Books by Anna Gutiérrez Garcia-M.
Book, 2018
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In many societies monuments are associated with dynamic socio-economic and political processes th... more In many societies monuments are associated with dynamic socio-economic and political processes that these societies underwent and/or instrumentalised. Due to the often large human and other resources input involved in their construction and maintenance, such constructions form an useful research target in order to investigate both their associated societies as well as the underlying processes that generated differential construction levels. Monumental constructions may physically remain the same for some time but certainly not forever. The actual meaning, too, that people associate with these may change regularly due to changing contexts in which people perceived, assessed, and interacted with such constructions.
These changes of meaning may occur diachronically, geographically but also socially. Realising that such shifts may occur forces us to rethink the meaning and the roles that past technologies may play in constructing, consuming and perceiving something monumental. In fact, it is through investigating the processes, the practices of building and crafting, and selecting the specific locales in which these activities took place, that we can argue convincingly that meaning may already become formulated while the form itself is still being created. As such, meaning-making and -giving may also influence the shaping of the monument in each of its facets: spatially, materially, technologically, socially and diachronically.
This volume varies widely in regional and chronological focus and forms a useful manual to studying both the acts of building and the constructions themselves across cultural contexts. A range of theoretical and practical methods are discussed, and papers illustrate that these are applicable to both small or large architectural expressions, making it useful for scholars investigating urban, architectural, landscape and human resources in archaeological and historical contexts. The ultimate goal of this book is to place architectural studies, in which people’s interactions with each other and material resources are key, at the crossing of both landscape studies and material culture studies, where it belongs.
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This book includes 88 contributions (oral and posters) that were presented during the IX Internat... more This book includes 88 contributions (oral and posters) that were presented during the IX International Conference of the Association for the Study of Marbles and Other Stones in Antiquity (ASMOSIA), held in Tarragona between 8 and June 13 2009.
These papers reflect the outcome of this meeting, which aimed to provide the scientific community interested in ancient stone a forum to discuss and exchange new data and results about all related aspects (geological and analytical archaeological, artistic and historical).
Following the premises of ASMOSIA, special attention is paid to a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration between researchers and practitioners from different disciplines as an essential tool to advance the identification, use, sale and use of materials tablet in ancient times.
The volume is divided into 8 chapters which are derived from sessions which organized the conference:
1. Applications to specific archaeological questions. Use of Marble
2. Provenances identification and I. Marbles
3. Provenances identification and II. Other stones
4. Transport and trade of stone
5. Quarries
6. Quarrying techniques, organization and stone manufacturing
7. Pigments of paintings and marble
8. Symbolism of stones. Local and imported materials
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This book, based on the PhD thesis of the author, focuses on the main Roman quarries in modern Ca... more This book, based on the PhD thesis of the author, focuses on the main Roman quarries in modern Catalonia. On the one hand, it analises their geographic location, their context (their place within the ancient territory), the evidences of work at the quarries by detecting traces of tools, volume stone extracted, etc; and the other, it attempts to date their life-span through the study not only of the traces but also the use of their stone at the most significant Roman towns of northeastern Hispania(Tarraco Dertosa, Barcino, Gerunda among others). All this is the basis for further considerations on the exploitation, use, distribution and organization of quarrying in Roman times.
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Tarraco Pedra a Pedra , 2009
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Primera guia de materials lapidis hispànics explotats en època romana a la península Ibèrica. El ... more Primera guia de materials lapidis hispànics explotats en època romana a la península Ibèrica. El treball recull 16 varietats, i té especial interès en la descripció de la geologia dels entorns de les explotacions. Entre els materials lapidis figuren, per exemple, marbres de la zona d’Estremoz (Portugal), broccatello (també anomanat jaspi de la Cinta, procedent de Tortosa), marbres de la zona de Macael (Andalusia) i la pedra de Buixcarró (València). També s'hi estudien amb detall els punts d’explotació (pedreres) i les diverses aplicacions donades a cada tipus de pedra. El llibre és trilingüe (anglès, català i castellà), està molt ben il·lustrat (en color) i s'ha publicat com a catàleg ampliat d'una exposició amb el mateix títol muntada en el marc de la IX Asmosia Internacional Conference (Tarragona, juny del 2009).
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"In the area of what were the north-eastern sectors of the conventus Tarraconensis and the conven... more "In the area of what were the north-eastern sectors of the conventus Tarraconensis and the conventus Caesaraugustanus, the quarrying and use of stone for ornamental purposes was a basic aspect of the activity carried out from the time the Romans arrived in Hispania.
One of the most characteristic stones used for decorative and monumental purposes in this area was the usually yellow to pink limestone commonly known as Santa Tecla stone, which has been quarried in Tarragona until quite recently.
This book is a comprehensive study of this material, together with the grey llisós, another type of stone that crops out at the same places as Santa Tecla stone, and their use in Roman times.
"
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Monographic number of the AUSA journal that includes the contributions to a two-days scientific m... more Monographic number of the AUSA journal that includes the contributions to a two-days scientific meeting and othe papers related to the Roman temple of Vic.
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Papers by Anna Gutiérrez Garcia-M.
Estudis Altafullencs, 2024
We present the results of the survey and archaeological excavations undertaken by the Catalan Ins... more We present the results of the survey and archaeological excavations undertaken by the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology at the Roman quarry of El Mèdol between 2011 and 2013. Recognized as part of the monumental complex awarded World Heritage by the UNESCO in 200, it is one of the rare and better preserved examples of stone exploitation in ancient Spain. The results confirm its key role in the construction of the capital town of the largest province in the Roman West.
Keywords: quarry, Tarraco, extraction strategies, production chaine, logistics, transport.
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Butlletí Arqueològic, 2019
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International Journal or Architectural Heritage, 2019
Probably the most important Romanesque artwork in Spain, the Portal of Glory of Santiago de Compo... more Probably the most important Romanesque artwork in Spain, the Portal of Glory of Santiago de Compostela is essentially made in granite, the most abundant stone in the NW of Iberia, with the only exception of five marble pieces. Different hypothesis on the origin of these marbles have previously been proposed based on visual assessment or by directly assuming a local source. To shed light on their quarry provenance, a multi-analytical study was performed combining polarized-light optical microscopy, cathodoluminescence microscopy, XRPD, SEM-EDS and stable C and O isotopes. The comparison of the results with the available databases reveals the use of marbles from the Estremoz Anticline (Portugal) in the three exquisitely carved columns strategically placed in the central arcade, whereas the other two pieces are local marbles, illustrating a more complex consumption of this noble material than that initially expected.
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Lapidum natura restat Canteras antiguas de la península ibérica en su contexto (cronología, técnicas y organización de la explotación) Carrières antiques de la péninsule Ibérique dans leur contexte (chronologie, techniques et organisation de l’exploitation), 2018
Resumen: Aunque tradicionalmente conocidas como canteras de Espejón, se trata de una amplia área ... more Resumen: Aunque tradicionalmente conocidas como canteras de Espejón, se trata de una amplia área de extracción que abarca varios TM en las actuales provincias de Soria y Burgos donde afloran diversas variedades de calizas cretácicas y conglomerado muy apreciadas. Desde 2014 venimos estudiando los datos arqueológicos de su explotación durante la Antigüedad, en especial las evidencias directas quizás relacionables con la extracción probada desde época augustea y bien atestiguada por el uso del material en lugares de destino (Segobriga, Clunia, Uxama, Complutum, Legio, Asturica Augusta, Carranque, etc.). No obstante, la masiva explotación de este variado material lapídeo en época moderna, en el marco de los programas ornamentales de los Austrias primero y, principalmente, los Borbones más adelante, permiten plantear algunas cuestiones de carácter metodológico sobre el estudio de canteras que tuvieron un uso tan intenso y prolongado a lo largo de los siglos. Así, a partir de la revisión de las evidencias arqueológicas y de la abundante documentación textual existente sobre ellas desde el siglo XVI en adelante, planteamos una reflexión sobre el posible uso de las canteras desde época romana y de las posibles vías de salida del material.
Palabras clave: Espejón, canteras, Antigüedad, época moderna, documentación escrita, vías de transporte.
Resumé: Les « carrières de Espejón », traditionnellement connues sous ce nom, occupent en fait un espace sur plusieurs communes (terminos municipales) à cheval sur les actuelles provinces de Soria et de
Burgos où affleurent plusieurs variétés de calcaires crétacés et de conglomérat très appréciés. Depuis 2014 nous étudions les modalités d’exploitation durant l’Antiquité ; l’extraction est attestée depuis l’époque augustéenne, époque où son usage est constaté dans plusieurs cités (Segobriga, Clunia, Uxama, Complutum, Legio, Asturica Augusta, Carranque…). L’exploitation massive de ce matériau à l’époque moderne pour de vastes programmes architecturaux et ornementaux, surtout
sous les Bourbons, a suscité des questions d’ordre méthodologique sur l’étude des carrières exploitées intensément et sur une longue période. La révision des données archéologiques et la lecture des sources existantes depuis le XVIe siècle ont permis d’approfondir la réflexion sur le fonctionnement des carrières depuis l’époque romaine et sur la circulation des matériaux.
Mots clés : Espejón, carrières, Antiquité, époque moderne, sources écrites, routes de transport.
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A. Brysbaert, V. Klinkenberg, A. Guttiérez Garcia-M. and I. Vikatou (eds), Constructing Monuments, Perceiving Monumentality and the Economics of Building. Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Built Environment. Leiden: Sidestone Press., 2018, 2018
In Early Imperial age, the Roman town of Tarraco (modern Tarragona, Spain), capital city of the l... more In Early Imperial age, the Roman town of Tarraco (modern Tarragona, Spain), capital city of the largest Roman province in the Western Mediterranean, experienced an intense building activity that totally modified its architecture and urbanism. From the Augustan period -in the turn of the era- to the Flavian period - late 1st c. AD-, when the works of the Provincial Forum were completed, the landscape of the town was modelled reaching a degree of monumentality according to its political status.
The dual nature of the town, as colony and head of the province, meant that two public areas where developed: one as center of the Republican and Augustan colony, located in its lower part, and one on the upper part, where the architectural complex of the Provincial Forum was erected, on the upper part of the hill. With a large temple presiding over this latter one, it became the symbol of sacredness of the imperial power and a means for the political representation of the local élites.
In this paper we will approach these two areas as ideal case-studies of the dynamics that revolve around the setting up of large-scale building programmes and the complex economic system that is the construction. By looking in to the abundant archaeological record (which consists of not only the architectural remains but also the exceptionally well-preserved evidences of stone supply, such as the large quarry of El Mèdol and the remarkable collection of quarry marks preserved on a large number of blocks discovered on this same site), we will try to better understand the organisation of the building industry as well as the links and impact that it inevitably had on the overall economy of the town while contextualizing it within its geographical, social and political environment.
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The archaeological site of Carranque (Toledo, Spain) is
one of the most important Hispano-Roman s... more The archaeological site of Carranque (Toledo, Spain) is
one of the most important Hispano-Roman sites in terms
of the use of marmora during the late Roman Empire. The
research carried out since 2004 at this site has shed light on
the extent of the use of more than forty types of marmora
(from the most important Mediterranean and Hispanic
quarries) to decorate a prominent palatial building built in
the late 4th century AD and which has been the object of
recent studies and publications. The work we present now
focuses on the reuse of marmora from this Late Roman
building in the construction of tombs of the necropolis
established in Visigothic times (6th – 7th centuries AD).
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We present the first results of an on-going research project on a decorative stone that might hav... more We present the first results of an on-going research project on a decorative stone that might have been one of the main ornamental stones in Roman Spain’s inland, the limestone and conglomerate from Espejón. Within the framework of exploitation and uses of other Hispano-Roman stone resources, these results will add significant data to the whole picture of non-foreign marmora exploitation and use in Hispania. So far, the archaeological materials of several sites have been inspected, a survey to locate quarrying evidence has been undertaken and a multimethod analytical protocol has been initiated. Thus, we have established the basis for an archaeometric reference corpus, which will be henceforth enlarged and used as tool for comparison with archaeological items in order to determine the extent of this limestone and multi-coloured conglomerate’s distribution and use.
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Auriga, 2017
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Tribuna d'Arqueologia, 2016
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In spite of the great leap forward experienced in our understanding of the use of marble and othe... more In spite of the great leap forward experienced in our understanding of the use of marble and other ornamental stones in Roman Spain, provenance studies are still quite uncommon in some territories of the Iberian Peninsula. This was the case of the northwesternmost part (modern Galicia), where no significant work had been done until now. Within the framework of an interdisciplinary study, a significant number of objects studied did not match with the main well-known Classical marbles but seemed to have been produced with a local stone known as O Incio marble, which had never been yet archaeometrically analysed. Therefore, the quarries near the small village of O Incio were located and sampled, and a multi-method approach combining polarized-light microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray powder diffraction and stable C and O isotope analysis as well as spectrophotometry was applied to characterize the different outcropping marble varieties as the first and basic step to correctly differentiate them from other Iberian and foreign marbles with similar macroscopic features. Résumé : De grandes avancées ont été réalisées récemment concernant l'emploi des marbres et des autres roches ornementales dans l'Espagne romaine. Cependant, certains territoires de la péninsule Ibérique ne font l'objet que de rares études de provenance. Ceci était le cas du nord-ouest (actuelle Galice), où aucun travail n'avait été mené jusqu'à présent. Dans le cadre d'une étude interdisciplinaire, un nombre important d'objets ne correspondaient pas avec les principaux marbres classiques, mais semblaient avoir été mis en oeuvre à partir d'un matériau local connu sous le nom de marbre d'O Incio qui n'avait jamais été objet d'une caractérisation archéométrique. Par conséquent, les carrières avoisinant le petit village d'O Incio ont été localisées et échantillonnées, et une approche multi-méthode combinant analyse pétrographique, cathodoluminescence, diffraction de rayons X, analyse des isotopes stables de C et O et spectrophotométrie a été appliquée afin de caractériser les différentes variétés de marbre. Cela constitue la première étape fondamentale pour les différencier d'autres marbres ibériques et étrangers macroscopiquement similaires.
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Books by Anna Gutiérrez Garcia-M.
These changes of meaning may occur diachronically, geographically but also socially. Realising that such shifts may occur forces us to rethink the meaning and the roles that past technologies may play in constructing, consuming and perceiving something monumental. In fact, it is through investigating the processes, the practices of building and crafting, and selecting the specific locales in which these activities took place, that we can argue convincingly that meaning may already become formulated while the form itself is still being created. As such, meaning-making and -giving may also influence the shaping of the monument in each of its facets: spatially, materially, technologically, socially and diachronically.
This volume varies widely in regional and chronological focus and forms a useful manual to studying both the acts of building and the constructions themselves across cultural contexts. A range of theoretical and practical methods are discussed, and papers illustrate that these are applicable to both small or large architectural expressions, making it useful for scholars investigating urban, architectural, landscape and human resources in archaeological and historical contexts. The ultimate goal of this book is to place architectural studies, in which people’s interactions with each other and material resources are key, at the crossing of both landscape studies and material culture studies, where it belongs.
Review of the book at by O. Rodriguez & published at Espacio, Tiempo y Forma journal: http://revistas.uned.es/index.php/ETFI/article/view/23147/18575
These papers reflect the outcome of this meeting, which aimed to provide the scientific community interested in ancient stone a forum to discuss and exchange new data and results about all related aspects (geological and analytical archaeological, artistic and historical).
Following the premises of ASMOSIA, special attention is paid to a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration between researchers and practitioners from different disciplines as an essential tool to advance the identification, use, sale and use of materials tablet in ancient times.
The volume is divided into 8 chapters which are derived from sessions which organized the conference:
1. Applications to specific archaeological questions. Use of Marble
2. Provenances identification and I. Marbles
3. Provenances identification and II. Other stones
4. Transport and trade of stone
5. Quarries
6. Quarrying techniques, organization and stone manufacturing
7. Pigments of paintings and marble
8. Symbolism of stones. Local and imported materials
One of the most characteristic stones used for decorative and monumental purposes in this area was the usually yellow to pink limestone commonly known as Santa Tecla stone, which has been quarried in Tarragona until quite recently.
This book is a comprehensive study of this material, together with the grey llisós, another type of stone that crops out at the same places as Santa Tecla stone, and their use in Roman times.
"
Papers by Anna Gutiérrez Garcia-M.
Keywords: quarry, Tarraco, extraction strategies, production chaine, logistics, transport.
Palabras clave: Espejón, canteras, Antigüedad, época moderna, documentación escrita, vías de transporte.
Resumé: Les « carrières de Espejón », traditionnellement connues sous ce nom, occupent en fait un espace sur plusieurs communes (terminos municipales) à cheval sur les actuelles provinces de Soria et de
Burgos où affleurent plusieurs variétés de calcaires crétacés et de conglomérat très appréciés. Depuis 2014 nous étudions les modalités d’exploitation durant l’Antiquité ; l’extraction est attestée depuis l’époque augustéenne, époque où son usage est constaté dans plusieurs cités (Segobriga, Clunia, Uxama, Complutum, Legio, Asturica Augusta, Carranque…). L’exploitation massive de ce matériau à l’époque moderne pour de vastes programmes architecturaux et ornementaux, surtout
sous les Bourbons, a suscité des questions d’ordre méthodologique sur l’étude des carrières exploitées intensément et sur une longue période. La révision des données archéologiques et la lecture des sources existantes depuis le XVIe siècle ont permis d’approfondir la réflexion sur le fonctionnement des carrières depuis l’époque romaine et sur la circulation des matériaux.
Mots clés : Espejón, carrières, Antiquité, époque moderne, sources écrites, routes de transport.
The dual nature of the town, as colony and head of the province, meant that two public areas where developed: one as center of the Republican and Augustan colony, located in its lower part, and one on the upper part, where the architectural complex of the Provincial Forum was erected, on the upper part of the hill. With a large temple presiding over this latter one, it became the symbol of sacredness of the imperial power and a means for the political representation of the local élites.
In this paper we will approach these two areas as ideal case-studies of the dynamics that revolve around the setting up of large-scale building programmes and the complex economic system that is the construction. By looking in to the abundant archaeological record (which consists of not only the architectural remains but also the exceptionally well-preserved evidences of stone supply, such as the large quarry of El Mèdol and the remarkable collection of quarry marks preserved on a large number of blocks discovered on this same site), we will try to better understand the organisation of the building industry as well as the links and impact that it inevitably had on the overall economy of the town while contextualizing it within its geographical, social and political environment.
one of the most important Hispano-Roman sites in terms
of the use of marmora during the late Roman Empire. The
research carried out since 2004 at this site has shed light on
the extent of the use of more than forty types of marmora
(from the most important Mediterranean and Hispanic
quarries) to decorate a prominent palatial building built in
the late 4th century AD and which has been the object of
recent studies and publications. The work we present now
focuses on the reuse of marmora from this Late Roman
building in the construction of tombs of the necropolis
established in Visigothic times (6th – 7th centuries AD).
These changes of meaning may occur diachronically, geographically but also socially. Realising that such shifts may occur forces us to rethink the meaning and the roles that past technologies may play in constructing, consuming and perceiving something monumental. In fact, it is through investigating the processes, the practices of building and crafting, and selecting the specific locales in which these activities took place, that we can argue convincingly that meaning may already become formulated while the form itself is still being created. As such, meaning-making and -giving may also influence the shaping of the monument in each of its facets: spatially, materially, technologically, socially and diachronically.
This volume varies widely in regional and chronological focus and forms a useful manual to studying both the acts of building and the constructions themselves across cultural contexts. A range of theoretical and practical methods are discussed, and papers illustrate that these are applicable to both small or large architectural expressions, making it useful for scholars investigating urban, architectural, landscape and human resources in archaeological and historical contexts. The ultimate goal of this book is to place architectural studies, in which people’s interactions with each other and material resources are key, at the crossing of both landscape studies and material culture studies, where it belongs.
Review of the book at by O. Rodriguez & published at Espacio, Tiempo y Forma journal: http://revistas.uned.es/index.php/ETFI/article/view/23147/18575
These papers reflect the outcome of this meeting, which aimed to provide the scientific community interested in ancient stone a forum to discuss and exchange new data and results about all related aspects (geological and analytical archaeological, artistic and historical).
Following the premises of ASMOSIA, special attention is paid to a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration between researchers and practitioners from different disciplines as an essential tool to advance the identification, use, sale and use of materials tablet in ancient times.
The volume is divided into 8 chapters which are derived from sessions which organized the conference:
1. Applications to specific archaeological questions. Use of Marble
2. Provenances identification and I. Marbles
3. Provenances identification and II. Other stones
4. Transport and trade of stone
5. Quarries
6. Quarrying techniques, organization and stone manufacturing
7. Pigments of paintings and marble
8. Symbolism of stones. Local and imported materials
One of the most characteristic stones used for decorative and monumental purposes in this area was the usually yellow to pink limestone commonly known as Santa Tecla stone, which has been quarried in Tarragona until quite recently.
This book is a comprehensive study of this material, together with the grey llisós, another type of stone that crops out at the same places as Santa Tecla stone, and their use in Roman times.
"
Keywords: quarry, Tarraco, extraction strategies, production chaine, logistics, transport.
Palabras clave: Espejón, canteras, Antigüedad, época moderna, documentación escrita, vías de transporte.
Resumé: Les « carrières de Espejón », traditionnellement connues sous ce nom, occupent en fait un espace sur plusieurs communes (terminos municipales) à cheval sur les actuelles provinces de Soria et de
Burgos où affleurent plusieurs variétés de calcaires crétacés et de conglomérat très appréciés. Depuis 2014 nous étudions les modalités d’exploitation durant l’Antiquité ; l’extraction est attestée depuis l’époque augustéenne, époque où son usage est constaté dans plusieurs cités (Segobriga, Clunia, Uxama, Complutum, Legio, Asturica Augusta, Carranque…). L’exploitation massive de ce matériau à l’époque moderne pour de vastes programmes architecturaux et ornementaux, surtout
sous les Bourbons, a suscité des questions d’ordre méthodologique sur l’étude des carrières exploitées intensément et sur une longue période. La révision des données archéologiques et la lecture des sources existantes depuis le XVIe siècle ont permis d’approfondir la réflexion sur le fonctionnement des carrières depuis l’époque romaine et sur la circulation des matériaux.
Mots clés : Espejón, carrières, Antiquité, époque moderne, sources écrites, routes de transport.
The dual nature of the town, as colony and head of the province, meant that two public areas where developed: one as center of the Republican and Augustan colony, located in its lower part, and one on the upper part, where the architectural complex of the Provincial Forum was erected, on the upper part of the hill. With a large temple presiding over this latter one, it became the symbol of sacredness of the imperial power and a means for the political representation of the local élites.
In this paper we will approach these two areas as ideal case-studies of the dynamics that revolve around the setting up of large-scale building programmes and the complex economic system that is the construction. By looking in to the abundant archaeological record (which consists of not only the architectural remains but also the exceptionally well-preserved evidences of stone supply, such as the large quarry of El Mèdol and the remarkable collection of quarry marks preserved on a large number of blocks discovered on this same site), we will try to better understand the organisation of the building industry as well as the links and impact that it inevitably had on the overall economy of the town while contextualizing it within its geographical, social and political environment.
one of the most important Hispano-Roman sites in terms
of the use of marmora during the late Roman Empire. The
research carried out since 2004 at this site has shed light on
the extent of the use of more than forty types of marmora
(from the most important Mediterranean and Hispanic
quarries) to decorate a prominent palatial building built in
the late 4th century AD and which has been the object of
recent studies and publications. The work we present now
focuses on the reuse of marmora from this Late Roman
building in the construction of tombs of the necropolis
established in Visigothic times (6th – 7th centuries AD).
a formal study with the identification of the marble used, which confirms a local provenance (O Incio area). These new data provide essential information, given the exceptional nature of this object, to recognize aspects related to technical quality of local workshops and consequently about social, economic and political implications of this type of productions in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC), la empresa ESTRATS S.L. y los Ayuntamientos de las respectivas localidades, se ha podido datar con precisión el período de vida de este yacimiento entre el último tercio del siglo II a.C. y el primer cuarto del siglo I a.C.
Durante la campaña de excavaciones del año 2005 se recuperaron numerosos fragmentos de tegulae y de imbrex hallados en los ámbitos 5 y 5b, gracias a lo cual se pudo deducir el tipo de cubierta que había tenido dicho edificio. Este tipo de material cerámico, la mayoría
del cual se encontraba en muy buen estado de conservación, presentaba un doble interés:
a) algunas de las tegulae presentaban unas características propias de materiales de origen itálico
b) la cronología del yacimiento permitía suponer que nos hallábamos ante los primeros ejemplos de una producción de materiales de construcción (tegulae e imbrex) netamente local.
Es por este motivo que se seleccionaron algunas de las piezas para proceder a su análisis petrológico y poder establecer su filiación y establecer conclusiones sobre la importación de materiales de construcción y los inicios de las primeras producciones locales
paintings and polychrome stucco wall decoration as well as an extensive assemblage of marbles has demonstrated that the Late Roman villa near Noheda was of exceptional wealth and importance. Even though its study is still in progress, the richness and variety of the finds as well as their implications on the role this villa played in Late Roman Hispania is so extraordinary that are worth presenting.
The marble assemblage that has been discovered so far basically come from the two areas of the site and includes a wide variety of foreign marmora, both white and coloured, as well as Hispanic ones. Moreover, a differentiate patron of marble use seems to emerge: Hispanic marbles were used as wall revetments at the residential building while the balnea was exclusively decorated with foreign marmora.
The discovery of a control point of the production and the remains of a possible Roman shrine as the results of the archaeological excavations undertaken in specific areas of the main quarrying area as well as the location a large collection of ephemeral inscriptions on blocks abandoned in front of the quarry and of a loading bay in a nearby beach provide exceptional information on both the technical, operational and human aspects of the procurement of the most basic raw material needed for Tarraco’s chief large-scale building public project.
On the other hand, the increasing studies on marble and other ornamental stone remains and the advances on Tarraco’s harbour help to understand the various-scale dynamics that provided the decorative stone and sculptures needed to give these public buildings the dignity or decorum to befit its status as capital of the largest province of the Western Roman Empire.
In this paper, we aim to address the reasons behind the choice of marble as raw material both for the production or the import of certain Roman and late-Roman productions, since recent archaeometrical analysis showed that both local and exotic marbles flown into Roman Galicia, as well as of the subsequent reuse of these materials in the early medieval period. We will, therefore, explore the economic, logistic and symbolic aspects of their use while taking also into account, in the case of the spolia, the context in which they were salvaged and recycled.
En la presente comunicación expondremos los resultados de la caracterización multi-método y jerarquizada (“paso a paso”) del mármol de estas canteras, combinando las aportaciones de los métodos ya clásicos en este tipo de trabajos (estudio petrográfico, catodoluminiscencia, SEM-EDS, espectrometría de masas de los isótopos estables del carbono y del oxígeno, difracción de rayos X) con técnicas poco empleadas (colorimetría, ICP-AOS, tratamiento de imágenes petrográficas).
The uncommon shape, structural elements, and decoration of this building in this territory at such an early date suggest that it was erected by foreign people. The structure consisted of dry stone, rammed earth and mud brick walls. Yet several scattered finds reveal that there were opus signinum floors with mainly white tessellae decoration as well as plaster/stucco with First Pompeian style paintings. Moreover, ochre pigment lumps and Egyptian blue balls were also found in a small service room.
The application of archaeometric analyses have been key not only to understand the techniques employed and to characterize the raw materials used in these decorative elements, but they have also helped to identify imported building materials (tegulae) which were immediately adopted and locally made.
All this points to Can Tacó as an illustrative case of the introduction of a new, typically Italic construction model which brings in new building traditions as well as specific elements (especially Italian tegulae) soon to be widespread.
In this paper, we present some specific cases as illustrative among which those of the columns, capitals, altars and sarcophagi at Santa Comba de Bande (Ourense) stands out. A comprehensive approach including their arhcaeometric characterization (i.e. petrography, cathodoluminiscence and, in some cases, IRMS for C-O isotopic determination) as well as the stylistic study is proposed to understand when and how these objects were carved, and how did they arrived at their current location.
Aware of this reality, we addressed the characterization of such materials as a fist and essential step to establish what stones (marble or other ornamental rocks) were used in this territory, to what purpose they were intended and the dating of their exploitation and/or presence in Gallaecia. A multimethod approach was performed on the samples, including petrography (POM), cathodoluminiscence (CL) and, in some cases, IRMS for C-O isotopic determination. The results so far, and even in this initial stage of the study, show a picture much more complex than it could be anticipated: the exploitation of local marmora emerges as a key factor, but there are also some foreign materials, both from other regions of Spain as well as the central Mediterranean (Italy).
The MARMOR LAPISQVE Project, presented in this contribution, focuses on the creation of a web page with the database that has been generated for nearly two decades and which includes over 7000 sample records from both archaeological objects and geological origin from the entire Mediterranean basin, with special application to the Hispanic stone materials used in Antiquity.
The design consists in two types of query, by Quarry or by Stone Type, for easy reference data. Standardized forms provide a complete characterization of the quarry / type, analytical results, images, references and a list of the archaeological samples related.
One of the main objectives of the catalog is to offer a common platform for different research teams, covering the gap between the research data and the results published. The data stored on this site will respond to an access system, with different access levels being defined the copyright clauses under current legislation. The analytical results will be restricted to the authors and only will be accessible after their permission.
This database is conceived as a quick and direct tool for the multi-institutional team mentioned above, but with projection for exchanging information between researchers from other institutions.
Furthermore, the website presents general public descriptions for each material, in order to provide the updated state about the study of the Roman Hispanic quarries and the provenance origin of archaeological stone materials.
Therefore, to locate the source and to perform the archaeometric characterization of these marbles became another main goal. Among them, the local stone known as O Incio marble was the first one to be approached since its very particular appearance (it is a white/grey, fine-grained, banded marble) strongly suggested it was the raw material of some of the objects in study and the fact that it had been in use until recently. Nevertheless, another group of white, coarse-grained marble remained unidentified and thus other marble outcrops on the territory were surveyed (areas of Mondoñedo, Sarria, O Caurel and Portomarín) to gather first-hand data and samples.
The work presented here is part of an ongoing project in which the use of multimethod analysis (POM, CL and IRMS for C-O isotopic determination) is applied to identify and adequately characterize the different outcropping marble varieties as the first and basic step to correctly differentiate from other Spanish or even Mediterranean marbles. The results so far, and even in this initial stage of the study, show a picture much more complex than anticipated: next to some foreign materials, both from other regions of Spain as well as the central Mediterranean (Italy), O Incio marble was rather used in this territory but it was not the only local marble variety exploited by the Romans. The archaeometric study provides the essential basis upon which pursue further research.
We will address some of the main actors involved in ancient exchanges between the eastern and the western Mediterranean. Although not always easy to interpret, pottery remains and in particular amphorae, which arrived to almost any maritime port in the Mediterranean and even the Atlantic area thanks to their particular nature as liquid and semi-liquid goods containers, are the main evidence of these exchanges. However, as several Roman shipwrecks have shown, they usually did not travel alone but were part of a miscellaneous charge among which we find also ornamental stone. Indeed, marble and other stones trade was an advantageous activity in particular from the early empire onwards, since in any region of the Roman world people tried to build and decorate their cities not only with local or nearby stones but also with marmora from distant places.
Through these two materials, we will focus on the evidences from two major town ports, Ephesus and Tarraco, and their territories, as a study case of the east-west trading and contacts. The first one was the main port of the rich province of Asia from the archaic period till the 7th-8th century AD. Huge quantities of wine, oil and other products produced in his hinterland were exported from there. Furthermore, the structures of the harbour and the numerous marble quarries in the Anatolian inland, point out to Ephesus as one of the most important export harbours in ancient times. On the other hand, Tarraco, founded in late 3rd century BC, was the capital of the largest province on the western Mediterranean, and the arrival point from which many goods were probably redistributed to its province. Indeed, the latest research in the Tarragona and the Ephesian region show the intensity of the link between the Aegean and the Levantine coast of the Iberian Peninsula, especially during the Late Antiquity."
Sin embargo, la obtención de estos materiales a menudo deja una huella evidente en el paisaje (canteras) cuyo estudio proporciona no sólo un mejor conocimiento de la naturaleza misma de la piedra (que junto su la caracterización mineralógica y petrográfica mediante métodos arqueométricos permite entender las necesidades intrínsecas de su extracción y trabajo posterior) sino que además aporta un conjunto de datos acerca de las técnicas y estrategias de extracción que permiten entender cómo se organizaba y gestionaba la explotación, traslado y empleo de estos materiales, fundamentales para la construcción no sólo stricto sensu sino también a nivel conceptual, de la sociedad y civilización clásica en la península ibérica.
La existencia en este territorio de numerosos afloramientos de rocas de distintas cualidades dio como resultado no sólo un extenso uso de piedra constructiva sino también un interés por la localización de rocas con potencialidad ornamental para embellecer las ciudades. A pesar de la escasez de excavaciones arqueológicas practicadas en estos yacimientos, los datos proporcionados por las prospecciones en superficie aportan evidencias que permiten observar una heterogeneidad en las técnicas documentadas y, especialmente, en las estrategias de extracción seguidas, que configuran un panorama rico y plural, reflejo de la gran complejidad y la enorme adaptabilidad de la actividad extractiva a las circunstancias geológicas, geográficas y de la misma demanda. En definitiva, se trata de un aspecto más de la explotación de los recursos naturales de un territorio que, junto al estudio de la explotación agrícola, ganadera, mineral y de los recursos hídricos, configura el entramado básico sobre el que se sustentó la Hispania romana."
El Mèdol is a deep, opencast, mainly pit-type quarry that exploited the local Miocenic biocalcarenite since Antiquity and also afterwards, until extraction permanently stopped in mid-20th century.
During 2013, a comprehensive project of rehabilitation and renovation of its museographic layout was implemented under the auspices of ABERTIS, owner of the property, to protect its values and to promote its visit by the general public, as it stands next to a service area of the AP-7 highway, which receives 500,000 passengers per year. The project included the building of a new interpretation centre as well as the clearance of the vegetation, the detailed recording of the quarry fronts and the archaeological excavation of some specific areas of particular interest (a total number of 8 test-pits were carried out).
The results of all these works provided a really significant increase of our knowledge of this site as well as the phases of the building of Tarraco. Not only we have now a comprehensive, detailed plan of all the quarry fronts (including a new small area of extraction unknown until now) but also that the volume of extraction at this site was in fact far larger than previously thought (from 66.000m3 to c. 150.000m3) and the existence of large of debris humps. Moreover, the archaeological excavations provided solid evidence (2 roman coins and a C-14 date) to bring back the main period of extraction to the change of the era, and not in the Flavian period as assumed until now. Another important aspect is the discovering of what seems to be a point of control of the production at the entrance of the pit, and the remains of a possible Roman shrine.
Alcover Stone was used alongside another local stone, Santa Tecla limestone, which was gradually implemented during Augustus’ and Julio-Claudian times. However, in Flavian times Alcover stone ceased to be used in epigraphy. The detailed exam of the inscriptions enables the identification of a hierarchy on the use of all these stones; in this hierarchy, Alcover stone is consigned to private uses from the Julio-Claudian period and leaves way to the foreign, prestigious marmora and the already mentioned Santa Tecla stone.
Its complete disappearance in the epigraphic record coincides with a change of technique of the oficina lapidaria. These workshops specialized from this period in a support which will become the most common in the town: the tripartite pedestals in Santa Tecla and Llisós stones. This typology was largely widespread on the whole conventus Tarraconensis, at the expense of the previously common plaques. This phenomena occurred simultaneously with the important urbanistic changes that were undertaken on the upper part of the town in Flavian times.
Among them, broccatello di Spagna (locally known as Jaspi de la Cinta) stands out as an especially significant coloured Spanish stone on the context of Roman Spain and provides the best example to illustrate the importance that some of these materials reached. The quarries that supplied this stone are well known and this yellow and purple limestone from Dertosa (modern Tortosa) has a practically unique appearance that facilitates its identification to the expert eye without need of archaeometric analysis.
After the distribution maps presented by Lazzarini (2004), which assembled all the data on the presence of broccatello both in Hispania and other Mediterranean territories available up to 2002, new data has arisen which completes the picture of its use and distribution. This paper presents these advances, which mainly concern those derived from an on-going project on the distribution of this marmor outside Hispania, but are also important in regards of the use of broccatello in the northern territories of the Iberian Peninsula (i.e. the modern Basque country) and the Ebro valley.
The work presented here is part of an ongoing project and stems from the fact that a significant number of a first marble objects assemblage did not match the features of the main well-known Classical marbles but seemed to have been produced with a local stone known as O Incio marble which had not been yet characterized. Therefore, we focused on sampling of the quarries near the small village of O Incio to identify and adequately characterize the different outcropping marble varieties as the first and basic step to correctly differentiate from other Spanish or even Mediterranean marbles.
Petrography, cathodoluminiscence CL and, in some cases, IRMS for C-O isotopic determination were applied and enabled to distinguish at least three significant varieties: a) a poorly crystalline banded fine-grained marble or marble limestone, with fine white and gray bands of varying tone or shade (it is the most abundant variety), b) a fine-grained white marble with thin, orange veins and occasional centimetric gray bands, and c) a greyish "marble", which in fact is a gray, crystalline limestone with gray sheets of different tones. Furthermore, eight out of the nineteen objects analyzed so far turned out to match these varieties; their distribution in through the territory gives a first glimpse of this marble diffusion, which to this point reaches as far as 130km from the outcrop.
The high presence of O Incio marble in the archaeological context and its wide chronology (between 2nd and 7th centuries AD) confirm a long life of this marble extraction and use, which in some cases may be related to its slight resemblance to other, more prized marbles (i.e. grey, banded marbles from the Eastern Mediterranean or banded varieties of Estremoz). The archaeometric characterization provides the essential basis upon which pursue further research.
Among the materials used for construction of Barcino, the huge use of the local stone, Montjuïc sandstone , stands out. In contrast, the total number of pieces made of marble is of only 16 of a total number of 430 studied pieces. Among them we have identified six bases, five column shafts, three capitals, one moulding and one pulvinus. Although they are not a very significant in number, they allow us to make a first approximation of the use of marble in the colonia of Barcino and to try to clarify whether this use was linked to a public or private architecture with a specific ideology or even to identify workshops working at the town during this period.
Thus, this paper presents the first results on the study of the marbles assemblage that has been discovered so far. They basically come from the two areas of the site: the balnea and the tri-apsed room (Room 1), although fragments from the marbled stairs to access that large room from the portico and to access an octagonal adjacent room (Room 2) have been also included.
A first approach has revealed that a wide variety of marmora, both white and coloured, was employed. Giallo antico (marmor Numidicum), portasanta (marmor Chium), cipollino (marmor Karistium), pavonazzetto (marmor Docimium), grecco scritto, porfido rosso (lapis porphyrites), rosso antico (marmor Taenarium), africano (marmor Luculleum), verde antico (marmor Thessalicum) as well as Proconessian marble and hispanic marble from the southern quarries of Almadén de la Plata and Estremoz have been identified so far. However, in this preliminary phase we have also detected a differentiate patron of marble use: the tri-apsed room has provided only thick slabs of Hispanic marbles used as wall revetments (with the only exception of a piece of a portasanta doorframe) while the balnea was exclusively decorated with Eastern Mediterranean marmora.
Entre ellos, el broccatello (conocido localmente como Jaspi de la Cinta), la caliza lumaquélica de Tortosa (antigua Dertosa), destaca como roca ornamental de especial importancia y constituye uno de los mejores ejemplos de la importancia que algunas de estas materias primas llegaron a tener en época romana. Además de tratarse de una roca de aspecto único y particular, sabemos de qué afloramientos procede y conocemos con bastante precisión el rango de usos en los que se empleó y el ámbito de distribución que abarcó en la misma península ibérica. Asimismo, se trata del único marmor hispano documentado fuera de las hispaniae, básicamente en Italia y muy puntualmente en el norte de Àfrica.
Si bien el estudio de su presencia fuera de Hispania es aún muy incipiente, en este póster se presenta datos recientemente obtenidos sobre su uso en la capital imperial y su territorio más inmediato, donde se encuentra empleado especialmente en opera sectilia de residencias aristocráticas a menudo relacionadas con el entorno imperial o de la alta aristocracia romana de cronología tardoantigua.
Conscientes de esa realidad, en el marco del proyecto de investigación I+D+i “La explotación y comercio de los recursos naturales en el norte de la Hispania romana: lapis, metalla, aqua (HAR2011-25011)”, hemos planteado la necesidad de revisar dichos materiales desde una perspectiva interdisciplinar para establecer qué materiales lapídeos (mármoles u otras rocas ornamentales) se emplearon en este territorio, a qué uso se destinaron y la posible adscripción cronológica de su explotación y presencia en el NW hispano.
Uno de los primeros aspectos que se difieren de dicha caracterización es la presencia, junto con un significativo número de material marmóreo importado, de un mármol autóctono, el mármol de O Incio, que no ha sido aún objeto de un estudio exhaustivo.
Es por ello que hemos centrado nuestra atención en este material; para conocer su naturaleza, explotación, empleo y difusión dentro de Hispania a partir de un proyecto que se encuentra en sus fases más iniciales y que presentamos en esta contribución. Para ello, hemos localizado y muestreado las canteras y, paralelamente, seleccionado y muestreado un número de piezas de especial importancia en el contexto de la Galicia romana . Las analíticas aplicadas (petrografía, catodoluminiscencia, difracción de rayos-X) nos permitirán poner en relación el punto de extracción de esta materia prima con aquellos objetos en los que se empleó, e igualmente se procederá al estudio de los frentes de extracción (para entender las técnicas y estrategias de extracción aplicadas) y a la revisión artística de cada pieza (de fundamental importancia para establecer su cronología y aspectos técnico-estilísticos).
Todo ello permitirá, además de una adecuada caracterización del mármol de O Incio, identificar talleres locales o foráneos que pudieran haber trabajado con dicho material y constatar la dispersión territorial de su producción, aspectos indispensables para reconocer la importancia económica, social y funcional de la explotación de este recurso natural dentro del contexto del NW de Hispania.
"
Among all the areas studied, the case of the stone used at the Roman town of Aeso (modern Isona) was exceptional in several aspects. The town, which originated as a settlement occupied by the local pre-Roman people, lies on the southern slopes of the Pre-Pyrenees mountain chain. It preserves several remains of its Roman past, among which the Roman walls and an unusually large collection of inscribed pedestals stand out. Even though the urbanism of the town (and thus, the Walls) as well as the epigraphs (which were object of interest since mid 19th century) had been well studied, the origin of the stone used to build and carve them was not known. The stone used in epigraphy was particularly interesting as previous studies revealed that, contrary to what it seemed at first, it was not a regionally-imported stone but a local limestone (Isona limestone) (Fabre et alii 1985). Thus, not only a good example of the building stone but also of a finer one was available. Besides, the high number of pedestals suggested that Isona limestone extraction should have been an important activity in the area during the Roman period.
Therefore, the location of the place where these stones were prized off (i.e. the quarries) was attempted. The followed methodology included a comprehensive bibliographic survey, the sampling of both types of stone, their petrographic characterization, the identification of the most likely geological outcrops and the field survey in order to identify evidences of stone extraction.
As a result, two quarries that supplied building stone to the town were located while the location of the source of Isona limestone proved less straightforward due to the lack of clear quarrying evidences at the geologically matching outcrops. Therefore, other related factors (river networks, accessibility and block transport from the extraction site to site of processing and use, etc) played a key role that led to suggest the use of unusual strategies to make use of the stone resources.
REFERENCES
Fabré et alii 1985 = Fabré, G., Mayer, M., Rodà, I. 1985. Inscriptions Romaines de Catalogne. II. Lérida. Paris. "
El objetivo principal del Proyecto de recuperación, consolidación y musealización del monasterio bizantino de Cabrera ha sido siempre el de intentar conocer y mostrar como fue el monasterio del que habla la Epístola XIII, 47, del papa Gregorio Magno, una carta escrita el año 603 d. C que demuestra, sin duda alguna, la existencia de un
monasterio en la isla balear de Cabrera.
Todos los trabajos hasta ahora realizados partían de una base teórica planteada en la tesis de licenciatura titulada El monestir de Cabrero a l'antiguitat tardona, dirigida por el doctor y catedrático de la Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona Miquel Barceló Perelló, a quien no nos cansaremos de mostrar nuestro reconocimiento y nuestra gratitud. En aquella tesis, defendida el año 2002, se empezaron a cruzar los datos obtenidos en Cabrera, Conillera y el Illot dels Frares con
lo que se decía en las fuentes escritas sobre el monacato cristiano de los siglos IV a VIII d. C. y con los descubrimientos arqueológicos de algunos otros ejemplos de monasterios localizados en islotes del Mediterráneo occidental y del Atlántico. Todo este trabajo permitió proponer que Cabrera fue una isla santa donde parecía que habrían coexistido dos tipos de asentamientos monásticos correspondientes a un cenobio y a diversos eremitorios. Ya entonces se argumentó que el estudio de la comunidad monacal de Cabrera debía tener por objeto la naturaleza de su funcionamiento interno, qué uso hacían los monjes del espacio y sus recursos, y qué modificaciones causaron en su entorno. Había que intentar conocer las características de sus construcciones para poder identificar sus usos y poder compararlo con lo que dicen las fuentes escritas. También se consideró muy importante poder confrontar lo encontrado en Cabrera con los restos arqueológicos de los pocos ejemplos de monasterios de los siglos V a VIII d. C. que se han podido excavar. Éstas son algunas de las directrices que han ¡do marcando nuestro trabajo estos últimos años, cuyo resultado es este catálogo.
En definitiva, en este volumen se pretende mostrar una síntesis de los trabajos arqueológicos realizados en el subarchipiélago de Cabrera, contextualizándolos en el mundo del monacato cristiano de los siglos V a VIII d. C, un tiempo en que las islas Baleares formaron parte, primero, del territorio del Reino Vándalo, y, a continuación, del Imperio bizantino.
En aquest sentit, l’aportació de l’arqueometria (aplicació de tècniques pròpies de les ciències pures) es essencial per identificar la procedència dels marbres i altres roques, establir xarxes comercials i entendre les implicacions simbòliques de la seva elecció.
In past pre-industrial societies, building was the single most important economic activity not oriented to food production. Large-scale building often had purposes beyond providing housing or shelter. Where it took place, labour investment was potentially even larger and may have affected societies as a whole even more. Labour was invested from the moment materials were scouted for, extracted, transported and, finally employed. Since most pre-industrial societies were sustaining themselves by agricultural activities, important decision-making was part and parcel of juggling building work and crucial cropping and animal rearing in order to ensure food was sufficient or, if needed, additionally supplied those who could not attend to agriculture due to their building obligations.
This session collects a wide range of papers, covering archaeological, experimental, historical and ethnographic/anthropological perspectives on the socio-economic and political decision-making needed for construction to go ahead in a wide range of past and current contexts. We aim to contribute responses to the following questions:
1- Why and how were buildings, of large-scale but also ephemeral, nature constructed from both a material and a logistical perspective, and how can we document this?
2- How and why were these buildings subsequently used by the various groups?
3- What levels of investments, human and other, were needed to achieve these constructions, how were these resources sustained, how can we measure them and employ these results meaningfully?
4- What types of data sources are useful to approach both socio-economic and political issues involved in constructing?
5- Given that construction took place diachronically and geographically more or less anywhere in the world, can we recognise common denominators, and which are these? How can a multidisciplinary approach help or hamper this research?
Récupérer et réemployer des plus diverses façons restes et vestiges issus de la civilisation gréco-romaine : voilà une pratique présente sans solution de continuité tout au long du Moyen-âge et que ce séminaire souhaite proposer comme objet de réflexion aux doctorants de Bordeaux Montaigne. S’il est impossible d’épuiser le sujet, quelques pistes seront fournies grâce aux interventions de doctorants et de chercheurs issus plusieurs centres et laboratoires de notre Université et dont les investigations abordent différentes facettes de ce phénomène. L’architecture et son décor, les bijoux et objets des sépultures, l’identité politique de la cité vue à travers le prisme de la référence à Rome, sans oublier l’écho que les « spolia » et la pratique du remploi ont eu dans l’historiographie, voilà de quoi nourrir lectures et discussions et ouvrir les esprits – du moins on l’espère – à des nouveaux horizons de curiosité.
Keywords: Tarraco, Alcover stone, Roman inscriptions