Torres Balbás identified al-Qasr Ibn Sa‘d with the Castillejo de Monteagudo. This palace was probably built during the reign of Ibn Mardanish (1147–1172). The courtyard had a cross-shaped garden with two square ponds at the ends of the main axis, first erroneously identified as pavilions. The archaeological remains studied by Navarro Palazón and Jiménez Castillo, including a vast pool measuring 161 m by 136 m (mentioned in 1450 in Christian documents), irrigation acequias, an enclosed orchard, an aqueduct, etc., show that the palace was located within an important estate. Another palace known as Larache (al-Hisn al-Faradj) is located 500 m from the Castillejo.
The palace was destroyed by the Almohads, who conquered Murcia in 1172 and devastated the surrounding vega.
Source: Court Chronicle, 12th century | Archaeological Analysis, 1924
-Antonio Almagro, Luis Ramón-Laca
Resources:
El Castillejo de Monteagudo: Qasr ibn-Sa’d (Open in Zotero)
Originally published at: Almagro, Antonio, and Luis Ramón-Laca. “Castillejo de Monteagudo.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, November 18, 2014. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/catalogue#b_start=0&c6=Andalusian++Gardens. Archived at: https://perma.cc/J8KF-DV5P
