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| The works have rehabilitated and put in value the archaeological remains of the 18th century factory, and will allow you to enjoy residential areas and a new viewpoint on the channel of the Acequia Mayor Aljufía | The Mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, together with the Councilor for Sustainable Development and Huerta, Antonio Navarro, and the Councilor for Culture and Heritage Recovery, Jesús Pacheco, visited this morning the Molino de la Pólvora, whose rehabilitation works have already been completed and which aspires to become a reference space for the Murcian Huerta heritage.

Specifically, it is located in the area of ??Los Canalaos, where its remains are, which can be seen from a new viewpoint."The Huerta de Murcia has recovered one of the most important elements of its heritage, the vestiges of the Molino de la Pólvora, whose origin dates back to the first decades of the 18th century and which was preceded by a flour mill," said José Ballesta, who added that "it is a milestone in the recovery of heritage that also represents a vindication of our roots: the vegetable garden of Murcia, our most valuable historical, cultural and ecological legacy, which is part of our collective identity," said José Ballesta .The rehabilitation and enhancement of the archaeological remains of the Molino de la Pólvora is a project framed within the Huerta Action Plan, which has also involved the recovery of the Molinos del Amor and the Batán.Integrated stop on the 20 routes that run the HuertaThe City Council has developed a set of 20 tourist routes to explore on foot and by bicycle, which run through the Huerta de Murcia and which highlight the historical places and corners of this environment.In this sense, the Molino de la Pólvora has become one of the most favorable places to stop and contemplate the landscape, since its remains are part of 'Route 1.

La Aljufía: Murcia-Azud de la Contraparada' .A new viewpoint to observe the remains of the MillThe City Council has conditioned this monument, of which its remains remained; environment in which a rest area has been designed with a viewpoint located on the bed of the Alcequia Mayor Aljufía –one of the two largest ditches that support the traditional irrigation network of the Huerta de Murcia, taking its waters from the Segura river– .

The new viewpoint also offers views of the adjacent plots, to which the mill operation was traditionally linked.In addition, exhibition panels on the history and ancient functions of the Mill, designed with cane, have been installed, and the footbridge that crossed the ditch has been restored, becoming a pedestrian bridge that allows groups to pass safely and offers a optimal view of the riverbed.As a whole, the project for the rehabilitation of the Molino de la Pólvora, designed by Santa Cruz Arquitectos and by the archaeologists of Arqueotec, and executed under the direction of the Municipal Project Office, has contemplated the enhancement of the remains of the mill itself , as well as the restoration of the stone cloths around the Mayor Aljufía canal and the recovery of its quijeros.

Specifically, the works began in October 2019 and have ended in July 2020.The history of the place 'Los Canalaos'Archeology has been integrated into all phases of the project.

In this sense, archaeologists have been part of the writing team, not only providing historical but also archaeological information, carrying out excavations to verify the existence of the remains of the old gunpowder factory.The research and archaeological excavation works, carried out in the years 2017 and 2018, have revealed the historical evolution of this natural site, where only the ruins of the construction canals were preserved, which gave rise to the name, baptized as the site of ' Los Canalaos'.The first archaeological excavations have exposed some of the old facilities and numerous gray limestone mortars, used to mix the components of the powder (nitrate, sulfur and coal).

Until the recent performance, the Mill has been used exclusively for irrigation, which has allowed its conservation after its abandonment in the 19th century.This rehabilitation and enhancement project has paid attention to sustainability criteria, such as the use of natural materials, landscape integration, use of nearby resources, etc.A 15th century flour mill preceded that of the GunpowderDue to its environmental conditions and abundant canal, a flour mill was built in the Greater Aljufía canal in the 11th century, which was soon joined by a mopping rag.

This was the case until the 18th century, when the administrator of the King's factories started the Powder Mill on this site.The first news of the flour mill was published in the year 1413, being this property of the marriage formed by Fernán Pérez Calvillo and Juana Carrillo, family in which it remained until the eighteenth century and of which some descendants still live in the surroundings of this place .

Initially it was built as a flour mill, but soon it was also transformed into fulling mill - a machine destined to transform fabrics.Artillery and gunpowder arrived in the 18th centuryIn 1719, the then General Administrator of the royal Powder Factories, Francisco Zoco, began to build a new factory next to the Juan Carrillo mill.At the end of the 18th century the factory reached its maximum development.

Later, in 1802, the Ordinance of the Royal Artillery Corps decreed the future closure of the Lower Factory (Los Canalaos).

In 1805, the Molino de la Pólvora stopped producing definitively, concentrating production at the Military Powder Factory of Murcia in Javalí Viejo.

Although the factory attempted to sell, the property remained in the hands of the Artillery Corps until it was exchanged five decades later.Mills of Love and BatánThis action is part of the Huerta de Murcia Action Plan, the most important environmental and socio-cultural initiative of the last decades, which offers a structuring vision of the entire municipality, connecting the Murcian districts, with the historic center and the river.Within the axis of heritage recovery, the City Council has also recovered the environment of the Batán Mill, on the Camino Viejo de Monteagudo (Zarandona), an action that includes the rehabilitation of the base of the Arab Tower of the XII-XIII centuries, declared Well of Cultural Interest, and the 18th century bridge over the Azarbe Mayor.Likewise, the Town Hall has recovered the municipally owned Molino del Amor, which is located at the end of the Paseo del Malecón, next to the Carretera de La Ñora, on the border between La Arboleja and La Albatalía, on the Alquiafia main canal, and it is a cataloged construction, dated in the 18th century although, as in other cases in the Huerta, it was probably built on a previous medieval mill.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia