Petrography and elemental geochemistry of the roman quarries of Los Castillejos and Los Covachos (Almadén de la Plata, Seville, Spain) : outcrops and semi-elaborated products

Abstract

The study of the Roman marble quarries of southern Iberian Peninsula is a necessary step for the correct marble provenance of the archaeological materials used in the Hispanic-Roman towns. Determining whether they are local (from the Baetic province) or imported marbles, is a task which yield information on the scale and trade of the different quarry products. This line of research has been developed at the University of Seville by a first project that enabled the detailed study of the main Baetic quarries, including the district of Almadén de la Plata (Seville). This paper has been supported in the framework of a second ongoing project and presents the data obtained from the materials documented during the recent archaeological work carried out at the quarries of Almadén de la Plata. In particular, the aim is providing a petrographic characterisation and a preliminary geochemical composition of samples taken from the Roman quarry faces and extraction products of two areas in the Almadén de la Plata district (Loma de Los Castillejos and Cerro de Los Covachos).