The Vega de Granada farmlands. Identifying the cultivation areas irrigated by the Acequia Gorda de Granada during the Andalusi period (8th-15th centuries)

Abstract

This study presents the meticulous work done to identify the agricultural spaces associated with the Acequia Gorda, a main water channel dating back to medieval times in the Vega de Granada (southeastern Iberian Peninsula). Identification was based on morphological characterization that combined direct fieldwork, historical cartography, aerial photography and toponymic identification from Arabic and translated documents. Some guidelines are proposed for understanding the evolution of this vast agricultural area, which began with small, irrigated spaces during the Andalusi period (8th-15th centuries) and expanded to become a large cultivated plain (vega) by the end of the Middle Ages.