Espejón Limestone and Conglomerate (Soria, Spain): Archaeometric Characterization, Quarrying and Use in Roman Times

We present the first results of an on-going research project on a decorative stone that might have been one of the main ornamental stones in Roman Spain’s inland, the limestone and conglomerate from Espejón. Within the framework of exploitation and uses of other Hispano-Roman stone resources, these results will add significant data to the whole picture of non-foreign marmora exploitation and use in Hispania. So far, the archaeological materials of several sites have been inspected, a survey to locate quarrying evidence has been undertaken and a multimethod analytical protocol has been initiated. Thus, we have established the basis for an archaeometric reference corpus, which will be henceforth enlarged and used as tool for comparison with archaeological items in order to determine the extent of this limestone and multi-coloured conglomerate’s distribution and use