logo2019 300

The southern part of Somontano has relatively few water springs that are accessible on at ground level, which in the past forced people to design a system to access underground springs and maintain them. This gave rise to unique spring wells, which are vaulted underground chambers where people could gather water. The secrets of these innovative works of hydraulic engineering are now in display in the centre.
There is also a route known as the Spring Wells of Somontano, which starts in Laluenga (home of the Pozo Nuevo) and goes to Ponzano, Lagunarrota, Monesma de San Juan, Adahuesca and Laperdiguera.

 

Centro de los Pozos Fuente del Somontano
Zona deportiva. 22125 Laluenga
Teléfono: 974 308 350

Automatic door opening with coins.

  • Centro pozos fuente 2
  • Centro pozos fuente 3
  • Centro pozos fuente 4
  • Centro pozos fuente 5
  • Centro pozos fuente 6
  • Centro pozos fuente 7
  • Centro pozos fuente

 

Faced with a lack of surface springs, the people that inhabited the dry lands of Somontano devised an ingenious and comfortable way to reach water under the ground. These are the spring wells, huge structures made up of a ramp with a partly covered staircase, which led down to a vaulted chamber with a water supply.


The spring well of Monesma is know as the “Pozo de la Cabañera” (the well of the livestock track.) The many different flocks and herds that used the nearby livestock track would have stopped here to drink from a trough, which must have taken great effort to fill and many trips up and down the stairs.

The soft water from this well was not suitable for drinking. However, thanks to three galleries excavated from the rock that filtered the water, it flowed well.

Next to the well there were a number of stone sinks used for washing clothes. To fill them was hard work and many of the older ladies who washed their clothes there would need the help of the village’s young men.
 

 

  • Monesma. Pozo fuente 2
  • Monesma. Pozo fuente 3
  • Monesma. Pozo fuente 4
  • Monesma. Pozo fuente

 

Human settlements are conditioned by the availability of water. In some locations in the south of Somontano, the spring wells are testimony to the tenacity of inhabitants to access and store water when faced with of a lack of surface water.

The well of Laperdiguera has an uncovered section of staircase that allows access to the underground spring. The main chamber is covered with a pointed vault that rests on four arches.

The abundance of underground water also resulted in the people of Laperdiguera digging wells with a more traditional curb or wall as can be seen near the nearby allotments. The water was used to water vegetables, to wash clothes in nearby stone sinks and sometimes, as was the case in the well of the large Casa Cavero, to use as drinking water.

During the slaughtering and butchering of animals the need for water in the houses increased and so the comings and goings to the well were continuous.

Tradition tells of a sleepwalking servant in the Casa el Rafael who visited the well at the dead of night. She filled her pitcher while fast asleep and placed it on her head to return to the house. The sound of the vessel breaking woke the whole village; she had not bent down far enough and the pitcher hadn’t cleared the lintel of the entrance.

 

  • Laperdiguera. Pozo fuente 2
  • Laperdiguera. Pozo fuente 3
  • Laperdiguera. Pozo fuente

 

One of the oldest underground spring wells of the region lies at the foot of the hill below the village. It is a monumental construction made up of a deep staircase, the lower part of which is covered with a vaulted ceiling, and a large underground chamber where water that filtered up from the rocky subsoil was held. On the walls a number of symbols can be seen that were carved to protect the spring, as well as dates associated with the successive renovations made necessary due to constant use.

The impressive well sunk into the depths of this slope could have been the very origin of the village’s name; the Latin lacuna rupta means rounded cave. The early documented evidence of Lagunarrota in the Visigothic era (551) is evidence of the antiquity of the settlement, whose importance was maintained through the medieval centuries. During this era (from 1284) the castle and village of Lagunarrota where the only places in Aragon to be under the rule of the knights of the Order of Calatrava.

In addition to Pozo Bajo (“low well” referring to this site at the bottom of the hill) the village had another well with similar characteristics, know as the Pozo del Pinar. The chamber that held the water was fed by rain water that filtered through permeable layers of gravel and sandstone. It was called Pozo del Pinar due to the high number of pine trees that stood in the region at that time, an example of which is the Foncillas pine that stands near the main road.

The pleasant environment around this well turned it into a popular meeting point for the young people of the village. Although the Pozo Bajo was larger and much more spectacular, the smaller well was used more as the water was better. However, it didn’t flow as well as the water in the larger well and so during the drought of 1948 the collection of water had to be controlled by a distinguished member of the village, Severo Almunia. Although blind he had the responsibility of charging 10 cents for every 4 pitchers of water removed. The water was extracted using a waterwheel whose buckets were controlled by a crank.

For safety reasons, the Pozo Bajo well was closed in 1933 and a shelter was built to cover and protect the entrance

 

  • Lagunarrota. Pozo fuente 2
  • Lagunarrota. Pozo fuente 3
  • Lagunarrota. Pozo fuente

 

We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.