The Royal Workshops of the Alhambra. The modern kilns

Abstract

The current state of preservation of the pyrotechnological structures in the Secano of the Alhambra is not always as clear as could be wished, owing to the aggressive and indiscriminate reconstructions to which they were subjected in the 1960s and 1970s. A better understanding of the structural features of these industrial facilities is essential for the overall understanding of the Nasrid and post-medieval industrial complexes and their integration in the madīna’s urban structure. In order to compile first-hand data about the existing remains, a two-stage programme was implemented (both in trenches 1 and 2 and in the remaining pyrotechnological structures scattered throughout the site). First, the extant structures were examined in detail, paying close attention to such characteristics as construction materials (brick, mortar) and construction techniques to ascertain the actual extent of medieval and post-medieval remains, and record them accordingly. These structures were examined stratigraphically in order to determine phases, reconstructions, and repairs, which can also be indicative of the industrial activities developed within them. Second, the furnaces and kilns were recorded photographically, prior to the production of photogrammetric 3D models, to allow for the remote examination of these structural eatures in great detail. Moreover, the 3D modelling was not limited to they rotechnological structures alone, but extended to the whole trenches, as an extra piece of information with which to examine the complex stratigraphy of both trenches.