Tuerta Mill
Old industrial complex in Manzanares El Real
Description of the works
In the Prado Puente de Manzanares El Real area there are the remains of an old flour mill that was transformed in the XNUMXth century to form part of the continuous paper factory that existed in the town. Water was supplied through the Caz de los Quiñones, an infrastructure dating from the end of the Middle Ages. These facilities were a huge source of wealth for the town in the past. Later, the remains of the industrial complex were used for agriculture and storage and later suffered debris and a fire.
It has acted mainly in cases of urgent attention to the conservation of the structures, with the essential actions to guarantee their stability and prevent the continuation of irreversible damage and loss in some of the walls of the complex. The pilaster installed behind the eastern wall guarantees the stability of the most fragile section, preventing its collapse. The sealing of the top of the walls ensures their survival and the wounding of flooring and plastering will allow their conservation and will prevent the entry of water and the rooting of plants.
In parallel, archaeological documentation work has been carried out in the complex, managing to establish the limits of two of the buildings, whose dimensions could only be estimated based on the information provided by the documentary sources. The press building and the whitewash building, for example, have smaller dimensions than initially proposed. The presence of a filtering well with various levels of work and materials related to these processes has also been documented, such as metal meshes for the reception of fibers and cellulose pulps.
Within the cleaning actions of the numerous rubble and remains that cover the structures, the south wall of the main building has been delimited, removing a rough dry masonry structure from the boxes and shacks built in the second half of the XNUMXth century, when the area had agricultural and storage uses. A drainage channel has also been discovered, with opening and closing systems paved with large granite slabs, which from the main building poured into the underground. Important works have also been carried out to remove the larger vegetation that affected the remains.
A topographic survey of all currently visible structures has been carried out and stable and fixed georeferenced points have been installed as part of the necessary infrastructures for the following actions that could be addressed in the archaeological zone.
Finally, research work has been carried out on the complex in the National Newspaper Library, in the General Administration Archive and in the Municipal Historical Archive of Manzanares el Real, managing to expand the information on the production processes of this complex and on the historical evolution of the company and its owners.
During the work, outreach and citizen participation tasks have been carried out. It has collaborated in the realization of a report on the performance in municipal media that is disseminated through its YouTube channel and has had the collaboration of the El Real de Manzanares Cultural Association and the Los Abetos de Manzanares el Real School in field work, under the direction and technical supervision of archaeologists and restorers. Guided visits to the archaeological zone are also planned for residents interested in the project.
Reason for intervention
The consolidation and cleaning of the structural remains of the different buildings of the industrial complex.