The City Council recovers for the city the last remaining pottery kiln on the coast of Málaga

This ethnographic piece has been moved to the park of La Hermandad and will be enhanced with informative panels that will show how it worked, as well as the pieces it produced.

The kiln is about a hundred years old and during almost the entire twentieth century produced pieces of popular pottery, as certified by numerous studies.

The City Council of Estepona reports that it has recovered for the city the last pottery kiln that is preserved on the coast of Málaga.

The mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, has indicated that the Consistory has taken a new step in the preservation of its heritage by putting in value this ethnographic jewel of the early twentieth century, which has been moved to the Park of La Hermandad, which will be inaugurated this Saturday, December 2.

The potter’s kiln, which until now was in its original location, on a site on Avenida Juan Carlos I, has been dismantled, moved and reassembled in this new park to ensure its conservation and that it can be enjoyed by visitors to the park. The works for its relocation have been authorized by the Junta de Andalucía and have had the participation of the City Council of Estepona and the developer of the site of the Juan Carlos I Avenue.

The actions for the relocation of the same began last October with an archaeological excavation and documentation of the oven. These works were directed by the archaeologist José Valderrama of the company Arqueo-Eficiencia. Subsequently, the removal work was directed by the restorer Jesús Serrano of the specialized company Gares Restauración.

It is a large oven, with masonry walls, covered with a vault, and has intact the fire zone and the grill. It belonged to the pottery of the del Cid family and for most of the 20th century it was used to bake pots for popular use such as casseroles, pots, pitchers and flowerpots. This kiln is mentioned in numerous studies on traditional Spanish pottery of the twentieth century.

The alderman explained that the Consistory had a special interest in preserving this oven for its importance from the ethnographic and industrial point of view, as it is the last example of this type that remains on the coast of Malaga. In addition, the Ethnographic Museum of Estepona has in its funds with numerous samples of pieces produced in this pottery. The mayor has advanced that in the coming weeks will be exhibited in a space that is being adapted for it.

In its new location, the oven can be interpreted through a series of information panels that will offer both texts and drawings for the visitor to know how it worked and what kind of productions produced.

García Urbano has indicated that this action continues to protect and preserve the heritage of the city, while allowing both residents and tourists to know an activity that was very important in the past of Estepona from the Roman and Islamic times.