Catenary vault houses in the Sierra de Guadarrama during the Spanish civil war

Abstract

During the Spanish Civil War, the need arose to build adequate winter accommodation for combatants in the Guadarrama mountains to replace the shacks used until then. Various solutions were tried out, such as flat-roofed housing, some of them armoured or barracks of various types. In late 1937, on the front covered by the 72th division of the national army, specific houses with catenary vaults were built. They were versatile, easy and quick to build and in case of need they could be armoured and turned into shelters or pillboxes. They were built in relative abundance in that sector of the front and it seems that they did not have continuity after the war. We have a scarce knowledge about them, beyond their mere enumeration in the bibliography and some specific article of time. So, that we know derives mainly from information obtained from the study of their remains and some archival documents.