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Provenance analysis of the granitic ashlars used in the construction of the Roman theatre in Emerita Augusta (Merida, Spain)

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to determine the provenance of the granitic rocks used in the Roman theatre in Emerita Augusta. In order to obtain a reliable provenance of these granitic materials, the sampling in the theatre was carried out to encompass the original granitic rocks present in it. Some ancient quarries, previously documented, were selected taking into account factors like proximity, mining marks, or ancient transport routes. Stone materials and rocks from quarries were analysed and compared. The mineralogical, textural, and geochemical properties of the rocks were obtained. Moreover, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and hardness rebound tester (HRT) in situ measurements were carried out on the surface of the building’s granite ashlars, yielding representative results for the whole structure, as well as in granitic rocks from documented quarry fronts nearby the city. This multi-technique approach could be considered appropriate and advisable for built heritage materials. The obtained results, specially petrographic characteristics and geochemical signature of the different samples from both monument and quarries, allowed identifying the possible provenance of the granites used in the construction of the Roman theatre showing the stone supply system near the ancient city.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to PhD. Cecilia Pérez-Soba for her valuable comments about the geochemical analyses which helped us to understand the correlations between the data obtained in the selected quarries and the monument. We extend our thanks to the Monumental Consortium of Merida for giving us the legal authorisation for sampling the monument.

Funding

This work was supported by the Top Heritage (P2018/NMT-4372) programme from the Regional Government of Madrid (Spain). The authors wish to acknowledge professional support of the Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform from CSIC Open Heritage: Research and Society (PTI-PAS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Tecnológico de Rocas Ornamentales y Materiales de Construcción (INTROMAC), Campus Universidad de Extremadura, 10071, Cáceres, Spain

    María Isabel Mota-López

  2. Instituto de Geociencias, Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (CSIC, UCM), Dr. Severo Ochoa 7, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Rafael Fort & Mónica Álvarez de Buergo

  3. Instituto de Arqueología de Merida, Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas (IAM-CSIC), Plaza de España 15, 06800, Merida, Spain

    Antonio Pizzo

  4. Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma, Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas (EEHAR-CSIC), Via di Sant’Eufemia 13, 00187, Rome, Italy

    Antonio Pizzo

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  1. María Isabel Mota-López
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Correspondence to María Isabel Mota-López.

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Mota-López, M.I., Fort, R., Álvarez de Buergo, M. et al. Provenance analysis of the granitic ashlars used in the construction of the Roman theatre in Emerita Augusta (Merida, Spain). Archaeol Anthropol Sci 12, 236 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01192-1

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