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The history of Pilar de la Horadada can be followed nowhere more easily than in the Museum of Ethnology and Archaeology. The story of this long and turbulent history is told in five sections in the building on Calle Carretillas: archaeology, fossils, coins, ethnology, and the environment.
The museum is most proud of the bones of a prehistoric sea cow. These were found in the riverbed of the Rio Seco, where the animal must have grazed in the past. Another significant exhibit is the reconstruction of a section of the kind of road the Romans built at that time. The museum displays, through a cross-section nearly two meters deep, how the conquerors constructed the long Via Augusta. This route spanned thousands of kilometers, running along the coast from southern Cadiz to a large section beyond the French border.
Another clue related to this remarkable road construction from before the Common Era can be found on the beach of Mil Palmeras. Beachgoers are often amazed by the strange "pools" that have formed in the rocks by the sea. For a long time, it was thought to be an attempt to catch fish more easily. Archaeologists have now shown that these are actually quarries. The Romans extracted important materials there for the construction of the Via Augusta.
The museum showcases many everyday objects from that time, such as urns, tools, and ceramics. The collection also includes weapons from the prehistoric Iberian culture. Of more recent date is the exhibition on the ancient local tradition of weaving esparto grass. This sturdy type of grass, which mainly grows in Spain and North Africa, was used to make rope, baskets, and even shoes. Pilar was known as an important center where this artisanal industry was practiced. Workers skilled in weaving esparto grass can still often be seen at medieval markets in the region.
