A mine of information at the Sierra Helada national park

VESTIGES: What remains of Albir’s ochre mine Photo credit: Angel Gonzalez

THE Sierra Helada national park organised a conducted tour specifically aimed at children.
Alfaz town hall’s Environment department and the Villa Romana open-air museum in Albir also collaborated on “Ethnographical heritage, a town’s legacy.”
The legacy in question is ochre, used as a pigment for tens of thousands of years and obtained from sites like the Virgen del Carmen mine in Albir which now belongs to the Sierra Helada national park.
The mine, which functioned well into the 20th century, was founded by the Romans but was possibly in use long before their arrival, archaeologists believe.
Fine examples of industrial architecture, including the remains of some of the miners’ homes can still be seen at the Virgen del Carmen mine, together with infrastructure for mining activity and transporting the ochre.
The conducted tour was led by the national park’s Environment instructor and archaeologists from Alfaz’s Heritage department and on their return, the children attended workshops related to extracting the ochre, processing the mineral and using the pigment in artwork.

Written by

Linda Hall

Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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