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| La Serreta | |
|---|---|
| Name | La Serreta |
| Location | Alcoy, Province of Alicante, Valencian Community |
| Epoch | Iberian, Roman, Medieval |
| Cultures | Iberians, Roman Empire, Visigothic Kingdom, Al-Andalus |
| Excavations | Ongoing |
| Archaeologists | José Uroz, Emilio Fernández, Gonzalo Bravo |
| Condition | Ruined |
La Serreta is an archaeological hilltop site near Alcoy in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, known for its multi-period occupation from the Iberian through the Medieval periods. The site has produced ceramic assemblages, architectural remains, and fortifications that link it to wider networks such as the Iberian polities, the Roman Republic, Visigothic Kingdom, and Al-Andalus. La Serreta has been the subject of regional archaeological projects and conservation efforts involving Spanish academic institutions and municipal authorities.
La Serreta crowns a limestone promontory overlooking the urban area of Alcoy and the Rio Serpis valley, situated within the Comarca of Comtat in the northern sector of the Province of Alicante. The site commands views toward the Sierra de Mariola, the Alicante–Valencia corridor, and historic routes that connect to Castile–La Mancha and the Mediterranean coast near Benidorm. Its karstic substrate and Mediterranean maquis vegetation influence preservation of stratified deposits and exposure of bedrock architecture. Proximity to watercourses and upland pastures likely mediated economic links with nearby settlements such as Ibi, Ontinyent, and coastal hubs including Alicante and Elche.
The earliest documented occupation at La Serreta corresponds to the Late Iberian period, contemporaneous with fortified oppida across the Iberian Peninsula like Castellón de la Plana sites and inland hillforts associated with the Contestani and Edetani tribal territories. During the Republican and Imperial phases of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, the site shows continuity or reoccupation paralleled by rural villas and a reorganization seen in contemporaneous sites near Saguntum and Lucentum. Evidence for transformation during the Visigothic Kingdom appears in ceramic typologies similar to finds from Toledo and the Ebro valley. The Islamic period under Al-Andalus introduced new material culture and defensive refurbishments, aligning La Serreta with frontier dynamics described in chronicles linked to Taifa of Denia and the Emirate of Córdoba. Medieval Christian reconquest pressures involving actors such as James I of Aragon and the Crown of Aragon shaped the site's late medieval fate and patterns of abandonment seen across the region.
Archaeological investigations at La Serreta have combined stratigraphic excavation, survey, geophysical prospection, and ceramic analysis coordinated by university teams from University of Alicante and University of Valencia, with participation by municipal services from Alcoy City Council. Scholars such as José Uroz and Emilio Fernández published typological studies situating La Serreta within Iberian ceramic sequences comparable to assemblages from Castellet de Banyoles and Cabezo de la Almagra. Comparative frameworks draw on research programs linked to institutions like the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and methodologies promoted at conferences by the European Association of Archaeologists. Remote sensing and paleoenvironmental sampling have been used in collaboration with laboratories at Complutense University of Madrid and Polytechnic University of Valencia to reconstruct land use and subsistence patterns also studied at regional sites including L'alcudia (Elche).
The hilltop plan at La Serreta exhibits terracing, retaining walls, and defensive perimeters that reflect phases of construction comparable to fortified settlements in the western Mediterranean such as Empúries and Castro culture sites in northern Iberia. Stone masonry, opus signinum flooring fragments, and posthole patterns indicate domestic and artisanal areas analogous to workshop evidence from Italica and rural complexes documented near Cartagena. Remains of ramparts and gate structures reveal continuity in defensive architecture from Iberian cyclopean techniques to later Romanized rebuilding and Islamic fortification features similar to those catalogued at Xàtiva and Alicante Castle. Artefacts recovered include amphora fragments tied to trade routes involving Carthage, Massalia, and later Mediterranean exchange networks connected to Constantinople and Genova.
La Serreta contributes to understanding regional identity formation in the Valencian interior and informs narratives involving the Iberians (ancient people), classical Mediterranean interactions, and medieval frontier dynamics between Al-Andalus and Christian polities like the Crown of Aragon. The site has been integrated into local heritage strategies promoted by Alicante Provincial Council and cultural initiatives supported by the Valencian Community administration, working alongside conservation agencies and NGOs such as ICOMOS affiliates and heritage units from the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Spain). Current conservation measures balance public access, interpretive programming in partnership with Alcoy Museum and educational outreach coordinated with regional universities, while addressing threats from urban encroachment, looting, and erosion documented in comparative preservation studies from Spain and Mediterranean contexts.
Category:Archaeological sites in the Valencian Community Category:History of the Province of Alicante