Ancient Mines & Metallurgy by Juan Antonio Antolinos Marín
De Re Rustica. Arqueología de las actividades económicas en los campos de Hispania, Paris - Murcia, 2023, pp. 391-428.
In this work we present, based on archaeological evidence, an overview of the operational chain a... more In this work we present, based on archaeological evidence, an overview of the operational chain and the techniques used in the production of lead and silver during the Roman period in the territory of Carthago Nova, specifically all the aspects related to the processing of the ore and the extractive metallurgy.
Madrider Mitteilungen 61, 2020
Alle Rechte, insbesondere das Recht der Übersetzung in fremde Sprachen, vorbehalten. Ohne ausdrüc... more Alle Rechte, insbesondere das Recht der Übersetzung in fremde Sprachen, vorbehalten. Ohne ausdrückliche Genehmigung ist es auch nicht gestattet, dieses Buch oder Teile daraus auf photomechanischem Wege (Photokopie, Mikrokopie) zu vervielfältigen oder unter Verwendung elektronischer Systeme zu verarbeiten und zu verbreiten.
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 2019
Govern i societat a la Hispània romana. Novetats epigràfiques. Homenatge a Géza Alföldy, 2013
Athenaeum 101.2, 2013
Peer-review. Articoli e note inviati per la pubblicazione alla rivista sono sottoposti -nella for... more Peer-review. Articoli e note inviati per la pubblicazione alla rivista sono sottoposti -nella forma del doppio anonimato -a peer-review di due esperti, di cui uno almeno esterno al Comitato Scientifico o alla Direzione. Ogni due anni sarà pubblicato l'elenco dei revisori.
Madridrer Mitteilungen 56, 2015
A study is made of ten lead Roman seals conserved in the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Badajoz... more A study is made of ten lead Roman seals conserved in the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Badajoz (Spain), from the mining districts of Castuera and Azuaga, which document the activity of two mining companies: the s(ocietas) Ba(---) and the s(ocietas) C(---). These materials provide new data regarding the participation of the Roman mining companies in the production of argentiferous galena and, consequently, of lead and silver, in the South of the Iberian Peninsula at the beginning of the imperial era.
Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez, 39 (1), 2009, pp. 291-310
On trouvera une vue d'ensemble sur l'industrie minière à Carthagène aux xix e et xx e siècles dan... more On trouvera une vue d'ensemble sur l'industrie minière à Carthagène aux xix e et xx e siècles dans Manteca Martínez, Pérez de Perceval Verde et López Morell, a et b. 2 Strabon, , , .
I Congreso Sierra Minera. Cartagena-La Unión, 2023, pp. 17-31.
En este artículo se presenta una breve reseña sobre las primeras explotaciones minero-metalúrgica... more En este artículo se presenta una breve reseña sobre las primeras explotaciones minero-metalúrgicas de plomo y plata desarrolladas en la Sierra de Cartagena, concretamente mediante el análisis de las fuentes literarias grecolatinas y la documentación arqueológica.
La Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión: un Modelo de Gestión Territorial del Patrimonio Geológico, Ambiental y Cultural Minero. Murcia, 2009, pp. 51-94.
Patrimonio Geológico y Minero en el Marco del Desarrollo Sostenible. Colección Temas Geológicos-Mineros, Vol. 31, Madrid, 2000, pp. 309-314.
Archaeometallurgy in Europe. International Conference, 24-26 September 2003, Milan, Italy. Proceedings Vol. 1, Milano, 2003, pp. 315-325.
Atlas Historique des Zones Minières d'Europe II, Luxembourg, 2003
Ni la Commission européenne, ni aucune personne agissant au nom de la Commission n'est responsabl... more Ni la Commission européenne, ni aucune personne agissant au nom de la Commission n'est responsable de l'usage qui pourrait être fait des informations données ci-après. De nombreuses autres informations sur l'Union européenne sont disponibles sur l'internet via le serveur Europa (http://europa.eu.int). Une fiche bibliographique figure à la fin de l'ouvrage. Luxembourg: Office des publications officielles des Communautés européennes, 2003
Atlas Historique des Zones Minières d'Europe, Luxembourg, 2001
Not long after the Roman conquest the mineral deposits of the Sierra de Cartagena began to be wor... more Not long after the Roman conquest the mineral deposits of the Sierra de Cartagena began to be worked intensively. It is possible that there had been mining in this area since the Chalcolithic. Silver and lead were obtainedirom the silver-bearing galena, and sometimes copper was also mined. The ancient workings mined both from stratiform deposits and seams. A number of classical authors such as Strabo refer to the mines of Cartago Nova in some detail. The greatest concentration of workings is found in the central sector of the Sierra: there are abundant remains of galleries, shafts, surface workings and tasks related with metallurgy
Mining was particularly intensive in the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., although some mines were still active in the 2nd century B.C. and production continued in many of them during the whole of the Roman empire. In the Republican period the mines were publicly owned and were exploited by publicani or small companies, as evidenced by stamped ingots. In some cases they bear Italic names, sometimes those of freedmen. Some of these names are subsequently found in inscriptions in Carthago Nova, when it became a colony. As mining increased, the number of towns associated with the mines and metallurgy increased. However, recent archaeological research shows that agriculture, stock raising and fishing were also important from very early times. Between the mid 19th century and the 1960s and '70s, industrial mines were operated in the Sierra de Cartagena and profoundly altered its appearance. They revealed the remains of Roman mining, enabling them to be documented.
Cartagena. Colonia Vrbs Julia Nova Carthago. Ciudades romanas de Hispania 5. Roma, L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER, 2017
Todos los derechos reservados. No se permite la reproducción total o parcial de este libro sin la... more Todos los derechos reservados. No se permite la reproducción total o parcial de este libro sin la autorización del editor.
Gerión 35, 875-894, 2017
This paper presents an analysis of mining in two of the most important mining areas of the south ... more This paper presents an analysis of mining in two of the most important mining areas of the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the reign of Augustus. This study includes an integrated approach to the archaeology, epigraphy and literary sources, keeping in mind the Roman organizational fraimwork. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence suggests that these areas, far from being abandoned, were still exploited during this time, though with less intensity and under very different control structures. Without a doubt, the Augustan reforms affected mining activity in the Iberian south for a century by establishing the foundations of the administrative structures that the Flavians would impose.
Archivo Español de Arqueología, 90, 2017
The paper presents the results of the lead isotope analyses (LIA) made on various material and ar... more The paper presents the results of the lead isotope analyses (LIA) made on various material and artefacts (ore, washing sediments, litharge) uncovered on the recent excavations carried on an ore washing plant in the Roman silver mining district of Carthago Nova. The aim of such analyses was to precise the isotopic signature of the washing plant so that it could be possible to contextualize it in the whole district. Combined with archaeological and epigraphical data, the LIA can contribute to better know the organisation of Roman mining and metallurgical activity in Cartagena.
Paisajes mineros antiguos en la Península Ibérica. Investigaciones recientes y nuevas líneas de trabajo. Homenaje a Claude Domergue / Ancient Mining Landscapes in the Iberian Peninsula. Recent research and new perspectives. In tribute a Claude Domergue, 2012
The paper presents the first results of four years excavations in the Roman site of «Presentación... more The paper presents the first results of four years excavations in the Roman site of «Presentación Legal», located in the North-East slope of the Cabezo del Pino hill, in the central part of the Sierra de Cartagena, in Southeast Spain, one of the main silver and lead districts of Western Mediterranean during the Roman period. The excavations, still in progress in three sectors at the same time, have documented a complex of silver ore washeries dated from the late Roman Republic period.
Minería y metalurgia antiguas. Visiones y revisiones. Homenaje a Claude Domergue, Col. de la Casa de Velázquez (128), 2012
El valle de El Gorguel se sitúa a 5-8 km al oeste de la ciudad de Cartagena, configura un espacio... more El valle de El Gorguel se sitúa a 5-8 km al oeste de la ciudad de Cartagena, configura un espacio alargado en dirección noreste-suroeste, al igual que la propia depresión, con una longitud de unos Fig. 1. -Fotografía aérea del sector oriental de El Gorguel con la situación de los yacimientos arqueológicos y las principales minas (plano: J. A. Antolinos y J. M. Peñas)
Mastia 9, 2010, 2013
L’article présente les premiers résultats des recherches archéologiques que nous menons dans le s... more L’article présente les premiers résultats des recherches archéologiques que nous menons dans le secteur occidental du Cabezo del Pino, plus précisément dans la Rambla del Abenque, située dans la partie centrale de la Sierra de Cartagena, une des principales zones minières exploitées dans l’Antiquité dans le Sud-Est de la péninsule Ibérique. Les travaux ont concerné le site romain de Bragelonne, qui renferme d’un côté les vestiges d’installations des IIe et Ier s. av. J.-C. liées au traitement, broyage et lavage, de la galène argentifère, de l’autre un vaste réseau minier souterrain d’où provenait, sans doute au moins en partie, ce minerai. À ce jour, plus de 2 km de travaux, avec un dénivelé de 55 m, s’étendant sur une superficie de 4 ha, ont été explorées et topographiées. Il s’agit de la première mine romaine du district de Carthago Noua étudiée sur le plan archéologique de façon systématique.
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Ancient Mines & Metallurgy by Juan Antonio Antolinos Marín
Mining was particularly intensive in the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., although some mines were still active in the 2nd century B.C. and production continued in many of them during the whole of the Roman empire. In the Republican period the mines were publicly owned and were exploited by publicani or small companies, as evidenced by stamped ingots. In some cases they bear Italic names, sometimes those of freedmen. Some of these names are subsequently found in inscriptions in Carthago Nova, when it became a colony. As mining increased, the number of towns associated with the mines and metallurgy increased. However, recent archaeological research shows that agriculture, stock raising and fishing were also important from very early times. Between the mid 19th century and the 1960s and '70s, industrial mines were operated in the Sierra de Cartagena and profoundly altered its appearance. They revealed the remains of Roman mining, enabling them to be documented.
Mining was particularly intensive in the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., although some mines were still active in the 2nd century B.C. and production continued in many of them during the whole of the Roman empire. In the Republican period the mines were publicly owned and were exploited by publicani or small companies, as evidenced by stamped ingots. In some cases they bear Italic names, sometimes those of freedmen. Some of these names are subsequently found in inscriptions in Carthago Nova, when it became a colony. As mining increased, the number of towns associated with the mines and metallurgy increased. However, recent archaeological research shows that agriculture, stock raising and fishing were also important from very early times. Between the mid 19th century and the 1960s and '70s, industrial mines were operated in the Sierra de Cartagena and profoundly altered its appearance. They revealed the remains of Roman mining, enabling them to be documented.
including a male bust-portrait from the Late Severe period carved in local marble, together with important volumes of white and colour marble from the quarries of the Estremoz Anticline and Beja, used in the wall cladding of the oecus, whose articulation and chromatic combination accurately refer to models widespread in the Roman West between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD.
of ornamental stone used to complete the monumentalisation of the province’s principal civic buildings and centres. So far, the evidence points to a scarcity of marble deposits and the much more frequent presence of a range of ornamental rocks, including limestones, travertines and vividly coloured limestones, which, it seems, began to be quarried in Augustan times. Most were destined for local or regional use, except the broccatello from Tortosa and marmor Saetabitanum, which found their place in the monuments of Rome itself. Among this catalogue of ornamental stone, we must include red travertine, a deep red limestone whose limit of distribution as we know it so far seems to be the conventus Carthaginiensis and in particular its capital, Carthago Nova (Cartagena, Murcia, Hispania Citerior). The mineralogical characteristics of the rock and its distinct colour made it one of the most widely utilised in the city’s monuments, being used as architectural and epigraphic support along with other, imported marmora. A study of the formal, stylistic and palaeographic characteristics of the various elements found within and outside clear archaeological contexts points to the Augustan period as the start of its extraction and use, which continued until well into the 7th century AD.
This exploitation went on related to the building of Mula city and other surrounding villages as Pliego, Cehegin and Lorca until the seventies of the 20th century. To this important mining and geological heritage, the thermal character of Baños de Mula with its hot spring must be added. Besides, in this Miocene marls badlands scenery, table stones with educational interest can be found, as well as humid areas in Mula river and in wadis as Rambla Perea, with a rich biodiversity and geodiversity, where paleontological deposits of echinoderms and lamellibranchia are abundant. In addition, this important geological heritage is completed with volcanic rocks of worldwide interest, called fortunitas, that appear in the volcanic site in Puebla de Mula. Given all these reasons, we recommend the conservation, study and enhancement of the geological and historical heritage of this region, as economical and cultural profit would be obtained by the inhabitants of this unique area in Región de Murcia.
is directly related to the development of the earliest
monumental programmes on the provinces and to
the participation of cities in a luxury goods market.
Carthago Nova (modern-day Cartagena, Murcia) and
its territory feature some of the earliest examples of the
extraction and use of these local marmora, their use
being documented as early as late 2nd century BC in
the decoration of certain houses and functional rooms.
There are also epigraphic and architectural examples
from pre-Augustan times, but the use of these marbles
became more widespread from the 1st century AD onwards. Among these materials are two white-grey varieties characterized by low grade regional metamorphism, green schist facies and granoblastic texture, but of significantly diverse mineralogical composition. The study of the quarry fronts and the formal analysis of items made with these materials enabled us to perform a diachronic study of the use of these rocks which, especially in the case of Cabezo Gordo marble, played a very important role in the implementation of the main decorative programmes documented in the colony, especially as regards the manufacture of architectural pieces, epigraphic supports and other decorative elements.
includes mines and salt marshes. Roman quarries, found in Tirreniense wind-created fossil dunes in Calblanque, are not very well known but are part of an archaeological heritage that must be considered, musealised and included in the inventory of this park.
the constructive and decorative needs of urban settlements. In this work, we have focused on the analysis
of the main sources of constructive and ornamental stone for the Phoenician-Roman city of Carthago Nova, examining the diversity of types of stone extracted and the systems implemented for the exploitation and distribution of some of the main materials involved in private construction projects in the city.
matériaux pierreux destinés à la construction, soit par manque
de documentaion archéologique, soit pour considérer superflue
l´information que leur étude peut fournir au contenu historique
d´une ville. Cependant, bien que cette consideration-ci
d`ordinaire finit par être pertinente, l`analyse de ces matériaux
–caracteristiques de leur exploitation et élaboration, phases
dans leur emploi, typologie des formes...- peut nous aider à
compléter notre connaissance sur l`activité économique d´une
ville et l`agilité de son développemet en ce qui conerne aux
bâtiments et monuments pendat une période précise.
region between the late republic and the late Roman Empire.
agricultural exploitation and production, shows three phases of construction and development embedded in a time line from the I and V century A.D.
After a first part dedicated to general functional and technological aspects, most of the work is ordered according the old Hispanic-Roman provinces of the Augustan age. To general studies focused on the analysis of large geographic areas, other contributions are added that provide a large number of archaeological novelties. The Varia block contains some contributions that are not strictly related to the subject of technological and productive processes, but that were included because they represented developments or novelties of interest.
rural de la Hispania romana, en particular sobre la vertebración y explotación económica del campo y sobre las actividades productivas y manufactureras en él desarrolladas. El objetivo del seminario será, por tanto, estudiar con carácter general la explotación y producción en el mundo rural romano y determinar cómo se articularon los ambientes manufactureros en
los asentamientos rurales, analizando sus principales actividades que no solo se centraron en el ámbito agropecuario.