Almuñécar
Since early African man crossed into Europe, southern Spain has been a melting pot of developing cultures. And the area around Almuñécar was no different. Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age man made his home in the surrounding hills, but it was not until about 3,000 years ago that the modern history of the town began.

Phoenician seafarers, in their endless search for new trading points and products, discovered a virtual paradise in Almuñécar. Friendly local tribes, abundant water supplies, hills rich in copper and silver, along with superb fishing grounds, were quite attractive enough. But what made this spot so special was its natural harbour. In those days Almuñécar was a small peninsula between the mouths of two rivers - the Río Verde and Río Seco.

It is unclear exactly where the Phoenician settlement of Ex, or Sexi, was located, though the discovery of two important Phoenician-Punic burial sites in the hills above San Cristóbal give a strong indication of the possible area. However, finds in the Cueva de Siete Palacios (Municipal Archaeological Museum) close to the castle, provide firm evidence of a Phoenician colony in this zone too.

The Romans fortified and developed what they called Sexi Firmum Julium. Great importance was attached to the old Phoenician fishing and salting industry, which they expanded and developed in a thorough way. And today's visitor can see remains of the salazones, or salting pits, in the Majuelo Park just below the castle. Large quantities of fresh water, required for the urban community and salazones, was brought almost 7 km from up the Río Verde by means of a sophisticated system of tunnels, channels and aqueducts. Large sections of the sturdy construction still remain and can be visited.

Click here to see a model of the old Roman town.

One of the great delicacies produced in Almuñécar for the imperial tables of Rome was gurum, or garum. This was a type of fish paste, prized for its spicy flavour and medicinal properties. Principal ingredients were mackerel roe and tuna liver which were then soaked in brine and allowed to ferment. Apparently, the disagreeable taste of the final product was so bad that people would disguise it with wine, oil, honey or vinegar. Its highly nutritious content, however, was used to combat various infirmities, especially rickets.

Though few remnants of the Imperial occupation remain to be seen today, it is clear from archaeological evidence and such elaborate constructions as the aqueduct, that Almuñécar was considered an important coastal trading colony. Its wonderful natural harbour, abundant fishing grounds and good water supply helped support a thriving community from the first century bc right up until the Empire's decline in the fourth century of this era.

Little seems to be known of Almuñécar's role during the succeeding three or four centuries. Southern Spain was overun by the Vandals who, driven over to Africa during the early fifth century by the Visigoths, left little but there name for the region - Vandalusia. And it is not until the Moorish invasion of the eighth century that once more we can pick up on local events.

Under occupation of the Arabs, the town once more rose to a position of importance with a flourishing economy and population. Renamed Al-Munakkab, or Hins-al-Monacar (Fortified Town, or Flanked by Hills), it is clear to see the derivation of the modern name Almuñécar. The hilltop fortifications, originally Roman, were rebuilt and expanded into a formidable castle.

Local agriculture was enriched with a number of oriental additions, including sugar cane, pomegranate, fig and citrus varieties. The Arabs also established what was to become a famous silk-production industry, not just in Almuñécar but all along the coast. Today, sadly only the occasional mulberry tree, home to the silkworm, can still be seen among the landscape.

During the latter years of the Christian Reconquest, the sultans of Granada paid close attention to Almuñécar. Strategically located as stepping stone to North Africa, it was the last town to fall to Catholic forces before the city of Granada. On December 30th, 1489, after 25 days of fighting, the castle surrendered. The final expulsion of Moors from Spain at the beginning of the seventeenth century, coupled with pestilence, war and continual attacks by coastal pirates, undermined and finally almost destroyed the local economies. Almuñécar quietly slipped from the history books, to take its place as a small unassuming agricultural and fishing community.

It is not until after the Spanish Civil War (1936-9), with the advent of serious commercial agriculture and modern-day tourism, that once more we see Almuñécar retaking its place as a productive and important town.

La Herradura
La Herradura's ancient history is very similar to that of Almuñécar. Arqueological evidence shows that since the Bronze Age there has been continued human activity in the area. Both Phoenician traders and Roman colonists founded small agricultural estates or built country villas around the bay and, much as today, the area depended to a large part on being close to the market town and trading centre of Almuñécar, just an hour's walk away.

Historical records cannot fix a date for the founding of the first important settlement in the area, although it appears that the village of Jate, or Xate, already existed when the Arabs arrived and was located on the banks of the Rio Jate, about 2 km from where the village of La Herradura stands today. It is thought to have been established by Christians during the Visigothic era, around the 7th century a.d.

This was an established junction between the Via Hercúlea coastal route established by the Romans and an inland route that gave access to the interior along the Río Jate valley. Also, the whole bay, and particularly the river mouth, made an excellent safe anchorage. Local trade flourished and, although on a much smaller scale than Almuñécar, it was based on similar products such as fish, dried fruits, minerals and so on.

Known by the Arabs as La Alquería (farmstead) de Jate, the village thrived for more than 700 years until after the Reconquest when, during the arab Rebellions of the Alpujarras in the 16th century, local Christians from Almuñécar sacked the area in fear of the small arab community which still lived there, killing many, destroying their properties and burning their boats. The order to expel all Moors from Spain made by Philip III in 1609 then finally sealed the fate of Xate which, according to one chronicler, had fallen into ruins by the mid-17th century.

The bay of Jate became known to the Christians as the bay of La Herradura, due to its distinctive shape (herradura means horseshoe), and the new urban community that replaced the original village was established further to the east, taking on the same name. Much the same as Almuñécar, the departure of the Moors and their trade meant a gradual decline in fortune over the years until the latter part of last century when the advent of tourism brought another type of foreign wealth.