DISCOVERED - AN AQUEDUCT THAT SUPPLIED DRINKING WATER TO ALLON, THE ROMAN CITY OF VILA JOIOSA

The finding confirms the hypothesis from the Municipal Service of Archaeology of  La Vila that Allon was supplied from the Font del Ribàs, as it was centuries later in la Vila Joiosa until 1909.


Just a week ago, Ximo García, a resident ofLa Vila, informed the Municipal Archaeology Service of Vila Joiosa that in the partida of Partidor he knew of the existence of a ditch, and that, in his opinion, it could be Roman. After the visit of technicians of the Municipal Service it has been verified that, indeed, it was the Roman aqueduct that supplied water to the city of Allon.
So far, three preserved sections of 3.9 m, 4 m and 6.5 m in length have been located, along a total of 49 m. It is a water channel built at ground level cutting through the geological terrain. Its channelling is made with opus caementicium (Roman concrete) creating a central channel (specus) lined with a mortar called signinum, a mortar made with small pieces of crushed ceramic that made it waterproof; it was also used to plaster the walls of Roman pools and water tanks.
The channel measures an average of half a Roman foot (about 15 cm) in width and height, and the total concrete structure is 2 Roman feet wide (about 60 cm). Once built, it was covered with flat tiles and some fragments can still be found in the area. The slope of the aqueduct is 0.3%, very similar to the average of many Roman aqueducts, such as the one in the city of Carthage. This low slope was necessary so that the water did not stagnate and could run down by gravity, although without too much force.
Following his first visit to the recent discovery, Xente Sebastiá, Councillor of Historical Heritage of Vila Joiosa, said "The total extension of the aqueduct from the Font de Ribàs to the Imperial Baths of Allon is about 1600 m, so it almost certainly supplied the hot and cold pools of this monument, which was discovered in 2006, as well as various fountains from the Roman city to the beach".  The channel ran along the right hand side of the river of the La Vila, on the edge of the slope of its riverbed, where the sections have been located. This position means that when parts of the slope have fallen during centuries, some sections have been lost. Roman engineers, as indicated by Pliny (writer and soldier of the first century A.C.) sought quality spring waters whose volume supplied the needs of each city according to its size.
The discovery has a great importance for the history of La Vila Joiosa, since it confirms the theory( proposed by the archaeologist Antonio Espinosa in his doctoral thesis in 1996), that this source that supplied the Roman population, later, continued to supply the town founded in 1301. This theory gained strength with Diego Ruiz's study of the large baths of Canalejas Street in 2010, and it’s now confirmed with the discovery of the canal.  At the moment no arches have been found to support it. The preserved sections have the appearance of a modern ditch, although covered.
After the communication of the finding to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, the Department of Historical Heritage, through the Municipal Service of Archaeology, now proposes an intensive investigation with the help of a drone, since it is presumed that more sections are preserved.; Later there will be a project of excavation, documentation, virtualization of the remains and consolidation of the sections located to prevent their deterioration, since the situation on the side of the river makes them exposed to strong runoff that could mean the loss of part of the located structures.

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arqueología