Malaga housing construction unveils possible Civil War shelter

Construction work on an eight-unit building in the steep Monte de San Telmo area between Baños del Carmen and Cerrado de Calderón in Malaga city has led to the discovery of a cavity possibly used as a shelter during the Civil War.

Following the demolition of a house on Calle Jarama, during clearing tasks workers discovered the vertical opening in the eastern part of the Torre de San Telmo grounds.

"It's an archaeological zone. This area is protected. We've noticed what could be a cave. We are going to call the authorities," says the video shared on social media.

Following inquiries from locals, an archaeologist from the municipal planning department visited the area to investigate the nature of this small cavity.

According to sources, this opening in the mountain is barely a metre and a half deep and may have been excavated or used as a shelter or hiding place during the Spanish Civil War.

The project currently under way in the area plans to build eight homes with a swimming pool and 12 parking spaces on two basement levels.

"The cavity was at the level of the patio and served as an exterior storage area for the house. It was enclosed with a door," sources explained.

According to them, this discovery will not affect the ongoing development, designed by architects Moisés and Abraham Gómez Giner and Silvia Terrón Álvarez. Technicians will now measure the cavity to document it and remove any remaining debris.

The municipal planning department stated that, in principle, this discovery is not relevant from an archaeological point of view. However, it remains unclear whether this hole was deliberately made to serve as a shelter during the Civil War or was created by reusing an existing cavity that had been used as a quarry.

San Telmo occupied the entire area of the Baños del Carmen spa until 1880. However, the authorities of the time decided that the mountain should be dynamited to supply rocks for the port expansion works, a spectacular blasting operation that took place on 24 February of that year.

The housing project, as appoved two years ago, will involve extending Calle Vicente Espinel to reach Calle Jarama.

The urban development project includes a single 1.5-metre-wide pavement on the west side for pedestrian access, which will adapt to the slope by incorporating concrete steps. Railings will be installed at points where the difference in level between the pavement and the roadway exceeds half a metre. The road itself will be three metres wide and bordered on both sides by kerbs.

The works also include connecting the water supply and sanitation network, low-voltage distribution, telecommunications, natural gas and public lighting. The installation of 16 LED streetlights is also part of the project.

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