Living on the costa

The eastern storm that hit the Malaga coast last week has left uncovered two ovens dating from Roman times on the beach of San Pedro Alcántara, in Marbella, some archaeological remains that the City Council will document for its preservation, as highlighted this Monday by the general director of Culture of the population nucleus, José Antonio Moreno.

The municipal official has detailed that on Saturday there was a notice that “some structure had appeared”, So the City Council activated security in the area to prevent the looting of the remains and last Sunday we proceeded to mark it, as well as it is under surveillance by the security forces.

Specifically, Moreno has specified that “two ovens have been found ”, pointing out that “what is seen is simply the mouth”, and although he has pointed out that dating them is “complicated” and that “archaeologists do not dare to say what their functionality was and whether or not they were pottery ”; has stated that “They are from Roman times”.

Likewise, it has indicated that in the area and on the slope where the kilns have surfaced, remains such as “pieces of tiles, some tiles or small ceramic pieces” because “the erosion of the land itself or the rain are pushing all those small pieces“, Underlining that the area” with the storm has become more stark and it was easier to see them. “

The director of Culture of the Sampedreño district has explained that the area, cataloged as “condition archaeological “ and where the Paleochristian Basilica Vega del Mar is located, dating from the 5th century AD. C .; “Normally it is runoff and it’s kind of a historic landfill where you can easily see small pieces of ceramics ”in the usual way.

As noted, the east wind storm recorded last week together with the “erosion of the sea” have left “the terrain a little more stark and those small ceramic pieces looked much better ”, so“We decided to perform on Sunday morning ”.

“We went to the archaeologists who provide their services in the Vega del Mar Paleo-Christian Basilica, which is a subcontractor that the Marbella City Council has for the maintenance of the visits, and resulted in the appearance of two ovens, and one of them seems to be quite well preserved”, Has related.

He then indicated that the City Council contacted the Provincial Delegation of the Junta de Andalucía, which has authorized an “urgent intervention” that will be based on carrying out “A small archaeological excavation” and “several tastings around“Of the structure found when” some small structures “were detected.

After the visit of the “inspector” this Monday to the affected land, the municipal official has indicated that the regional administration “has requested that document what has been found or prospect“And” later the best way to preserve it will be sought. ” To do this, he assured that “we are going to proceed with the hiring of an archeology company so that as soon as we have that report, the work can begin”.

Thus, the director of Culture of San Pedro Alcántara has clarified that “it must be taken into account that we are just 5 meters from the shore “, for which he has valued that “putting it in value is practically impossible”, since “the storm could take that structure away ”.

About the area in which the discovery has occurred, a few meters from the Paleochristian Basilica Vega del Mar, Moreno has recalled that it has always been speculated that before the archaeological site was built the land “It could be an industrial area where there were potters for the studies that had been done in his time and the first prospects ”.

In this way, he has highlighted that the discovery of the Roman remains “seems to us an obvious proof that actually yes there was here an industrial sector from the pottery era or a kiln with some function of that type ”.

Finally, Moreno recalled that the affected area “is a zone of archaeological affection, with which a crime by anyone who touches there or who wants to wear a piece of any kind ”.