Villajoyosa (Alicante) webcam on Malladeta shows twice-yearly event awaited by Iberians

Villajoyosa (Alicante) webcam on Malladeta shows twice-yearly event awaited by Iberians

VIDEO CAMERA: Permanent view of Benidorm Bay Photo credit: Villajoyosa town hall

THE Dr Esquerdo tower on Villajoyosa’s Malladeta hillside now has a webcam.

The town hall’s Heritage department deliberately installed the camera to coincide with this year’s autumn equinox on September 23.

Malladeta is the site of an Iberian sanctuary dedicated to the mother goddess Tanit, and it is from this hillside that the sun can be seen rising behind Benidorm’s Island just twice a year at the autumn and spring equinox.

“As the Iberians had no way of knowing the exact date of the astronomic equinox, they used the day between the two solstices to calculate the beginning of the year and the agricultural calendar,” explained Xente Sebastia, La Vila’s Heritage councillor.

The Dr Esquerdo webcam can be accessed via the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vm7HxvuhB4 link.

This new service is part of the Vilamuseu’s museum’s Archaeoastronomy project resulting from the 2013 agreement between Villajoyosa town hall and the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute (IAC).

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Written by

Linda Hall

Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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