The watchtower in Los Alcázares has become a graphic reflection of centuries of history in the Mar Menor area

Graffiti is a phenomenon which is generally associated with youngsters in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, some of them graduating into the category of “street artists”, but in fact people have been scribbling on the walls of public buildings – prisons, castles, fortresses and others – for centuries, and one example on the coastline of the Mar Menor is the Torre del Rame in Los Alcázares.

The 16th-century watchtower fell into disuse many years ago, but among the drawings found on the walls are human figures, boats, ships, religious motifs and even Spanish Civil War aeroplanes, an unofficial graphic record of the history of the area, and these images and inscriptions are now the subject of an exhibition which can be seen on 16 information panels outside the ARQUA national underwater archaeology museum in Cartagena until 22^nd June.

The title of the exhibition is “Los grafitos de la Torre del Rame. Cuatro siglos mirando al Mar Menor” (Graffiti of the Torre de Rame, Four Centuries Overlooking the Mar Menor) and is based on a publication by researchers Gregorio Castejón y Gregorio Rabal in 2022.

They identified around 300 pieces of graffiti on the tower, some of them dating back to the 17^th century when it was first built under the auspices of the Bienvengud family. Some of these graffiti were made with charcoal, some are carved into the stone, and they often show military and nautical themes, as is to be expected from the military men who watched out over the lagoon to warn the local population of any incoming raiders from north Africa.

In the book they published Castejón and Rabal analyse the graffiti in detail and relate them to the history of the Campo de Cartagena and the Mar Menor, which for a long time was dominated by the Berber raiders (who are now remembered every year in the annual Berber Pirates fiestas of Los Alcázares) – both the exhibition and the book are recommended for those keen to delve into the history of the town!

For more local information contact the tourist offices in Los Alcázares or go to the home page of Los Alcázares Today.

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