The “arte” of marble: an archaeological and digital approach to 19th century hydraulic sawmills in the Almanzora Valley (Almeria, Spain)

Abstract

This work is framed within the historical processes of industrialisation that took place in the Almanzora Valley (Almería, Spain) throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. This geographic depression located in the centre of Almeria, province in the southeast of Spain, is structured by a river of the same name, with an irregular regime, which flows entirely through Almería territory. This river valley divides the province geologically and climatically from its source in the Sierra de los Filabres to its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea.

In this geographic and geological area, where the exploitation of marble has been a reality since prehistoric times, the so-called hydraulic sawmills emerged in the first half of the 19th century. These production complexes were based on a mechanised system known as ‘arte’ or ‘telar’. Fed by extensive networks of irrigation channels, the introduction of this hydraulic cutting mechanism made it possible to considerably speed up the processing of marble. This progressive mechanisation of the marble industry would lay the foundations of a prosperous economic sector that survives to this day, with a great international projection. A clear example of the development and evolution of these industrial complexes can be found in the so-called Nicoli Factory (Macael, Almería), which due to its location, age and longevity is an excellent case study.

This intricate historical context that gave rise to the hydraulic marble sawmills has been analysed through two growing theoretical lines with a strong methodological and interpretative heterogeneity: Industrial Archaeology and Virtual Archaeology. At the very confluence of both archaeological branches, this study presents a multidisciplinary methodological flow to study this heritage, focusing on the Nicoli Factory specific case (built in the 19th century). Thus, a historical and archival study has been carried out to locate and specify the Nicoli Factory chronologies of use. Subsequently, archaeological prospection was used to analyse and study the factory remains, which were quite altered. In addition to this, the remains digitisation was carried out using Structure from Motion photogrammetry with the support of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Based on the historical-archaeological data, together with the three-dimensional (3D) model of the environment and the factory remains, the authors proceeded to their digital analysis and the virtual reconstruction of what this factory would have looked like in the early production days. It is therefore a question of using 3D modelling as a method to test different construction and industrial work organisation hypotheses quickly, effectively, at low cost and without affecting the material heritage in any way. An interdisciplinary approach arises to demonstrate that the industrial past can be approached not only from more technical disciplines such as Architecture or Engineering, but also from the heart of Archaeology itself.

As the following lines explain, the use of these digital tools in studies of different periods of the past opens up new and interesting experimentation avenues beyond the mere dissemination of heritage. In this sense, virtual scenarios allow archaeologists not only to reconstruct the object, the structure or the landscape from the remains that exist today but also to face the challenges of the societies that built them. Virtual reconstruction thus becomes a kind of Experimental Archaeology, faster, more convenient and more integrative. Moreover, the fact of working in a virtual scenario allows for easy reproducibility of this reconstruction type; hypotheses can be easily tested or modified in the event of finding new data. Virtual Archaeology, therefore, offers interesting perspectives and tools even for periods closer to the present, which are a priori better known.