Traditional bread-baking oven

Built with local stone bound with lime mortar, the floor was covered with terracotta tiles made in one of the many tile factories in the area, laid on a bed of sand to level the rocky ground. Interestingly, one of the tiles had an ovicaprid footprint on it and was placed at the mouth of the oven as a decoration. Its semi-circular design, with an entrance and an interior dome, allowed it to retain heat for hours, reaching high temperatures ideal for baking bread, cakes, roasting meat or even drying fruit.
Its size and location, at the start of the Ruta dels Penya-segats (Route of the Cliffs), suggest that it was probably a communal oven shared with the other cave -homes.
The process was quite a ritual. First, the fire was lit with dry wood, usually from carob or almond trees. Once the inside of the oven reached the desired temperature, the hot coals were removed and the food was placed inside.
The remains of this oven represent a cultural legacy that bears witness to a slower, more artisanal way of life deeply rooted in the land.