Stone materials in Lusitania reflecting the process of romanization

Abstract

The Roman province of Lusitania was the last mainland of the Iberian Peninsula in the process of Romanization. The use of marble in this territory, from the Augustan times until the gradual fall of the Roman Empire, is evaluated as one of the cultural and economic phenomena developed by Rome. Throughout over four centuries of Roman history, this territory was immersed in a series of changes related with this complex process that can be associated with the different use of marble. The identification of the marble source used in arts and architecture provides valuable information on trading patterns and local or imported workshops. Only the combination of analytical techniques applied to the study of white marbles facilitates the contextualization of those imported for archaeological pieces found in a territory where local marbles are of outstanding excellent quality.