The Roman legion that left its mark on León

The Walls of León, a Roman fortification dating back to the 1st century, once housed a Roman legion. The Legio VI was established there to control the Astur population of the area, and the Legio VII rebuilt the walls in stone in 74 AD. Over time, the walls were repaired and expanded, with medieval additions in the 13th and 14th centuries. Only the original Roman wall remains today, with the medieval stone wall surrounding it. The wall is located near the intersection of the rivers Bernesga and Torío, and was originally made of wood and an earth rampart with a V-shaped ditch.

The medieval stone wall left the south and part of the west side of the late Roman walls intact. Sources say the wall thickness varied between 1.8 and 2 meters, and it was reinforced by square towers protruding slightly into the interior. The wall was originally 6 meters wide and 4.25 meters high, with the initial defensive structure consisting of a series of three defensive elements: the ditch, the wall, and an earth bank attached to the inner face of the wall.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons