The canoe was built under the Carraixet ravine, right on the limits between València and Tavernes Blanques in the south, and Bonrepòs and Mirambell in the north, some 240 metres (787 ft 4.8 in) west of the old road from València to Barcelona. It can be reached either by the Tavernes road in Carpesa and when arriving at the Rascanya ditch, take the path on the right, or from the bridge over the Carraixet on the Barcelona road, head west into the ravine.
It was built in the 1740s, although the area and the offtake to access the siphon were rebuilt after the flood of 1957, and again in the 2000s to channel the Carraixet ravine.
As Guinot and Selma (1999) and Selma (2014) explain, originally, during the medieval centuries and up to the middle of the 18th century, the Almàssera branch of the Rascanya irrigation canal, as soon as the water came out in the Alboraia - Almàssera tongues of land, it crossed the ravine by means of a small levee, a wall perpendicular to the ravine and set up on the ravine bed itself, which served as a barrier for water to pass to the other side and, if necessary, to take advantage of any volume of water that came down the ravine. Evidently, the floods of a certain entity broke down the wall of soil and stones, and it had to be rebuilt, but it was also relatively cheap and simple to do. It was in the 1740's when the commune of owners of the Rascanya irrigation canal decided to pay for the construction of a large underground siphon made of stone blocks and stones, all covered with mortar, which would give safe passage to the irrigation canal. This work, precisely because it was buried, had been maintained with few interventions until its probable destruction by the canalisation works of the ravine in the 2000's.
As explained by Guinot and Selma (2005) and Selma (2014), the siphon or tunnel under the ravine comprised two short sections slightly sloping at the ends, which joined into a longer, flatter central section under the ravine with a total length of approximately 70 (229 ft 7.9 in) to 80 metres (262 ft 5.6 in). Both the entrance and exit of the subterranean irrigation canal were protected and made visible by two brick huts. The whole was built with stone blocks and slabs, joined by mortar, more than one metre long and between 40 (15.74 in) and 70 cm (15.74in) thick. The tunnel, on the other hand, could have internal dimensions of 1.20 m (3 ft 11.2 in) x 1.20 m (3 ft 11.2 in), but in reality, we do not know the specific material details, nor do we have any plans for this 18th century construction. The remains of this work were still visible around the year 2000. They were the external face of the original hydraulic work, as well as the remains of a very compact lime mortar factory, gravel and large stone blocks fitted with hardly any mortar, at the northern end. At that time there was also the old hut that protected the entrance to the siphon, although it seems to have been newly built after the flood of 1957.
GUINOT, E., SELMA, S. (2005): Les sèquies de l’Horta Nord de València: Mestalla, Rascanya i Tormos, València, Conselleria d’Agricultura, Col. Camins d’Aigua n. 6, pp. 150-151.
SELMA CASTELL, Sergi (2014). Paisatges històrics, patrimoni i didàctica. (Les séquies i les hortes del Tribunal de les Aigües de València). Tesi doctoral publicada en PDF. Castelló, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, pp. 424 i 594.
ROSSELLÓ VERGER, V.M (1989): “El molins d’aigua de l’Horta de València,”, dins Los paisajes del Agua), València, Universitat d’Alacant-Universitat de València, pp. 317-346.
MANGUE ALFÉREZ, Ignasi (2000): “Séquies i molins a l'horta de València: La séquia de Rascanya, hidraulisme al marge esquerre del Túria”, dins Glick, Th., Guinot, E., Martínez, L.P. (edits.), Els molins hidràulics valencians: tecnologia, història i context social, València, Institució Alfons el Magnànim, pp. 405-449.
GUINOT, E.; SELMA, S., LLORIA, R. (2003). El patrimoni hidràulic de les séquies del Tribunal de les Aigües de València. Informe elaborat per a la Direcció General de Patrimoni de la Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Cultura, València.
HERMOSILLA, J. (Coord.). El patrimonio hidráulico del Bajo Turia. L’Horta de València. València, Direcció General de Patrimoni Cultural-Generalitat Valenciana, 2007.
Photos: Càtedra L'Horta de València - Google Earth
