Archaeological monitoring in Moncada

A project to improve the drinking water supply. An open trench in the heart of the town centre. And, just a few metres below ground, a history that had been waiting centuries to be told.

At GOservicios, we believe that every intervention in the subsoil can become an opportunity to discover and protect our heritage. That is precisely what happened during the archaeological monitoring of the works to divert the main drinking water network in San Roc street, Moncada, where we have documented new remains of the town's medieval Islamic necropolis, expanding knowledge of one of the most significant burial sites in its history.
 

A modern infrastructure over a landscape with almost a thousand years of history

Between 11 February and 25 March 2026, we monitored, step by step, the excavation works required to execute the new route for the main drinking water pipeline between Pintor Sorolla and Jesús Plá Gandía streets.

The operation was essential to modify the route of a 350 mm diameter arterial pipe, whose replacement was unfeasible in its original layout alongside the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) railway lines. However, while the machinery advanced to make an essential infrastructure for the city a reality, the ground began to reveal another reality: that of those who inhabited Moncada almost a millennium ago.

 

 

During the archaeological monitoring, each finding was carefully documented to ensure its proper preservation and interpretation. Participating in this work were María Dolores Ortega Bordería, an archaeologist from GOservicios, alongside José Folgado Raga and Carlos Ordaz Navarro, technicians from the Geomatics Department at GOservicios, whose documentation via laser scanner allowed for a precise three-dimensional record of the burials and their archaeological context.

When the past begins to speak

Early evidence confirmed that these were not isolated findings. Gradually, the excavation began to trace an archaeological pattern that allowed for the interpretation of the remains' nature and the reconstruction of the site's history.

The bodies consistently appeared with the same orientation: from south-west to north-east, with faces turned towards the south-east, following the Islamic funerary rite facing Mecca. Furthermore, they had been laid directly on natural fluvial sediment, a terrain that had never been used for agriculture before becoming a burial ground.

 

 

The absence of grave goods or headstones was another significant clue. Added to this was the positioning of the individuals, laid on their right side, with hands gathered over the pubis and feet together—an arrangement typical of the Islamic funerary rite which evidences the use of a shroud during burial.

Each piece of evidence provides valuable information on its own. However, it is the combination of them all that allows us to state with certainty that the remains belong to the Islamic necropolis of Moncada, dating from between the 11th and 13th centuries and previously documented in earlier archaeological interventions carried out on nearby plots.

With each new discovery, the picture of this ancient necropolis took on a new dimension. The located burials allow us to expand its known extent and better understand how this burial space was organised almost a thousand years ago.
 

 

Added to the findings documented during the intervention is the testimony of several local residents, who recalled that human remains also appeared during the construction of the basements of the houses located at numbers 66 and 67 on San Roc street. Although those discoveries could not be archaeologically documented at the time, these testimonies align with the evidence obtained and strengthen the hypothesis regarding the extension of the necropolis in this sector of the town.

Discovering the past while building the future

At GOservicios, we understand that archaeological monitoring plays a fundamental role in protecting archaeological heritage during the execution of construction works. Our work allows us to identify, document, and preserve the remains that appear in the subsoil before they can be affected by the intervention.