DESCRIPTION

L’Atzubieta is considered the largest and best preserved Moorish village of the Valencian Community and offers an almost unique example of the evolution of the rural Moslem architecture.

The first documented reference that we have of the unpopulated place of L'Atzubieta dates from 1356, but some archaeological materials indicate an earlier dating of before the conquest of Jaime I. 17 families lived in here before the expulsion of the Moorish in 1609. It was occupied by Christian re-settlers throughout the 17th century. It was definitively abandoned at the beginning of the 18th century, although its houses have been reused as livestock yards up to very recent times.

It is a group of buildings whose constructive remains form six groups or "blocks" very close to each other, although they are divided into two sectors, western and eastern, separated by a distance of approximately 100 meters. The best preserved sector is the western, next to the road.

The houses have a simple structure, with a quadrangular base, and a room parallel to the main facade and a yard that occupies a large part of the building. Sometimes another living space is built at the back of the yard or attached, forming an L on one side. The simple constructions were used for sleeping, as a workshop, a store, kitchen, etc. The thickness of the wall is 45 centimetres.

The remains of an oil press carved into the rock can be found here. There are remains of a mill and the watercourse that carried water from a higher level of the river and the waterwheel, dating from the Christian occupation.