The Medieval Studies Seminar (SEM) – 2026 Edition, dedicated in its second semester to the theme “Warfare in the Middle Ages”, will open its programme with a lecture by specialist José Maria Tejado, researcher at the University of La Rioja, entitled “Ver, oír y avisar: torres, atalayas y comunicación en la guerra medieval: arquitectura de la vigilancia en red y sistemas sonoros en la articulación del territorio.”
The session will take place on 15 September (Tuesday) at 3:00 pm, in webinar format.
Abstract
This paper proposes an approach to warfare in the Late Antique and medieval periods within the context of controlling contested territories, considering it not merely as armed conflict, but as a system of perception, surveillance and communication articulated across space, based on a long-term analysis spanning the 5th to the 14th centuries. Within this framework, towers and watchtowers are analysed as devices integrated into networks of intervisibility, whose effectiveness depends less on their individual presence than on their relative position and their ability to detect, transmit and relay warning signals over long distances.
This visual dimension is complemented by a less explored aspect: the soundscape of warfare. The use of horns, trumpets and other instruments is interpreted as part of a technical repertoire aimed at transmitting orders and coordinating actions in contexts of close proximity, with a limited range — several kilometres under optimal conditions — but effective in situations requiring immediate operational coordination.
From this perspective, the paper proposes the existence of a hybrid visual and acoustic system, in which the two modes do not replace one another but operate complementarily according to their range and function, jointly contributing to the control of space and the organisation of military action. The proposal is based on the archaeological analysis of the Iregua Valley, a tributary of the Ebro (Iberus), where research carried out over more than two decades makes it possible to examine, from a long-term perspective, the territorial articulation of these devices and their transformations throughout the period under consideration.
About the Speaker
An archaeologist and researcher specialising in territorial organisation during the Late Antique and Early Medieval periods, with a particular focus on the northern Iberian Peninsula. His work centres on the archaeological analysis of control structures — such as hillforts, towers and watchtowers — understood not merely as defensive elements, but as nodes connecting landscapes and networks of communication and information.
He has participated in numerous research projects and archaeological excavation campaigns, both nationally and internationally. His approach combines stratigraphic study with territorial analysis, paying particular attention to the relationship between settlement, visibility and control of space. He was a Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación Research Fellow (2014) and undertook pre-doctoral research stays at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (under the supervision of Sauro Gelichi) and post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford (with Chris Wickham).
As a lecturer, he is based at the University of La Rioja, where he teaches History and Geography Didactics within the field of Social Sciences.