The site

El Poador del Pontet in Altea is a monumental fountain complex dating back to the 18th century which was serving as water supply for the inhabitants of the town. El Poador del Pontet has a semicircular shape, where twelve jets of water sprang up on a ninemeters long rectangular raft.

The fountain had been used for nearly two hundred years – in 1782 El Poador del Pontet was mentioned for the first time in a document; and in 1963 the ditch was coated.

When El Poador del Pontet was re-discovered in the end of 2014 it was covered by one meter thick layer of soil. In 2015, excavations started by two archaeologists which were supported by volunteers of De Amicitia.

The excavations showed that the circular structure of the fountain had been gradually filled  due to the contribution of mud from Barranquet ravine, which runs through the Western part of El Poador del Pontet. This process started in the middle of the 19th century, taking into account the materials found during the excavations. Among the older people in the neighbourhood, historians pointed out, no one remembers seeing or hearing their parents or grandparents talking about this structure, but they did use the same section of the ditch as a scrubber until the 50ies of the 20th century.

The project

Within the framework of the project the excavations have been continued. The participants worked together with local archaeologists who explained them the work and the background of the site. The tasks contented digging works as well as the documentation of the excavations, the cleaning and the catalogisation of the findings.

The project has been organised by the Association De Amicitia and the City of Altea, in partnerhsip with European Heritage Volunteers.