Transport of marmora from Almadén de la Plata quarries (Seville) in Roman times: evaluation of estimated routes and new research approaches through GIS

Abstract

In recent years notable progress has been made in the characterization of stone materials from the Baetic quarries of Almadén de la Plata (Seville), both in terms of the areas of extraction and the distribution of their products. The present work focuses on the analysis of the routes used to carry the stone from the quarry to the main loading points on the Guadalquivir River. To this purpose, in the first part of the text, the proposals presented to date by the researchers are reviewed and evaluated according to different evidence and criteria. In a second part, a proposal of optimal routes is carried out using the application of Geographic Information System –gis–, as an alternative method now subject to more objective measures. Ultimately, all this prompts some reflection on the different parameters that would have conditioned the transport of heavy loads in antiquity and our greater or lesser capacity to evaluate them.

Keywords

• materiales lapídeos
• baetica romana
• transporte de cargas pesadas
• rutas de coste mínimo
• estudios interdisciplinares