• Prehistory
• Iberian Period
• Roman Period
• Visigoth Period
• Islamic Period
• Medieval Period
• Modern Age
• Present-day Age

Prehistory
The oldest signs of human activity in the Jávea municipal area have been found in the site of the Cueva del Montgó (Cave of Montgó), the source of material from the Upper Palaeolithic Period, about 16,000 years B.C,

A few remains of a possible open-air Epipalaeolithic settlement from between the Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Periods have been found at the Cabo de la Nao. The first signs of the oldest cultures of the Neolithic Period date from the fifth millennium B.C. The Neolithic is characterised by the appearance of pottery and the first indications of agriculture and the taming of animals. This period is well represented in the Cueva del Montgó site.

The small site at Cap Prim is from the Bronze Age and is a key settlement, with evidence of significant bronze-working activity, as seen from the slag, casting moulds, etc, that have been found.

Few remains from the Iberian period have been found in Jávea’s municipal area and almost all of them have been casual finds, such as the sparse remains from Els Tossalets and El Rebaldí or the numerous but late (second century B.C.) pottery items found near Carrer Teular (Teular St).

The best-known archaeological find from the region to date, the “Iberian Treasure of Jávea,” consists of various pieces of gold and silver.
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Iberian Period
The Iberian Treasure of Jávea-Xàbia, found in 1904, appeared inside a pottery vessel discovered by chance in the course of agricultural work in the “Partida de la Lluca,” just where the Golf Club is now. It consists of a gold diadem (37.2cm long and 8.2cm wide, weighing 1,336 grams) composed of three plates or sheets of gold, a central, rectangular one and two smaller, triangular ones at the ends. This piece, designed as a head ornament, is decorated with some fine, snake-like or meandering forms and is without doubt the best-quality piece in the collection.

Also included are pieces also made of gold: two loosely-braided necklaces and fragments of another one made of fine intertwined chains, an egg-shaped brooch and a tightly-braided chain.

Silver pieces, much less elaborate (weighing 240 grams) were found,  a snake-shaped bracelet, three spiral straps and fragments of seven others.
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Roman Period
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsular started with the Second Punic War (219-201 B.C.), thus beginning the “Romanisation,” a process of acculturation which transformed the native society into one ruled by the same rules as Rome; the same laws, fashions.

This period saw the building of many “villas” (as non-urban settlements were known) throughout the Jávea-Xàbia municipal area. Most of these villas were built in El Pla and Les Valls, in the fertile valley formed by the river Xaló or Gorgos, an area of great agricultural possibilities. Agricultural production is the main economic activity, possibly with an emphasis on grape-growing (as would seem to be indicated by the existence of workshops where amphorae were produced, to store wine for export).

Three further Roman sites are to be found near the sea: La Duana, La Punta del Arenal-Montañar and Portitxol Island. In these settlements, unlike the villas, commercial and manufacturing activities undoubtedly predominated over agriculture. The best-known of these sites is La Punta del Arenal, where the archaeological excavations carried out produced valuable information about the salting industry located there and which has left to this day large nursery pools dug in the rock, communicated with the sea via two channels. These pools are popularly known as “Els Banys de la Reina” (“The Queen’s Baths”). Next to these constructions were found thirteen quadrangular deposits, most of which had walls covered with waterproof mortar. These small pools were used to deposit the entrails and other parts of fish with large quantities of salt. This caused a fermentation catalysed by the sun, which produced the prized “garum” and/or other fish sauces which were then stored in amphorae and distributed throughout the Empire.

A few metres from La Punta del Arenal is the necropolis of Montañar-“Muntanyar”, a large cemetery area for the site, with the characteristic that all its graves were dug into the rock. The importance of this burial necropolis is such that it held 900 graves. The site is dated at the same time as La Punta del Arenal, i.e. from the last years B.C. to the VII Century A.D.

Another feature related to the salting industry is the “Sequia (Irrigation Channel) de la Noria,” a large channel dug out of the rock which crosses the second Montañar and connects the sea to the Saladar (Salt Marsh), an area where there were previously salt flats devoted to the production of the salt needed for the salting industry.
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Visigoth Period
According to Saint Gregory of Tours, in the Visigoth Period (last quarter-century) there was a monastery called Saint Martin’s between Sagunto and Cartagena. The author, who lived during the VI Century and was, therefore, alive at the time of the events, tells a story that happened here when a group of soldiers of King Leovigildo’s army attacked the monastery. The monks had fled to a nearby island, leaving only the old abbot, who was said to have performed certain miracles. 

This source has caused certain authors to situate this monastery in Jávea, a theory supported by the place-name “Cap de San Martin” (Saint Martin’s Cape), as well as the presence of the nearby Portitxol Island, where, according to the theory, the monks hid. However, that there is no archaeological evidence of the existence of this monastery.
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Islamic Period
Although Jávea, like the rest of the Iberian Peninsular, was under the control of the new Arab rulers from the VIII Century onward, no archaeological remains of the first moments of the Muslim Conquest have been found. The first Islamic archaeological material in Jávea dates from the X Century.

The oldest known evidence is a fragment of a funeral inscription from the Partida de Cap Martí, a necropolis area known for this kind of remains and the origin of another, much later funeral inscription from the year 1199 A.D. Some of the ceramic remains recovered from the Rodat site seem to be from the XI Century.

The number of settlements increased in the last two centuries of Islamic presence in the region (XII-XIII Centuries). The Muslim authors Edrisi (XII Century) and Yaqut (XII Century) mention a mountain called Qa un (the present Montgó), as well as the fertility of the land, where “vines, fig-trees and almond trees grow.”

Fourteen Islamic sites are presently known in the municipal area, thirteen of which date from the XII-XIII Centuries: Cueva del Montgó, Cueva Tallada, La Vall, Punta del Arenal, Capsades, Rebaldí, Adsubia, Lluca, Rodat, etc. The greatest density of settlements is now found at the south of El Pla, on the small chain of hills known as Els Tossalets.

The Christian conquest of Denia in May 1224 conclusively ended this important historical period. Its legacy is, however, very much present today, and not only in archaeological remains: their words give names to many places in the municipal area; L’Atzúvia, El Rafal, Els Benimadrocs, etc . . . and even the very name of Xàbia seems to be of Arab origin.
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Medieval Period
Carroz, Lord of Rebollet and conqueror of the area of La Marina, received from Jaime I the task of repopulating the recently incorporated region.

It is now known that the repopulation process was a failure, particularly during the first years. Only with the end of the revolts of Al-Azraq, a Muslim chief who plagued the whole region, could the arrival of Christian colonists begin.

The lack of Muslim remains in the confines of present-day Xàbia would seem to indicate its Christian origin, the place where the new arrivals gathered, while the Muslims kept their dwellings dispersed throughout the valley.

The first document to mention Jávea-Xàbia dates from 1258, and states that the nephew of Carroz bought six plots of land in the Jávea valley, but it only begins to appear as a definite population centre from the XIV Century onward: in 1301 King Jaume II ordered the inhabitants of Denia to move inside the outer walls of the castle, at the same time as he forbade those of Jávea to continue with the tower that they were building, in order to concentrate all his forces in Denia. Jávea-Xàbia appears as a hamlet, included in the municipal area of Denia, of which it was an administrative and judicial part.

In 1304, six North African ships razed and burned the valley, an event which made Jaime II change his mind about the fortification of Jávea-Xàbia, as it was necessary to maintain a defensive stronghold in the area. In 1306 the works were not yet finished and finally, in 1308, the king ordered the inhabitants of the hamlet to complete the work urgently, with the threat of being moving them to Denia.

Jávea’s development meant that its denizens soon wished to be an independent township and, in March 1321, they petitioned the king and obtained the right to have their own justice system, although it was dependent on Denia.

Jávea-Xàbia was not to remain ownerless for long. In 1323, Prince Pere de Ribagorça gave back to his father, the king, the town of Crevillente, receiving in return Denia and Jávea.

This moment saw the beginning of the process by which Pere de Ribagorça little by little became lord of the whole region of La Marina, a process which culminated on Christmas Day 1355, when King Pere “Ceremonios” created the earldom of Denia for his cousin Alfons of Aragon, son of Pere.

There were continual disputes between Denia and Jávea regarding powers. 1396 is traditionally considered to be the year when Xàbia was granted its own municipal territory. Certainly, in 1403 it had its own Council and a total of 204 citizens obliged to pay the “morabatí.”

On the death of the II Earl of Denia, his possessions passed to Juan of Navarra, brother and successor to Alfonso the Magnanimous, the new lord, who, either by gift or by sale, dismembered the old earldom. In 1432, Denia and Jávea-Xàbia came into the hands of the Rojas de Sandoval family, who kept control, despite attempts to reassert royal control over both towns, until the end of the feudal regime.
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Modern Age
Piracy was one of the most serious problems faced by this area of the coast. Great economic efforts were made to build fortifications, towers and castles on the coast. The pirate menace was kept at bay at times by four galleys chartered by the Earl of Lerma, Francisco de Sandoval. After the expulsion of the Arabs, these galleys, as well as guarding the coast, made many trips taking converts to Islam to the North of Africa: nearly eight thousand such converts left via Jávea-Xàbia.

King Felipe III of Castile and II of Valencia granted Jávea-Xàbia the title of Villa (Borough) in 1612, a fact which indicated a recognition of the importance of the place and its 1,800 inhabitants, dwellers in the four hundred and fifty houses existing inside the walled town. This idea is endorsed by the establishment in the town in 1616 of a Franciscan Monastery, built in the place known as the Plaçeta del Convent.

The most notable families in Jávea-Xàbia, such as the Bañuls (1944), the Sapenas, the Bas (1640) or the Trilles (1633), obtained privileges of chivalry and noble titles in the XVII Century. Some buildings in the town date from this period. The most representative case is possibly the present Town Museum.

In the times of Carlos II, the region of La Marina abounded in criminal gangs, who terrorised the people of the area, although many of them left behind their life of crime when they went to serve with the king’s armies in Italy.

n 1681, the Marquis of Denia granted Xàbia-Jávea the right to impose tolls and taxes on hunting, grazing, etc., so that the town could recover the money spent on its fortification. Given the importance of trade and the possibilities of expansion existing in 1687, the construction of a wharf was begun on the Xàbia coast, but the work was aborted by the vice-regal authorities, although it was permitted to embark and disembark merchandise.

During the XVII Century, serious legal battles were fought with neighbouring Denia over disputes regarding their respective municipal boundaries. As a result of a favourable decision, Jávea-Xàbia incorporated the San Bartolomé valley, while Jesús Pobre continued in the hands of Denia.
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Present-day Age
One special characteristic of Jávea-Xàbia has its roots in its historical confrontation with Denia. In the War of Spanish Succession (1704-1714), Denia was on the side of the house of Austria, while Jávea remained faithful to the Borbón king Felipe V, an attitude which earned the town attacks from supporters of the house of Austria. Later, when Felipe was king, the first of the Borbón dynasty, he granted Jávea the privilege of using on its coat of arms the fleur-de-lis or two crowned Ls like those of the city of Valencia, as a symbol of its loyalty. From this moment and for more than twenty years, Jávea had more inhabitants than Denia.

During the war against France (1810-1812), Denia took in French garrisons, while Jávea offered resistance. At this time, Antonio Catalá became famous as the chief of a band of guerrillas who regularly harassed the French troops in the region.

The wealth obtained from the cultivation and trade in raisins led to the construction of large houses, while in the country the typical “riu-raus,” characteristic features of rural architecture, appeared. With the end of pirate attacks, the demolition of the walls began and suburbs grew up. The walls were finally demolished altogether in 1873.

In 1878, Jávea-Xàbia had a third-class Customs house, Navy headquarters and a Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) post with six guards. The town had 941 buildings and 6452 inhabitants. The main local agricultural products were raisins, wheat, silk, pulses, fruit and vegetables. Many people also worked as sailors and fishermen.

The Restoration of the Monarchy ushered in an regime of basically despotic nature, in which Jávea stood out due to the importance and influence of its leaders. This political system lasted up to the institution of the II Republic.
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