The Royal Workshops of the Alhambra
Industrial Activity in Early Modern Granada
Contributions by Moisés Alonso Valladares, Dr Miguel Busto Zapico, Chris Casswell, Professor María Elena Díez Jorge, Dr Chloë N. Duckworth, Alberto García Porras, David J. Govantes-Edwards, Dr Ashely Green, Dr Saúl Guerrero Rivero, Josie Hagan, Dr María del Carmen Jiménez Roldán, Laura Martín Ramos, Eleonora Montanari, Ben Moore, María José Peregrina Sánchez, Dr Derek Pitman, Dr Juan Manuel Ríos Jiménez, Hayden Scott-Pratt, Dr Almudena Velo Gala, Professor Kate Welham Edited by Alberto García Porras, Dr Chloë N. Duckworth, David J. Govantes-Edwards
Publication date:
25 February 2022Length of book:
208 pagesPublisher
Boydell PressDimensions:
240x170mmISBN-13: 9781800104679
The Alhambra is one of the most famous archaeological sites worldwide, yet knowledge of it remains very partial, focussing on the medieval palaces. This book addresses that imbalance, examining the adjacent urban and industrial zone.
The Alhambra is one of the most famous archaeological sites worldwide, yet knowledge of the complex remains very partial, focussing on its medieval Nasrid palaces. Other aspects of the site are virtually unknown, not only to the general public but to archaeologists and historians as well. The Royal Workshops of the Almambra addresses this imbalance, examining the urban and industrial zone adjacent to the palaces. Once the most densely populated and extensive area of the complex, this zone, the Secano, contained houses, tanneries, and workshops including a considerable number of pyrotechnological facilities for the production of metal, glass and ceramic items. Presenting the results of the Royal Workshops of the Alhambra (UNESCO World Heritage Site) project, the book gives a much-needed insight into the industrial sector of the Alhambra. Crucially, the project focusses on the early modern era, when the manufacture of ceramic, glass and metal actually reached their peak. The opening chapters set the archaeological work and the Secano in context and discuss the methodology for archaeological investigation of pyrotechnological activity; while further chapters present the results of the research. Drawing on both traditional and ground-breaking survey and excavation techniques, the book provides an invaluable wide-lens picture of the palatial city.
The Alhambra is one of the most famous archaeological sites worldwide, yet knowledge of the complex remains very partial, focussing on its medieval Nasrid palaces. Other aspects of the site are virtually unknown, not only to the general public but to archaeologists and historians as well. The Royal Workshops of the Almambra addresses this imbalance, examining the urban and industrial zone adjacent to the palaces. Once the most densely populated and extensive area of the complex, this zone, the Secano, contained houses, tanneries, and workshops including a considerable number of pyrotechnological facilities for the production of metal, glass and ceramic items. Presenting the results of the Royal Workshops of the Alhambra (UNESCO World Heritage Site) project, the book gives a much-needed insight into the industrial sector of the Alhambra. Crucially, the project focusses on the early modern era, when the manufacture of ceramic, glass and metal actually reached their peak. The opening chapters set the archaeological work and the Secano in context and discuss the methodology for archaeological investigation of pyrotechnological activity; while further chapters present the results of the research. Drawing on both traditional and ground-breaking survey and excavation techniques, the book provides an invaluable wide-lens picture of the palatial city.
Undoubtedly, this research output can be used by archaeology students to understand the methodology applied to the case of Secano. The monograph shows a new face of the Alhambra that, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, lost its function as a palatium, becoming a residential area of industrial and domestic activities.