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The building is rectangular in shape, with towers rising at the corners, connected by a walkway of varying thickness and 9.65 metres in height.
The most prominent element is the Torre del Moral, which has an octagonal base. Originally, the tower's roof was flat with battlements, but in the 18th century, it was replaced by an octagonal brick vault. The last Nasrid sultan, Boabdil, was imprisoned in this tower during the Battle of Lucena (1483).
The Torre de las Damas, the Torre del Homenaje, and the Torre del Coso are also preserved. A large parade ground opens in the centre. From this courtyard, access to the Torre del Moral is via external stairs.
The entire compound is surrounded by another outer wall, six metres high and two metres thick, where the 'fosse' or 'defence corridor' is located. At the ground level of the fosse, there are numerous arrow slits, particularly in the northern and western sections of the wall. There are also others at the same level as the walkway. An Almohad gate with a pointed arch is still preserved on the north side of the wall.
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The Jewish necropolis of Lucena is the largest and best-preserved funerary site of this culture in Europe. It covers a total area of over 3,700 square metres.
It was discovered on 20 October 2006, when the new Ronda Sur was being constructed in Lucena. The discovery was entirely by chance, as a local citizen was walking his dog on the Cerro Hacho, which had a human femur in its mouth. The police and the municipal archaeologist were notified and it was confirmed that the bone came from a Jewish cemetery dating between the year 1000 and 1050. At that time, Lucena was known as Elí Hoshaná, the "Pearl of Sefarad". These were times of great Jewish prosperity in the city.
In total, 346 graves were discovered. Of these, 196 contained the remains of the deceased, oriented towards Jerusalem. One of them was a man who measured between 2 and 2.20 metres tall, possibly suffering from gigantism. The University of Granada studied these remains. Among the archaeological finds was one of the few Jewish tombstones found in the Iberian Peninsula. Its inscriptions were analysed by Dr. Jordi Casanovas Miró, a scholar of Semitic Philology. Today, this tombstone (dating from the 8th and 9th centuries) can be seen at the Lucena Interpretation Centre.
The remains from the graves were exhumed, however, the Jewish community protested. Finally, in December 2011, it was decided to reinter these remains according to Jewish ritual, with the support of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain. The area occupied by the necropolis thus remains a sacred place.
Later, preparations began to open the site to the public. The perimeter of the area was fenced in. A Wailing Wall was built. Information panels about the Sephardic community in Spain and Lucena, and the Talmudic school, were also installed.
Researchers identified three types of graves and two subtypes:
Four types of graves were recreated according to the different burial methods discovered.
On 27 September 2013, the necropolis was opened to the public, being one of the few that can be visited, along with those of Plasencia and Segovia.
Thanks to the discovery of this necropolis and its enhancement, Lucena belongs to the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain.
