Islamic era, 10th-11th centuries.
As other divisors and tongues of land of l`Horta de València, those of Sant Onofre are not a construction that usually appears in the documents, especially those dating before 18th century. Its origins are from the Andalusian period, probably from the 10th to the 11th centuries as long as we do not have any more precise information. And they were necessarily built at the same time as the “séquia mare” (main irrigation canal) and the main part of the hydraulic system of Quart-Benàger-Faitanar, as it is the first and main divisor of this system. This divides the waters between those corresponding to Quart de Poblet and those going to the Benàger irrigation canal towards Aldaia and Alaquàs. Occasionally, in past centuries, the water from the Faitanar irrigation canal also flowed into the Benàger canal, although this generated repeated conflicts with Quart and ended up becoming the Faitanar irrigation canal that was born where the old Roll de Faitanar mill was, which has now disappeared. The property has always belonged to the irrigation community of Quart and the one of Benàger-Faitanar, which have taken charge of the works and repairs, as well as having taken part in various lawsuits because of the way the water was divided between the two parties and communities.
The divisor of the tongues of land of Sant Onofre, also known as the tongues of land of Quart or Benàger, consists of a spur that divides the flow of water from the “séquia mare” of Quart-Benàger. The Quart irrigation canal drifts to the left, in a south-westerly direction, and the Benàger irrigation canal continues to the right towards the Aldaia, Alaquàs and Picanya irrigated lands. For centuries it has been a construction made of stone and mortar, with the central stone of the spur finished in corner and side milestones to mark exactly the width of each of the two entrances. It was also normal for it to have stone slabs as flooring, for the sole reason of avoiding erosion and modifications to the partitioning capacity. All this has disappeared today, at least at first sight, as both the sides of the irrigation canal and the spur and central stem have a general concrete appearance that could hide at least some of the historic stone blocks.
GUINOT, E.; SELMA, S., LLORIA, R. 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, 2003, pp. 178-179.
SELMA CASTELL, Sergi. 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, 2014, pp. 165-177, i p. 617.
Photos: Càtedra L'Horta de València - Google Earth
