What are these? Ruins of a palace? Remains of a shop with storage rooms in the basement? You will never guess. This is (or rather, was) a fish salting factory. The fish salting industry was an extremely important part of the Almuñecar economy in ancient times, which is confirmed by numerous references in the chronicles of classic authors such as Pliny and Strabo. The boom in this industry was a result of the demand for this product from the whole Roman Empire.
This one - “El Majuelo” Fish Salting Factory - dates back to the 4th Century B.C. It was built by Phoenicains and expanded during the Roman period and used by the Romans until the 4th Century A.D.
Many types of fish were salted here but the most preferred were sturgeon and tuna because of the juiciness of their meat. The fish fillets were placed in layers of salt in the salting pits. These pits were built at ground level to make the handling easier. The pits had rounded edges in order to prevent cracking and were covered with special waterproof material. A wooden roof above protected the entire factory area from the weather. After twenty days, the salt fish were put into large amphorae for transport and sale throughout the Mediterranean area, especially to the cities of Carthage, Rome and Corinth.
