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8. The Castle of Ocaive and its administrative district

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Between today's towns of Pedreguer, Gata, Lliber and Ondara, in the central part of the Marina Alta, was once a small Islamic administrative district - the hisn of Ocaive. The 13th century Llibre del Repartiment (land distribution document) notes five farmsteads and one rahal (rafal *): Benimazmuth, Cannellis, Carracha, Gorgo, Pedreger and the Rahal Abenaxochi.

These names combined with archaeaology have enabled the location of almost all these settlements, in some cases there are architectural structures and other physical evidence. 

To the south is the farmstead of Cannelis - now known as the Barranc de Canela, as well as that of Gorgo,which probably corresponds to the remains of a settlement located on the northern edge of the Gorgos (Jalon) river . To the north, from east to west, there is the farmstead of Carraca, currently between the municipalities of Pedreguer and Ondara; Pedreguer (the current town of Pedreguer); and Benimazmuth, today's area of Benimarmut.

The location of Rahal Abenaxochi is more problematic. It could be in today's area of Rafalet to the northeast of Pedreguer district, or at Font d'Aixa (Aixa spring) which appears in post conquest documents as the farmstead of Benaxar.



Ocaive Castle is located on the top of a rocky pinnacle at an altitude of more than 300 metres. From here it dominates and controls the natural corridor of the narrow Llosa valley through which once passed the road linking the territory of Dàniyya (Denia) with the south.

Most of the architectural remains of the castle are located on the summit. There are remnants of the walls of a square tower, which originally would have had two floors, with a south-facing door. A few metres towards the south lies another square structure, originally covered with a barrel vault, which corresponds to a water cistern.

All this space is bounded to the west and north by natural crags together with a masonry and lime mortar wall which also closes it to the south and west - areas which are now occupied by agricultural terraces. On the east side, about 20 metres from the tower, there is a rectangular water cistern, which is larger than the other one, with a construction and finish which would date it as Islamic, probably from the first half of the 12th century while the structures on the top would probably be Christian-feudal (second half of the 13th - 14th century)

Hence the primitive Islamic refuge/fortification appears to have been maintained and renovated by the Christian feudal conquerors and continued to be used until the mid-fourteenth century




Just two kilometers northeast of the castle, in a flat agricultural area, is the tower of Benimarmut, a robust rectagular building made of a tapia of lime mortar and stones, which has been re-used as a farmhouse.

The modern modifications lopped the top off the tower - the current height is 6 metres - and destroyed the south wall. The original floor of the building would have been 10.5 metres north-south and 6 metres east-west.

This tower can be considered as a building from the late Islamic era, having a defensive and control function linked to the Benimazmuth farmstead.


​
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The last defensive structure of the Ocaive hisn is about 5,300 metres southeast of Ocaive on the apex of the Tossal del Moro at an altitude of 389 metres. This peak has a panoramic view of territory extending from from the Xàbia valley to the North to the Benissa lowlands to the south. The Barranc de Canela lies at the eastern foot of this tower ( see Cannellis farmstead, above). 

That which remains are the foundations of a trapezoidal structure: 18.20m x 15.20m x 17.70m x 10.70m built with stone masonry bound with mortar, plastered both inside and out. The maximum residual height is 1m. Inside there is a small bench attached to the north wall. This is also of masonry and perpendicular to the wall indicating that it may be the foot of a staircase.

​The archaeological material recovered from the site date the tower from between 12th and early 13th centuries.

* Note on rahal / rafal : - private estates which were typically the property of important personages. They had personal names, or that of a functionary and were smaller than the alqueria farmsteads, and geographically marginal. (From Glick)



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  • Home
    • Qui Som?
    • ¿Quienes Somos?
    • About Us
    • Calendario
    • Actas
    • Assemblea anual 2022
  • Blogs
    • Activitats
    • Actividades
    • Activities
    • Museu de Xàbia Blog
  • Projectes
    • Premio de Investigación - Formularios de Inscripción
    • Traducciones Translations >
      • DISPLAY PANELS - GROUND FLOOR >
        • THE STONE AGES - PALAEOLITHIC, EPIPALAEOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC
        • CAVE PAINTINGS (ARTE RUPESTRE)
        • CHALCOLITHIC (Copper) & BRONZE AGES
        • THE IBERIAN CULTURE (THE IRON AGE)
        • THE IBERIAN TREASURE OF XÀBIA
        • THE ROMAN SETTLEMENTS OF XÀBIA
        • THE ROMAN SITE AT PUNTA DE L'ARENAL
        • THE MUNTANYAR NECROPOLIS
        • ARCHITECTURAL DECORATIONS OF THE PUNTA DE L'ARENAL
        • THE ATZÚBIA SITE
        • THE MINYANA SMITHY
      • Translations archive
      • Quaderns: Versión castellana >
        • 1. La Romanización en las tierras de Xàbia
        • 2. Xàbia en la Modernidad
        • 3. La prehistoria de Xàbia y su entorno
      • Quaderns: English versions >
        • 1. Romanisation of Xàbia
        • 2. Xàbia in the Modern Era
        • 3. The Prehistory of Xàbia and its surroundings.
    • Catálogo de castillos regionales >
      • Castells / Castillos / Castles - Intro
      • Castillo de Aielo de Rugat
      • Castillo de Alcalá (Benisili)
      • Castillo de Borró
      • Castillo de Carbonera
      • Castillo de Castalla
      • Castillo de Chio /Xiu (Llutxent)
      • Castillo de Enguera
      • Castillo de Montesa
      • Inventario
    • Exposició - Castells Andalusins >
      • Intro - Valenciá
    • Exposición - Castillos Andalusíes >
      • Intro - Castellano
    • Exhibition - Islamic castles >
      • Intro and menu - English
    • Sylvia A. Schofield - Libros donados
    • Mejorar la entrada/improve the entrance >
      • Proyecto - fotos
      • Cartel Roll-up
  • Historia y enlaces
    • Historía de Xàbia >
      • Els papers de l'arxiu, Xàbia / los papeles del archivo
      • La Cova del Barranc del Migdia
      • El Vell Cementeri de Xàbia
      • El Torpedinament del Vapor Germanine
      • El Saladar i les Salines
      • La Telegrafía y la Casa de Cable
      • Pescadores de Xàbia
      • La Caseta de Biot
      • Castell de la Granadella
      • La Guerra Civil / the Spanish civil war >
        • Intro - La Guerra Civil / the Spanish civil war
        • El refugi de la guerra del moll de Xàbia
        • l'Arquitectura de la Guerra a Xàbia
        • Planos - Refugi Moll
    • History of Xàbia (English articles) >
      • The Castle of Granadella
      • Ermita del Pòpul - a brief history
      • Telegraphy and the Casa del Cable
      • Civil war architecture in Xàbia
      • Cemetery of San Joan
      • Cova del Migdía
      • Quintus Sertorius - the "Braveheart" of Hispania
    • Charlas y excursiones / talks and excursions >
      • Fotos de actividades
      • Expo Iran - MARQ
      • La Illyeta dels Banyets
      • Al Azraq
      • La Pilota Valenciana
      • Pla de Petracos
      • Cova del Comte - Pedreguer
    • Investigacions del museu - Museum investigations
    • Enllaços
    • Enlaces
    • Links
  • Social media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • You Tube
  • Visitas virtuales
    • Museu de Xàbia
    • Iglesia de San Bartolomé
    • Capella Santa Anna
    • Ermita de Santa Llúcia
    • Ermita de San Joan
    • Santuario de la Mare de Déu dels Àngels
    • Ermita del Popul
    • Ermita del Calvario
    • Casa tradicional l'Escaldá
    • Casa tradicional Carrer Nou
  • Tenda Tienda Shop
    • Souvenirs
    • Llibres / libros / books