Our archeology
Archaeology in the Orchard
The Parish of San Juan Bautista, the old town, the imposing Torres de la Huerta or the magnificent stately and farm estates, are just an example of the rich heritage of Sant Joan, but the orchard itself, with its system of irrigation ditches, farming, the work techniques used in the field and the traditions of its people are also part of this material and intangible heritage and the history of the town.
Treasure of Sant Joan
This extraordinary set of coins from contemporary times was found in our municipality on April 13, 1963. It is the most interesting and important treasure of these characteristics in the province of Alicante due to the richness and attractiveness of its coins, due to the splendid state of conservation of some of them and because it is an excellent example of gold coinage and, above all, of silver that was in circulation in the L'Alacantí region during the first quarter of the 19th century. Currently, the MARQ (Provincial Archaeological Museum of Alicante) is in charge of its custody.
Pedro José Refuge
Currently, the MARQ is in charge of its custody (The Pedro José estate was built in the last third of the 19th century and has served as a bourgeois orchard estate. Provincial Archaeological Museum of Alicante). Three generations of the Els Piñolets family have lived there. A house that will be inherited by women will become the family home of a renowned military man. At the beginning of the Civil War, it was seized by the then Carabineros Lieutenant Colonel, José Muñoz Vizcaíno. It will be then that an anti-aircraft shelter will be built in the bowels of it, approximately 7 meters deep, which will be the protagonist of the final chapter of the conflict.
Toril Splitter
The Toril splitter (or Turil) – according to local authors it derives from the Arabic tura which means channel – was a key element in the irrigation system. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, probably next to the disappeared defensive tower of Juan Senia, it allowed the flow of the Acequia Mayor to be divided in two and create a main irrigation channel that continued along Calle Mayor and Calle del Carmen as a Sant Joan armband. towards Benimagrell and another secondary road on the left called Brazal de la Moleta towards the lands of Fabraquer watered by the daughters of Moleta de Dins and Fora, among others. The original shape of this splitter was smaller and rectangular, with an edge of ashlars that supported the door and the system that allowed the water to be directed to one side or the other; However, after successive urban reforms the divider was modified as we can see it today.