Cova de l'Aigua
The Cova de l'Aigua ( Valencian ; Spanish: Cueva del Agua ; water cave) is a cave on the northern slope of the Montgó mountain range in Spain. It is located in the district of the city of Dénia , Alicante province , in the north of the Costa Blanca . Water that escapes from the mountain collects in the cave. The Cova de l'Aigua is of archaeological and historical importance. The slope in its immediate vicinity is home to a large number of, in some cases rare or endemic, plant species and is therefore under special protection.
location
The Cova de l'Aigua lies at a height of about 350 msnm at the foot of a vertical rock face made of limestone of the Cretaceous Turon stage . From the entrance the view goes north to the port city of Dénia and the Gulf of Valencia, which is 2.5 km away. The cave is located in the nature reserve " Parque Natural del Montgó ".
The flora micro-reserve "Cova de l'Aigua"
The vegetation around the cave is under special protection. One of four flora micro-reserves (Microrreserva de Flora; Natura 2000 area) of the nature park has been set up here. It serves to protect typical plant communities that are rich in endemic , i.e. regionally narrowly occurring species.
The 4.4 hectare micro-reserve of the Cova de l'Aigua is home to two very species-rich plant communities. One of them with the scientific name Hippocrepido-Scabiosetum saxatilis settles on rocky ground. Some plants specialize in taking root in narrow crevices in the rock. This includes the following endemic species: the Brillenschötchen -Art Biscutella montana , the Marsh -Art Scabiosa saxatilis , the Valencian horseshoe vetch Hippocrepis valentina and toadflax -Art Linaria cavanillesii . The most important populations of the thistle species Carduncellus dianius , named after the city of Dénia and only found in the mountains near the sea in the comarca (district) Marina Alta and on Ibiza , are found on the slopes of Montgó.
The second plant community, Querco-Pistacietum lentisci, settles below the vertical rock face on the north side of the Montgó, in a shady and relatively humid location. These include species such as the Western Mediterranean butcher's broom Ruscus hypophyllum and the blue-green yellow germander Teucrium flavum subsp. glaucum .
Archeology and history
In the cave, fragments of pottery and painted Iberian pottery were found, indicating that the cave was used in the Iron Age. At that time there was a fortified Iberian hilltop settlement on the ridge of the Montgó. There were also fragments of Roman ceramics, including lamps from the 4th to 5th centuries AD. It is not known whether the cave was used for religious purposes or otherwise. Fragments of vessels that were used to store liquids come from the Arab period .
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the cave was built with walls as a cistern . Inside the cave, water leaks from the mountain. Part of the slope below was supplied with water through long pipes made of clay pipes, remains of which are still preserved.
Roman inscription
In front of the cave entrance, a Roman inscription from around AD 238 is carved into the rock on the left side under a ledge. It consists of the following text:
CIVLVRBANVSVET
PRINCVEXILLEGVII
GEMPF [] ISS
CVMSVISAD [] CIOVA [] ER [] A
NOCOSLA [] F [] VSDO
NATVSOPTIOFC
Places where the letters can no longer be read are marked with "[]".
The text is supplemented as follows (according to the epigraphic database of the Institute for Ancient History at Heidelberg University):
C (aius) Iul (ius) Urbanus vet (eranus) / princ (eps) vexil (lationis) leg (ionis) VII / gem (inae) p (iae) f (elicis) [[M [a] xim [i] n (ianae)]] [m] iss (us) / cum suis a D [e] cio Va [l] er [i] a / no co (n) s (ulari) L (ucius) A [l] f [i] us Do / natus optio f (aciendum) c (uravit)
The inscription shows that a vexillation (army division) of the Legio VII Gemina Pia Felix Maximiniana stayed in the area. It was supposed to secure a section of the coast in the civil war year 238 under the leadership of Caius Iulius Urbanus. This is an indication of the importance that the Montgó had strategically and for monitoring the area. The city of Dénia already existed under the name Dianium at that time.
Access
From the entrance to the nature park at the Pare Pere chapel, a marked and signposted 1.9 km hiking trail leads to the cave. A flashlight is required to see the rear of the cave.
literature
Gerardo Stübing Martínez and Antonio Estévez (coordination): Estudio multidisciplinar del Parque Natural del Montgó (Alicante) . Generalitat Valenciana, Agència del Medi Ambient, Valencia 1991, ISBN 84-7890-347-X
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.cma.gva.es/admon/normativa/legislacion/legis/OrdenMicro4-5-1999.htm
- ↑ http://edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de/edh/inschrift/HD004805
Coordinates: 38 ° 48 ′ 52 ″ N , 0 ° 6 ′ 34 ″ E