Experts from the Junta de Andalucía say the archaeological find unearthed in Torrenueva on Tuesday is Roman and not Phoenician, as was first put forward as a possibility.

Technicians from the regional government’s cultural department were at the site on Wednesday, after the Mayor of Torrenueva, Manuel Carrascosa, ordered an immediate halt to the building work which was taking place there. The Junta has now ordered the building company to excavate the entire site before proceeding with any construction, for which a team of archaeologists will be called in.

Ideal newspaper reports an expert as saying that the find dates from the first and second centuries BC, and is mainly amphorae – the two-handled storage vessels used during Roman times. It’s believed they were produced in the area for supply to the Roman fish-salting factories in what is now Almunecar.