They are located near to the roundabout at the entrance to the town of Aldaia coming from the CV-408 road that comes from Quart de Poblet and the Madrid motorway, where the Avinguda Joan Fuster de Aldaia begins.
Islamic era, 11th-12th centuries.
According to Guinot and Selma (2005) and Selma (2014), the origin of the Roll de Aldaia’s tongues of land dates back to the medieval Islamic period, probably in relation to the existence of the alqueria (farmhouse) of the same name, although the first written record we have so far dates back to the 16th century, in some ordinances of the irrigation canal of the Comuner of Aldaia. Like other divisors of l’Horta de València (València’s irrigated land), it has no history of its own beyond its very lengthy functioning over centuries and the occasional repairs that it has undergone. The most significant impact on its history is the extension of the road from Quart to Aldaia at the end of the 20th century, which led to the covering of the Benàger irrigation canal and the burying of this divisor, as well as its abandonment when a new divisor was built a short distance upstream from the Benàger irrigation canal. Traditionally, its function was to use the water that corresponded to the Aldaia Community, a local irrigation community limited to this municipality and which, in terms of water management, only acts on the irrigation canals of this district, all within the superior framework of the Comunitat de regants de Benàger-Faitanar (Benàger-Faitanar Irrigatior Community). The right “braç” (arm) is the “séquia mare” (main irrigation canal) of Benàger which continues towards Alaquàs and the municipal district of Picanya, while the left “braç” that emerges in the divisor is the Roll de Aldaia, an irrigation canal that later originates a good number of divisors that derive from it and are in charge of distributing the water throughout the fields of the municipal district of Aldaia. Nonetheless, it should be noted that all this historical infrastructure has been replaced by a new layout and divisors, generally parallel to the old one, but further east, closer to the city of València, as the Avinguda Ronda-Est of the said town of Aldaia has been built.
As explained by Guinot and Selma (2005) and Selma (2014), the Benàger irrigation canal has been completely channelled with concrete walls and covered with slabs of the same material since the end of the 20th century in its section between Quart and Aldaia, where it runs parallel to the CV-408 road. Similarly, the divisor and the Roll d’Aldaia itself were also buried in the section closest to the town centre to allow a certain amount of urban expansion. That is why, today, the Rollet divisor is completely covered under the pavement surrounding a public park, visible only minimally through some grids located on the floor of that pavement, and left out of use, although it remains in the place apparently well preserved in its traditional structure. This consists of a stone spur located in the Benàger irrigation canal and whose function is to divide the water into two unequal parts: a main part that continues straight southwards along the Benàger “séquia mare” (main irrigation canal), and a secondary part that turns left and corresponds to the Aldaia “braç” (arm) or “roll”. However, unlike most tongues od land, which usually divide the water in half, the Roll of Aldaia only takes ⅛ part of the flow of water that circulates through the Benàger irrigation canal and, therefore, the spur of the tongue of land is located very far to the left of the bottom and side of the main irrigation canal.
- Plan de Acción Territorial de Protección de la Huerta de Valencia. Versión Preliminar. Memoria de Ordenación. Anexo. Fichas de Elementos de Arquitectura Hidráulica. Índice de Fichas, (dir. Arancha Muñoz), Generalitat Valenciana, 2008, Element EPH_12.01, p. 186.
- Pla d’Acció Territorial d’Ordenació i Dinamització de l’Horta de València (PAT de l’Horta). Generalitat Valenciana, 2018. Catàleg annex. Element EPH_12.03. Llengües del Franc/moros, pp. 527-528.
- El Tribunal del Comuner (o del Rollet de l'Horta d'Aldaia).
GUINOT, E., SELMA, S. (2005, informe inèdit): Les séquies de l’Horta Sud de València: Rovella, Favara, Mislata-Xirivella, Benàger-Faitanar i Quart. València, Conselleria d’Agricultura-Generalitat Valenciana.
SELMA CASTELL, S. (2014): Paisatges històrics, patrimoni i didàctica (les séquies i les hortes del Tribunal de les Aigües de València). Tesi doctoral, Castelló, Universitat Jaume I, pp. 180-181.
ESQUILACHE MARTÍ, F. (2011): “L’evolució del paisatge agrari andalusí i feudal de les grans hortes fluvials. Les sèquies de Quart i del Comuner d’Aldaia a l’horta de València”, Revista Recerques, 62, pp. 5-36.
GUINOT, E., SELMA, S., LLORÍA, 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.) (2007): El patrimonio hidráulico del Bajo Turia. L’Horta de València. València, Direcció General de Patrimoni Cultural-Generalitat Valenciana.
Photos: Càtedra L'Horta de València - Google Earth
