The Roman Dam of Consuegra

A few kilometres from the village, towards the Montes de Toledo, lie the remains of a dam that the Town Hall presents as the longest in Roman Hispania: more than 600 metres of wall, with buttresses and a small vaulted passage that may have served as a spillway. It is an outdoor visit, in the countryside, with views over the plain of vines, cereals and olive trees and the mountains. Ask at the tourist office how to get there by the tracks.

Why there is a dam here

In Roman times Consuegra was Consabura, an important city: the tourist office recalls that it had a circus, an aqueduct, a great dam and stood on the road known as the Via Laminium. In La Mancha water has always been scarce, and that lack of rivers with real flow meant enormous resources had to be invested to impound water, taking advantage of the slight slope of the southern plateau. Only a rich population with political weight could afford a public work like this, which is why the dam is the best proof of what the city became.

What you see

Of the wall, more than 600 metres from end to end, a good part is preserved in good condition. What stands out most is how it is built: on very powerful foundations rise buttresses that reinforced the wall where the water pushed hardest, so that it would not burst. You can still make out, perpendicular to the wall, a small vaulted passage that may have served as a spillway when the impounded water exceeded the dam's capacity. It is a feat of engineering that surprises with its precision.

The other reason to go is the landscape: from the dam you can see where the Montes de Toledo meet the plain of La Mancha, with vines, cereals, market gardens and olive groves. It is a visit in open country.

Before you go

Access is by rural tracks and the municipal website gives no precise directions, so ask for the route at the tourist office in the Bolero windmill, which from October to May is open from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 15:30 to 18:00, and from June to September from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:30 to 19:00 (925 47 57 31). In summer go first thing or at dusk, with water and a hat, and wear shoes for dirt tracks. The visit is self-guided and free.

What to combine it with

The remains that came out of Consabura can be seen in the Archaeological Museum, in the Los Corredores building on Plaza de España, alongside pieces from the Islamic period and the Order of St John. Return to the village to climb Calderico hill, with the twelve windmills and La Muela castle, and have lunch at El Alfar, in a former pottery workshop.