Arrabalde

Arrabalde is a Spanish municipality and place in the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is located in the northern area of the province, within the Benavente region. and Los Valles, and has a population of 218 inhabitants (INE 2022).

History

Its history extends from the most remote antiquity, with the presence of a Neolithic dolmen, with an Asturian settlement from the Iron Age and during the Roman conquest, located in the Las Labradas fort. In the vicinity of this town, Don Victorino Llordén, lawyer from Benavente and antiquarian, found the Treasure of Arrabalde, one of the most important pre-Roman treasures in Spain, which is today exhibited in the Provincial Museum of Zamora. In 2020, remains of a Roman-era military camp were found in the area.

During the Middle Ages Arrabalde was integrated into the Kingdom of León, whose monarchs would have undertaken the repopulation of the town.

Later, in the Modern Age, Arrabalde was one of the towns that were integrated into the province of the Lands of the Count of Benavente and within this in the Merindad de la Polvorosa and the receivership of Benavente. However, at After the provinces were restructured and the current ones were created in 1833, the town became part of the province of Zamora, within the Leonese Region, being integrated in 1834 into the judicial district of Benavente.

Demography

Graphic of demographic evolution of Arrabalde between 1842 and 2021

Rule population (1842-1991, except 1857 and 1860 which is a de facto population) or resident population (2001-2011) according to the Population Censuses since 1842.Population according to the municipal register of 2021 of the INE.

Heritage

Treasure

Two important treasures were found in the Castro de las Labradas, one in August 1980 and another in 1988.

It is made up of more than fifty pieces of gold and silver that are preserved in the Zamora Museum. Sheltered in a large ceramic vessel, a good number of fibulas, torcs, bracelets, pendants, earrings, rings, diadems or girdles appeared.. all of it made of gold and silver and with a total weight of about 12 kilos. Among these objects, a spiral-shaped silver bracelet and a gold fibula of the Hispanic annular type stand out, as well as various objects from Celtiberian culture, prior to the pre-Romanesque.

Dolmen

«El Casetón de los Moros» or «La Casa de los Moros», are the two names used to designate the dolmen that is located 1 km northwest of the urban area of Arrabalde. It is located on the upper terrace of the Eria River, a place from which the valley created by the course of this river is dominated.

The dolmen was very deteriorated due to the intense agricultural work in the area in which it is located. Five orthostats were still standing, although during the excavation one more was found that had fallen into its interior, along with four foundation trenches belonging to as many blocks that are missing. Furthermore, during its excavation, the corridor was discovered that oriented towards the southeast and that facilitated the cataloging of this dolmen within the variety of corridor tomb.

Its excavation could only document its existence, since it lacked a tumulus and had completely disappeared, having been subject to several removals. In this way, it could only be documented that inside the chamber there were several post holes and a hearth with coals. Few were the archaeological materials recovered that were used as grave goods deposited next to the dead, such as several flint tools, a polished stone ax and parts of some ornamental objects, such as a pair of discoid slate necklace beads and a bead of variscite.