{"id":510,"date":"2019-12-02T11:09:29","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T10:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/?page_id=510"},"modified":"2025-12-11T06:59:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T05:59:21","slug":"14-torre-del-descargador","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/14-torre-del-descargador\/","title":{"rendered":"14 &#8211; Torre del Descargador"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-510-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/audio\/04-en-moncayo.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/audio\/04-en-moncayo.mp3\">https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/audio\/04-en-moncayo.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\r\n<p>On <strong>El Moncaio<\/strong> beach, just three kilometres south of the town of Guardamar del<br \/>Segura, lies an outstanding archaeological site that spans more than a thousand years of<br \/>history. Only a few steps from the sea stand two closely connected landmarks: The<br \/><strong>Roman Villa of Moncaio<\/strong> and the<strong> Torre del Descarregador<\/strong>, an Andalusi coastal<br \/>fortification. Excavations at both locations reveal a long Roman occupation followed by<br \/>a medieval Islamic phase.<\/p>\r\n<p>The earliest settlement was a <strong>rural Roman villa<\/strong>, occupied from at least the 1st to the<br \/>5th centuries AD, probably devoted to farming and the use of marine resources.<br \/>Remains include a large water cistern, a courtyard with side rooms, sturdy masonry<br \/>walls and a lime kiln. Its layout is striking: a complex, axial plan of square rooms<br \/>aligned along a broad corridor facing the sea, ending in <strong>two spacious apsidal<\/strong><br \/><strong>chambers<\/strong> typical of 4th-century villas, designed for receptions and social gatherings.<\/p>\r\n<p>After a period of abandonment and spoliation, a <strong>small rural mosque<\/strong> was built here in<br \/>the 10th century, its mihrab carefully oriented toward Mecca to serve a scattered<br \/>Muslim population along the coast.<\/p>\r\n<p>About 140 metres to the north rises the Torre del Descarregador (10th\u201311th<br \/>centuries), constructed directly over Roman foundations. With a rectangular footprint,<br \/>rammed-earth walls, a tripartite interior and a single protected entrance, the tower<br \/>served a dual purpose: <strong>coastal watchtower and storage facility<\/strong> for fish, salt and dry-<br \/>farmed produce. From this commanding position it offered sweeping views from Cape<br \/>Santa Pola to Torrevieja. After its abandonment, it saw occasional reuse in later<br \/>centuries.<\/p>\r\n<p>Together, the Moncaio villa and the Torre del Descarregador illustrate the <strong>continuity of<\/strong><br \/><strong>coastal settlement<\/strong>\u2014a landscape that evolved from Roman estate to Islamic stronghold,<br \/>mirroring the political, economic and environmental transformations of the western<br \/>Mediterranean.<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marqalicante.com\/contenido\/publicaciones\/pub_107.pdf\">Marq Alicante<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>[vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=&#8221;vc_gid:1482236692733-f0acfa36-11b4-4&#8243; include=&#8221;183,182,181,164&#8243;][\/vc_column]<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/audio\/04-en-moncayo.mp3 On El Moncaio beach, just three kilometres south of the town of Guardamar delSegura, lies an outstanding archaeological site that spans more than a thousand years ofhistory. Only a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-510","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":686,"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoriadearena.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}