Roman aqueduct Albarracín - Cella

The hydraulic engineering of this impressive aqueduct makes it one of the most important Roman aqueducts within the Iberian Peninsula. The aqueduct, which is carved in the rock, was built to transfer water from the river Guadalaviar (from a point situated two kilometres away from Albarracín) to Cella, covering a distance of about 25 kilometres. It is believed that the aqueduct used to pass along the path that is now used for road A-1512. This is the reason why part of the aqueduct is now missing.

The Albarracín-Cella aqueduct uses several water transfer methods to transfer the water from one point to another. However, the most outstanding feature of this aqueduct is that it has trenches and tunnels carved on the rock (spiraminas or luminas, in Latin) which were used for disposing of excess of rock material during construction and of mud waste.

El Cantar de Mío Cid contains a reference to this magnificent engineering work. As a matter of fact, the town of Cella is mentioned in one of the verses of the poet, “in Cella del Canal”.

Visits: Self-guided or guided tour. Check visiting hours at the visitor centre of Gea de Albarracín, where information on tours and on the aqueduct is available. 

Rev. PAB 27.12.18