Dispositivos y estructuras defensivas medievales en el territorio de los Montes Occidentales de Granada

Abstract

From the 13th century onwards water has been an intrinsic part of the Cultural Landscape of the palatial city of the Alhambra, which was connected to the valley of the Darro River as a source of lasting supply. This was made possible through the construction of the Royal Canal, the Acequia Real, which today consists of two main canals, known as Acequia de los Dos Tercios and Acequia del Tercio. In the last section there is also a third lower water channel, that could obtain excess water from the ones above it, directing them to the farming terraces located on the northern slope of the Palace of the Generalife. Furthermorem, exist other channel, the Acequia de los Arquillos ran above all of them, without reaching the Alhambra. The environment through which they flow has a huge environmental and cultural value, thus, the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (PAG) is committed to the recovery and management of big parts of the two main branches of the Alhambra´s royal water channels, as well as their heritage and environmental values. During this process, archaeological interventions are being carried out that provide valuable information for understanding the complex hydraulic system that was articulated around the Alhambra in Nasrid times. The maintenance of the original riverbed of the Acequia Real through an ecological flow, is done in parallel to the recovery of a series of paths that are part of the network of existing pedestrian itineraries in the surrounding area the “Dehesa del Generalife”, very popular among visitors.