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Definitions
Wool Drying Grounds – Open spaces taking advantage of terrain with a slightly inclined and flagged pavement, where the raw wool was strewn to dry in the sun after being washed.
Sun Tenters – Open air equipments meant to dry and stretch the woolen cloths, after being wet in the washboards, the fulling mills and the dye-baths.
The sun tenters were formed by bars with nails used to fasten and stretch the “pieces of cloth”, being set over granite partitions walls built in terraces taking advantage of a hillside city (such as Covilhã) and the best sun exposure. Initially the bars were made of wood, but during the 19th century they started being made of iron.
This kind of equipment was used until the middle of the 20th century and by then this wool drying natural procedure was abandoned in favour of the mechanized drying.
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