Gabia la Grande / Gabia Grande / Gabiar al-Cobra

The underground complex here was discovered in 1920 by Francisco Serrano Rodríguez; excavated in 1922; re-excavated in 1979. By ca. 2000 the whole area was in danger of succumbing to local plans of land development, plans that were officially stopped in late 2002 when it was declared "bien de interés cultural" by the Junta de Andalucía, the regional government. Opinions differ on whether or not a baptistery was built here, or an existing site may have been used as a baptistery later. Palol (1967: 157-160) describes a square chamber of approximately 4 x 4 meters at the centre of which was found a small octagonal piscina; a lead pipe communicated this room with others in the complex; it is proposed that this may have been a baptistery. Palol (ibid.) cites two sources, one in favour of the identification as baptistery, the other against: 1)J. Cabré Aguiló's article "Monumento cristiano bizantino de Gabia la Grande (Granada) (MemJSEA, 55; 1922-1923: 54, 55) states that it is a baptistery; 2)M. Gómez Moreno's "Monumentos arquitectónicos de Granada. Gabia la Grande" , in Misceláneas (Madrid, 1949: 386ff) argues that there is nothing found in this complex to defend such attribution. Mentioned in Otero Pedrayo (2004: 334). In Utrero Agudo (2006: 444). Updated information and a few photographs are available at the Turismo Prerrománico site [http://www.turismo-prerromanico.com/monumento/20130209171107/] [accessed 20 June 2017]