Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.32728/h2019.01
Roman Quarries and the Transportation of Building Stone in Ancient Istria
Katarina Šprem
; Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli
Abstract
Istria is colloquially divided into Red Istria, Grey Istria, and White Istria. Red Istria is the south-west part of the peninsula rich in terra rossa and high-quality surface deposits of limestone. The limestone was quarried during the Roman era from several supposed Roman quarries mentioned in bibliography. However, new technologies, like Airborne Laser Scanning, enable us to discover quarries overgrown with vegetation and therefore more difficult to notice during field surveys. All of these supposed Roman quarries have been mapped.
It is also very important to have roads for distribution of stone blocks to their desired location. For farther distribution, ports were needed, where one can load the stone blocks onto ships. The supposed spread of Roman roads in Istria, as well as Roman ports, are mapped. Most of the mapped quarries are located in the vicinity of bays, coves, or ports where they can be loaded onto ships, or close to the supposed Roman roads.
Keywords
Istria; stone; quarries; roads; ports; Antiquity
Hrčak ID:
244056
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2019.
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