Peña Cortada Aqueduct

The Roman Aqueduct of Peña Cortada , also called La Serrada Aqueduct or La Serranía Aqueduct is one of the main and most unique monuments in Valencia.

In its municipal area there are different natural sites next to the Turia river, which runs very close to the town. The Parish Church and the Hermitage of Santa Quiteria (on the Mount of Arnacheres), are the two outstanding religious monuments, both from the 17th century .

Summary

[ hide ]

• 1 Geographical location
• 2 Description
• 3 component parts
• 4 Source

Geographic location

Location of Aqueduct of Peña Cortada

It runs through the municipalities of Tuéjar , Chelva , Calles and Domeño , in the Province of Valencia ( Spain ).

Description

This aqueduct that begins in the River Tuéjar River dam and that ends (although it is not known exactly), in the city of Sagunto, was built at the end of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd AD with the purpose of saving the ravine of the Cave of the cat. It is a 36 meter long aqueduct, which has a total height of 33 meters.

This singular monument is made up of three semicircular arches placed on several stepped pillars, which are directly based on the rock of the ravine bed, according to the famous Roman technique called opus quadratum . Its name receives it for the cut so characteristic that it has.

So far, more than 26 kilometers of remains of this monument have been discovered, but its most important point is in the ravine of Cueva del Gato. This area is highly visited by amateurs and hikers, who decide to make a walking tour above this aqueduct, its difficulty is low, so it offers the possibility of going through a series of tunnels of 200 and 300 meters in length, with a height between 1.50 and 1.90 that are excavated in the rock and that have an opening in the wall that acts as a window and that facilitates the lighting of these tunnels.

Part of the aqueduct

This important aqueduct does a double function :

• Aqueduct bridge:here several techniques are brought together to join its bridge and the honorary arch, also called the triumphal arch, in order to save the Alcotas boulevard and the Cueva del Gato ravine.
• Viaduct aqueduct: itis the water conduction system where, experts are still investigating how far the water went in this incredible monument since it is unknown.

In addition, this aqueduct has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest and is also considered one of the four main aqueducts on the Peninsula, accompanying that of Segovia, Las Ferreras de Tarragona and Los Milagros de Merida

Component parts

1. The catchment of water (Tuéjar). The water comes from the Tuéjar river. A simple dam, saeptum, perpendicular to the current, allows it to deviate directly into the channel, specus, where its initial section is carved out of rock.
2. The bridge of the ravine of the Convent (Chelva) with a single arch.
3. The bridge of the Rambla de Alcotas (Streets). Escolano in 1611 and Marés in 1681 were able to verify that this bridge had six arches. However, Cavanilles a century later, in 1795, already confirmed the existence of the only arch supported by two piles that today remains standing, as well as a third pile with the start of a second arch.
4. The bridge of the ravine of the Cueva del Gato (Streets) with three arches that constitutes the most spectacular and best preserved factory in the entire aqueduct. Its total length is 36 m., While its maximum grazing height exceeds 18 meters. Once this bridge is passed, the specus turns sharply east to continue through an impressive cut called Peña Cortada or La Serrada, since the mountain suffered an almost vertical cut of about 25 meters in height and a length of about 50 meters. The extracted rock should have been used in the construction of this aqueduct bridge.
5. Puente de la Torre de Castro (Streets) From this point, the route alternates 5 open-air sections with another 4 in gallery, bordering the eastern and northern sides of the Torre de Castro, while the remains are located in the western of an aqueduct bridge, built to save the More de Solaz ravine.
6. La Cabra ravine bridge (streets) with a single arch
7. Bridge of the ravine of El Zurdo (Streets) of which one of the machones is barely distinguishable.
8. Bridge of the Tío Roque ravine (streets) with a single arch in which the start of the machones is barely distinguishable.
9. Bridges of the Arenal ravines and the Olivera del Arquillo (streets) with a single arch, also very destroyed.
10. Channels in the municipality of Domeño, covered and uncovered.