Just a week ago, Ximo GarcÃa, 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 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)
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.