Air Alley Archaeological Site

The Callejón del Aire site is one of the most important archaeological sites in Villanueva de la Fuente for understanding the historical evolution of the urban center from Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages.

It is located in the heart of the historic center, in a space now integrated into the hamlet, This gives it special value: beneath the current structure lie vestiges that allow us to reconstruct a long sequence of occupation and understand how this place was shaped over the centuries. Its interest lies precisely in this layering of phases and its capacity to reveal the historical depth of the population.

The excavations carried out at this point made it possible to identify remains that span from Iberian and Roman times to medieval times, with the structures linked to the fortress of the place being especially relevant.

Thanks to this work it has been possible to locate on this site a part of the old castle of Villanueva de la Fuente, whose exact location was barely known for a long time.

Although only a small part of the site has been excavated, the site has provided fundamental information for understanding the defensive organization of the settlement, the existence of walls and outer walls, as well as the processes of transformation, siege, destruction and abandonment that marked the history of the enclave in the final centuries of the Middle Ages.

A visit to Callejón del Aire allows you to get closer to a less visible, but essential, dimension of the heritage of Villanueva de la Fuente.

It is not a large monument preserved in its original form, but an archaeological site that helps to understand the subsoil of the town and to imagine the complexity of its historical phases.

In this sense, it fits very well within a route that also includes Los Toriles, Mentesa Oretana and the area around the source of the river, since together they offer a very complete view of the continuity of settlement in this sector of Campo de Montiel.