Foncalada - Centro Prerrománico Asturiano

This monument, the only witness of the hydraulic architecture of the High Middle Ages in Europe, is the least known element of the architectural heritage in the Kingdom of Asturias. Its first documentary reference dates back to the end of the 11th century (1096), with its presence being described as a prominent topographical.

The monument itself was profusely covered by inscriptions, of which only the main one is legible, located on the façade of the small temple. The feature analysis of the characters in this inscription, very similar to those in the inscription of San Tirso de Oviedo, make it possible to date its probable construction as being in the first half of the 9th century.

Three elements constituting the monument can be distinguished in its description: pond, aedicula and canal, as discovered in the excavations carried out in the 90s, making it possible to return the building to its grandiose monumentality.

The pond is made up by a platform of enormous limestone blocks, carefully juxtaposed, laterally bordered by two lines of walls. The internal width is of four metres; the total length has not been determined, but it exceeds fourteen metres just in the area that is clear. Two stairs were provided next to the main façade of the small temple to access the internal part.

The aedicula or small temple is trapezoidal ground construction of around 4x3 metres and a height slightly above 4 metres. The bond is of ashlar, an elongated module with very fine joints of limestone mortar. Two semicircular, single-spiral, voussoired stone arches appear on the Western and Eastern façades. On the Eastern façade, the arch prolongs inside as a vault covering an internal chamber, with a maximum height of 2'50 metres.

Just a small part of the feeding channel has been exhumed. It is formed by a large box of limestone blocks, almost cyclopean, that connect with the back façade of the aedicula. The constructive relationship and uniformity of the small temple internal chamber levels with those of inside the channel clearly indicate we are dealing with simultaneous pieces of work.

The origin of the water is unknown and it has not been possible to determine whether it is from a nearby outcrop or the collection and harnessing of flows with originating far away.