What About Water?
On a small island surrounded by the sea, where would hundreds of soldiers get water to drink? They had to collect rainwater.
Most of Castillo San Cristobal’s water was stored directly beneath your feet. The masonry cylinders in front of you enclose wells that gave access to five huge cisterns, each 57 feet long, 24 feet high, and 17 feet wide.
Combined, San Cristobal’s cisterns can hold about 870,000 gallons of water. Every floor and roof in the fortification was designed to catch rain and drain it to these water-holding tanks.
The Spaniards understood the importance of clean water. Animals were banned from the fortresses to avoid contamination, and lining the tanks with limestone helped keep water clean.
Marker is on Bulevar del Valle.
Courtesy hmdb.org
