 metres. Its walls survive to more than 3 metres in height and retain broad arrow-slit openings, some about 1.80 metres wide. The keep is built mainly from roughly aligned, unworked black slate slabs. Several wall courses use slabs laid diagonally, and a large ornamental area employs opus spicatum, a herringbone pattern made by setting stones or slabs in angled courses.
A large central pier once supported the keep’s wooden roof, and sockets for the roof structure remain visible in a side wall. Openings in the eastern wall include one used for visual communication toward Mount Pení. Two rectangular windows differ in size, although their lintels are aligned at the same level.
Adjoining buildings
A narrower rectangular building was attached to the south of the keep, where its foundations survive. Another building of similar character stood farther south. Together with the keep, these northern structures belong to a sector datable to the ninth or tenth century.
Lower enclosure and defensive works
Perimeter wall
The lower platform was enclosed by an irregular perimeter wall, including along the northern side. The wall is more poorly preserved than the keep and has a facing of small stones, with several irregular stretches of opus spicatum. The best-preserved sections are on the north and east, where small openings are arranged regularly at two levels. Their facings use unworked slate set in irregular courses, and the small arrow slits are formed by simple slabs placed parallel to one another.
Southwestern building and southeastern spaces
A narrow rectangular building is attached to the southwestern side of the enclosure. It has an entrance on the east and survives in a substantially ruined state. At the southeastern side, another enclosed space has a trapezoidal plan. A courtyard at the southeastern end distributed internal routes through the enclosure.
Eastern entrance and ditches
The entrance is on the eastern side, at the southeastern corner of the wall. Its approach passage is flanked by walls whose masonry includes herringbone-patterned facing. A double ditch, partly cut into the bedrock, protects the northern side, where the ground between the hill and Serrat de Can Berta provides the most accessible approach.
The surviving remains include structures preserved at different heights, nearly the entire irregular perimeter wall, the keep, foundations of adjoining buildings, rooms, gates, wall sectors, and the rock-cut defensive ditches.
