The location of a 10th-century stronghold associated with the reign of the Muslim military leader Almanzor, an outpost long thought lost to history, may have finally been discovered.
After centuries of uncertainty, the announcement arrives based on data obtained using LiDAR by researcher Antonio Monterroso Checa, an Associate Professor of Archaeology with the University of Córdoba in Andalusia, Spain.
The remarkable findings, if confirmed, could settle a longstanding debate about the location of the lost city of Almanzor, a near-mythical fortification formally known as Madinat al Zāhira. The LiDAR data behind Monterroso Checa’s research was made possible by the National Geographic Institute of Spain, as reported in a new paper that appeared in Meridies: Studies in the History and Heritage of the Middle Ages.
Uncovering Lost Madinat al Zāhira
Over the years, theories about the location of Madinat al Zāhira have led to more than twenty areas where scholars have believed it may have existed. The theories, driven largely by a fascination with the fabled “lost city” as an emblem of the region’s history and topography, have persisted despite the absence of any archaeological evidence to support them.
“A widespread opinion, devoid of any empirical proof, maintains that Almanzor’s city must be nestled right next to Cordoba on its eastern border,” Monterroso Checa writes in his study. “Until now, the documentation has been sparse, confusing, biased, and interpreted through a topographical exegesis based on literary sources that, while useful as readily available evocations, were not intended for this purpose.”
Based on information that first came to light in 2023, it was believed the city could have been in Eastern Córdoba, approximately 12 kilometers from the city’s Mosque-Cathedral (shown in the artistic depiction above) near Alcolea.
Adding LiDAR into the mix, Monterroso Checa now says that the data enabled him to confirm this long-held suspicion about the location of Madinat al-Zahra, in addition to expanding the area that the 10th century city would have occupied, revealing an area—approximately 120 hectares—that is a close match for expectations based on historical information on Madinat al-Zahra.
Discovery at a 15th-century Historical Site
The location suspected to be the original site of Madinat al-Zahra, according to Monterroso Checa, is associated with the Pendolillas hills, an area known from historical records dating back to the 15th century.
Monterroso Checa has already been using LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, to reveal hidden features of the region’s archaeology. In 2019, Monterroso Checa already received attention for his important work using LiDAR to digitally recreate the geomorphology of Córdoba and the surrounding area.
Expanding on that earlier work by employing digital elevation models derived from open-access LiDAR data made available by the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN), Monterroso Checa built on models that incorporated historical analysis and other information from studies of Madinat al-Zahra.
Now, along with the locations of hundreds of other archaeological sites in Córdoba province, he believes the location of Madinat al-Zahra has finally been uncovered.
Anomalies in the Data
Upon deeper examination of the region, the LiDAR data has revealed what Monterroso Checa characterizes as “a series of anomalies” that are apparent in the surrounding terrain.
Monterroso Checa has concluded that these unusual features “are produced by the existence, in the subsoil and in elevation, of a huge archaeological site which, due to its characteristics, must correspond to the lost city of Almanzor.”
The anomalies uncovered in the LiDAR data are believed to indicate the likely presence of several large structures, including a terraced layout and floor-plan-like features, suggesting the location is perhaps the strongest candidate yet for Almanzor’s fabled “lost city.”
“We rely on the only valid and validated evidence possible,” Monterroso Checa writes in his recent study, adding that “the physical anomalies identified by the millions of data points” all align with the location of royal stud farming operations known since the Late Middle Ages.
“We propose as a hypothesis that the remains located there may correspond to the city of Almanzor,” Monterroso Checa concludes.
The recent study, “Proposed location of Madinat Al-Zahira in the easternmost part of Córdoba,” was published in Meridies. Studies in the History and Heritage of the Middle Ages on January 22, 2026.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.