Roman Quarries

The article discusses the use of andesites in prehistory and Antiquity, from the perspective of volcanic rock occurrences in the surroundings of Deva, Romania. The southern and western part of Deva, located in southwestern Transylvania, in the northeastern side of the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, has experienced an almost uninterrupted exploitation of the andesite sources, from the Early Neolithic until today. While in prehistory the volcanic rock exploitations were adapted mainly to the requirements of those times for producing querns, in Antiquity the andesite quarries in the southern part of Deva were exploited to obtain the stone needed for certain elements of civil and religious architecture, as well as everyday necessities such as the production of querns.

Nach dem Ende der Römerherrschaft blieben die römischen Verwaltungsstrukturen bestehen. Andernach und Mayen waren weiterhin jeweils Zentralort eines fiscus. In Mayen wurde bis in die Karolingerzeit kontinuierlich Keramik in römischer Tradition hergestellt und weithin exportiert, dann der Exportraum noch ausgeweitet. Exporte zeigen, dass der Mühlsteinabbau bei Mayen nie völlig zum Erliegen kam und gegen 700 wieder gesteigert wurde. Auch Mühlsteine scheint man zunächst in römischer Tradition produziert zu haben. Tuff wurde noch unter Valentinian I. für Zwecke des Festungsbaus und für die Herstellung von Sarkophagen bis in die erste Hälfte des 5. Jahrhunderts abgebaut. Außerhalb der Städte deuten Siedlungen wie die von Mayen-Hausen und einige Gräberfelder auf eine kontinuierliche Besiedlung zwischen Römerzeit und frühem Mittelalter. Manche Bestattungen lassen erkennen, dass einige Personen an römischen Sitten festhielten und die alte Sachkultur wertschätzten. In Andernach belegen zahlreiche Grabinschriften aus dem Gräberfeld »An der Landsegnung« eine gebildete städtische Gesellschaftsschicht, die weiterhin Latein lesen und schreiben konnte.
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The Industrial Area between Mayen and Andernach in Roman Times and the Early Middle Ages
After the end of Roman rule, the Roman administrative structures remained in place. Andernach and Mayen each continued to be the central location of a fiscus. In Mayen, pottery was continuously produced in the Roman tradition and widely exported until the Carolingian period, then the export area was further expanded. Exports show that millstone mining at Mayen never came to a complete standstill and was increased again around 700. Millstones also seem to have been produced initially in the Roman tradition. Tuff was still being quarried under Valentinian I for purposes of fortress construction and for the manufacture of sarcophagi until the first half of the 5th century. Outside the towns, settlements such as that of Mayen-Hausen and some burial grounds indicate continuous settlement between Roman times and the Early Middle Ages. Some burials indicate that some people adhered to Roman customs and valued the old material culture. In Andernach, numerous grave inscriptions from the cemetery »An der Landsegnung« attest to an educated urban social class that was still able to read and write Latin.
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La zone industrielle entre Mayen et Andernach à l’époque romaine et au Haut Moyen Âge
Après la fin de la domination romaine, les structures administratives romaines sont restées en place. Andernach et Mayen ont continué à être chacune le lieu central d’un fiscus. À Mayen, la poterie a été produite de manière continue dans la tradition romaine et largement exportée jusqu’à la période carolingienne, puis la zone d’exportation s’est encore étendue. Les exportations montrent que l’exploitation des meules à Mayen n’a jamais été complètement interrompue et qu’elle s’est encore accrue vers 700. Les meules semblent également avoir été produites initialement dans la tradition romaine. Sous Valentinian Ier, l’extraction du tuf pour la construction de forteresses et la fabrication de sarcophages se poursuit jusqu’à la première moitié du 5e siècle. En dehors des villes, des établissements tels que celui de Mayen-Hausen et certains cimetières indiquent une occupation continue entre l’époque romaine et le début du Moyen Âge. Certaines sépultures indiquent que quelques personnes adhéraient aux coutumes romaines et appréciaient l’ancienne culture matérielle. À Andernach, les nombreuses inscriptions funéraires du cimetière » An der Landsegnung « témoignent de l’existence d’une classe sociale urbaine éduquée qui savait encore lire et écrire le latin.

The present stage of research on this subject shows that the earliest evidences of
the use of the andesite from the Măgura Uroiului volcanic hill were found during a
survey of certain dwellings from the Early Neolithic period in Rapoltu Mare. The
volcanic rock was used throughout the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, when two
fortifications were erected on the terraces of Măgura Uroiului.
The andesite quarry was systematically exploited during the Roman period. The
traces of the ancient techniques of extracting stone blocks are still visible today. The
site’s strong connection with the Micia Roman stonemasons’ centre lead to the
discovery, in the Uroi exploitation site, of an anthropomorphic representation in an
early stage of manufacture, a representation that bears the artistic marks of the Micia
sculpture practices.
The Uroi andesite was also used throughout the Middle Ages, as proven by a
nearby fortification. Evidences of medieval and modern exploitations are also still
visible through different markings left in the native rock.

The volcanic rocks at Măgura Uroiului (Hunedoara County) were in the course of the
time a particularly important resource for the human communities that worked within the
neighbor areas. The first proofs of andesite of Uroi using are found in the Neolithic dwelling
structures investigated at Rapoltu Mare; the rock was used also during the Bronze Age and
the Iron Age when two fortifications were elevated nearby Uroi.
In the Roman Age, the andesite quarry was systematically exploited, the vestiges of the antique procedures of stone releasing being visible up today. The strong relation with the
Roman center from Micia made possible the discovery in an exploiting front at Uroi of an
anthropomorphic sculpture in progress, presenting the artistic features of Micia School of
sculpture.
The andesite of Uroi continued to be used during the Middle Ages when a fortress was
built in proximity. Vestiges of medieval and modern exploiting of andesite are also visible,
different marks being kept from these times in the native rock.

Several examples are given of Roman mining activities in Estremadura and Alto Alentejo, corresponding to the vast area of
direct economic influence of the powerful Cornelii Bocchi family.
These Roman mines, with their different types of products, are in some cases also the best documented in classical sources, probably due to the information provided by Lucius Cornelius Bocchus himself and later used by Pliny the Elder and Solinus, among other Latin authors.

This paper is about a database and GIS project concerning the study of the quarrying, circulation and use of stones extracted in Regio X (Venetia et Histria) during the Roman age. The project aims at taking a census of the ancient quarries of this area, and at registering and comparing artefacts, structures and infrastructures made of stones extracted in this region. To attain this goal, a specific database has been developed: it links extraction basins and related quarries, artefacts and structural elements, as well as samples taken from archaeological finds and from quarries. Thanks to the integration of the database with GIS mapping software, interesting reconstructions of commercial fluxes of stones extracted in Regio X have been done, useful for a better understanding of the economic relationships between ancient cities and the surrounding territories.
In the past few years, this tool has been used to collect published and unpublished archaeological and archaeometric data about Euganean trachyte, one of the most significant stones quarried in Regio X. The database has proven useful and has contributed to the obtaining of an integrated study of the chronology of the samples, the quarries of provenance and the cities of final destination and to reflections about the commercial dynamics of Euganean trachyte in Roman Northern Italy.

Resumen
Se analizan en este trabajo un pequeño conjunto de canteras romanas ubicadas en la cuenca de Caravaca (Región de Murcia, España) donde se incide en los aspectos metodológicos de la investigación. Se presta una especial atención a las canteras del santuario iberorromano del cerro de la Ermita de La Encarnación, excavadas en los años noventa del siglo pasado, que fueron abiertas exclusivamente para extraer la piedra necesaria en la construcción de los templos romanos que desde el siglo ii a. C. monumentalizaron este espacio sagrado. Se trata de una de las primeras canteras romanas que fue objeto de excavación arqueológica en la península ibérica, proporcionando numerosos datos técnicos y una secuencia estratigráfica que permite datar su abandono definitivo en época tardoantonina-severiana.

Resumé
L’étude porte sur les carrières situées dans la vallée de Caravaca (Province de Murcie, Espagne). Une attention particulière a été portée aux carrières situées à proximité du sanctuaire ibéro-romain situé sur le cerro de l’Ermita de La Encarnación. Fouillées dans les années 1990, elles ont servi exclusivement à l’extraction des pierres nécessaires à la construction des temples édifiés à partir du iie siècle av. J.-C. Ces carrières ont été l’objet d’une des premières fouilles sur ce type de gisement en Espagne, fournissant alors de nombreuses données techniques et une séquence chronologique dont le terme se situe à l’époque des Sévères.