Factoría de Salazones El Majuelo

El Majuelo salting factory is located next to the west side of the Cerro de San Miguel hill, where the old quarter of Almuñécar is found; they were connected by steps in olden days and we can still see the remains of them today to the north-east of the site.

Three well-differentiated sectors can be distinguished: the southern sector, delimited by a wall which separated it from the adjacent beach, it was used as a store and for administrative activities. A gateway, later blocked up in stone, connected the factory and the sea. There are remains of a group of rectangular rooms where more than 700 coins have been found, although diverse archaeological superpositions lend it a maze-like appearance.

The Central Sector forms the main body of the factory. Here are the salting sinks that the fish steaks were put into, alternating them with layers of salt. After twenty-one days, the now-salted fish was put into large amphorae for transport and sale all around the Mediterranean, particularly in the cities of Carthage, Rome and Corinth.

At the back of the current bridge over the factory, in the Northern Sector we find the remains of a possible great temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Attached to the south wall of the church, we can see a canal that brought freshwater from a Aqueduct. It was used for washing the fish before salting them. Over this canal. are the remains of the steps from the central street of the factory to the city.

Under the church area, the existence of the first Phoenician settlement has been documented, from 7th century B.C.

Archaeological research has shown that the factory began its activity towards the end of the 5th century B.C. with its heyday in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. It maintained a good level of production to the 4th century A.D. when, as occurred in other factories on the Mediterranean, one sector is for a small cemetery.