Present day Guardamar has been inhabited from time immemorial due mainly to its strategic position along the Mediterranean Sea and at mouth of the River Segura.
Many ancient Mediterranean civilisations have left their mark on the town. The Phoenicians established a port city there between the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. The Iberian culture blossomed between the and centuries and numerous remains such as the "Dama de Guardamar" have been found. Guardamar also has remains of human activity from the period of the Roman Empire. During the centuries of Islamic domination, a community known as Al-Mudawar existed which has not yet been found - and later on, a "rábita" or religious community lived in the area known as "la Fonteta"
Today, Guardamar's inhabitants come from the Christian settlers brought here by
Jaume I during his many military campaigns in the 1260's.The village was founded during the period of Castilian domination up until 1305, when the area was eventually incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia by James II. The inhabitants of Guardamar have experienced some difficult times during its history attacks from the Moors, the Castilians and from Berber pirates. In spite of these harsh conditions, the people of Guardamar "Guardamarencos" have remained resilient and the population has continued to grow.
Modern day Guardamar is also marked by two extremely important events - the earthquake of 1829 which totally destroyed the old mediaeval town and caused the town to be relocated to today's site. The later threat came from the movement of the sand dunes which resulted in the reforestation project and the creation of the pine forest of which Guardamar is extremely proud.
