El acueducto en el contexto histórico, topográfico y urbano de la ciudad de Huelva

Abstract

The Huelva's development, which existed since at least the dawn of the first millennium BC, needed the water supply to guarantee the subsistence of its inhabitants and the development of commercial and industrial activities, which must have been a problem since the moment in which the city begins to occupy the low zones. Although there is no evidence of this, it is logical to think that the large aquifer contained in the hills did not go unnoticed by the inhabitants of the protohistoric era, so that it must have been exploited from the first moments of the occupation, something that would probably be done by the construction of wells transporting it to the low areas by various means. However, it will not be until Roman times, when the colonization of the hinterland of Huelva increases, the production of salted fish in the coastal enclaves, and the great development of mining, when the construction of the aqueduct that will remain in operation until contemporary time. This chapter presents a brief tour of the historical evolution of the city, as well as the topographic and urban context in which the construction of the aqueduct occurs.