Neveras:
Quote from Bob Stansfield: Mounstain Walks on the Costa Blanca 1995
"These are deep cylindrical ice pits constructed on the northern
slopes of the high mountains for the purpose of making ice from snow.
They are normally about 15m deep and 10m in diameter. The larger ones
had supporting stone beams and a wooden roof which was tiled. Smaller
ones were corbelled, built up in steps from bricks and stones to make
a dome. They were mainly used during the 17th and 18th Centuries and fell
into decay with the introduction of refrigeration by electricity.
In winter the pits were filled with snow, sometimes in sacks, and sometimes layered in straw. During the summer, men with mules spent the night in the nevera cutting the ice into blocks, insulating it with straw, and transporting it by mule down the hazardous trails to the villages before the sun rose." end of quote
It is possible that natural depressions resulting from subsidence caused by the presence of underground caverns were used as sites for Neveras (Mikki Drummond - a Limestone Wonderland - booklet on Costa Blanca Geology 2001)
(Roughly translated from an information sign near a rural kiln in Fachecha)
Lime and sand were basic materials for construction. It has now been replaced by cement, but lime is easy to use and has many technical advantages; its more soluble and eco-friendly. It has also been used to whitewash walls as well as a disinfectant etc. Lime is made from a type of limestone rock which is heated in a kiln to a temperature of 1000 to 1200 Centigrade. This required a lot of wood. A kiln needed between 350 and 400 bundles of wood and had to be kept alight for 3 days without interruption. This necessitated 4 or 5 persons to complete the process which resulted in several metric tons of lime. During the burning the kiln took in wood only through the door. When the lime was ready, no more could be put in and the kiln considered full. They then waited 10 to 12 days to allow the lime to cool before emptying it. Rural lime kilns were used until the 1960s.
