De Salses a Guardamar i de Fraga a l’Alguer: les comarques de parla catalana una a una. 67/88: el Comtat (Central Valencian Country).
Comtat (meaning "County") is a rural district in the Valencian Country. The district consists of the Serpis river's valley, which is surrounded by mountain ranges that exceed the 1,000 metres in altitude. Its capital city is Cocentaina. Besides Cocentaina and Muro d'Alcoi, all other towns have a few hundred inhabitants, some less than a hundred.
Human life in Comtat has a long history. There are many archaeological sites from Prehistory, ever since the Paleolithic. Comtat also has Cova de l'Or, one of the most important Neolithic archaeological site in the Valencian Country. The cave was inhabited around the year 5,600 BC, which archaeologists have been able to date through the remains of carbonized cereals left behind by the community. In the cave, archaeologists also found decorated pottery, tools made of stone and bone, and animal bones. Their decoration style seems to indicate that this community or other communities of their same culture were the authors of the particular Pla de Petracos wall paintings.
In Comtat, you'll also find the Barranc de l'Encantada, the ravine famous for its legend (I posted it here).
Photos: Comunitat Valenciana, 20Mils, alcarazvila, Costa Blanca, Joanbanjo/wikimedia.
