Cycle “Dialogues with the classical world”, September 6 to December 20, 2017.
HistoryLab
for Civic Engagement
HistoryLab
for Civic Engagement
2. Social and economic impact of technological revolutions in Europe.
The Roman mining of lapis specularis played an important role in the early Empire, during the 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, among the lapidary materials demanded and incorporated into the architectural programmes implemented, especially in the cities, due to the need for large windows that would allow light and sunlight to pass through, also allowing the exterior to be seen and ensuring climatic comfort. It was at this juncture that specular gypsum made its place as one of the best materials that met the required characteristics, and where the glass mines of Hispania, with greater production, and with a mineral of higher quality and transparency than those of other areas, would impose themselves on the markets, making this resource a versatile and essential product in many of its applications.
The Food Technology and Engineering Research Group of the University of Cadiz and the “From Turdetania to Baetica” research group of the University of Seville offer the public the opportunity to learn about the production methods of some of the most common foods of high Imperial Roman gastronomy, such as wine, salted fish and garum.
Francisco Javier Sánchez-Palencia (Institute of History, CCHS of the CSIC).
IX Lusitania International Round Table. Roman Lusitania: from past to present research.
The mining-metallurgical centre of Cerro de los Almadenes is located southwest of the village of Otero de Herreros and since 2009 several members of the Spanish Society for the History of Archaeology (SEHA) have been excavating at this site.
The archaeological work has located copper mines and a battery of ore reduction furnaces of a type hitherto unknown on the peninsula. The excavations have documented structures and materials dating mainly from the Late Republican, High-Imperial and Late Antique periods, although there are also remains from the 6th century BC. Monetary finds and the sculpture of a seated lady with her head removed also stand out.
Through various national and regional research projects, the “Ager Mellariensis” team of the University of Cordoba (www.uco.es/mellaria) has documented several kilometres of the great connecting artery between Cordoba and Merida as it passes through the territory of Cordoba and Mellaria.
This road was the evacuation channel for the wealth of the famed gold-producing land of Córdoba. Thus, a series of major and minor settlements and production complexes were set up around its course. We begin to glimpse the structure that allowed the financial power of the capital of Baetica in the powerful mining district of which it was a reference point.
Food. This paper presents the research and physical reproduction process followed by the Baetica and Flor de Garum teams (made up of researchers from the University of Cadiz and the University of Seville), aimed at obtaining these foods, which formed part of the diet of Roman society.
The use of the mould for the production of this type of pottery raised its production to industrial levels. Roman ceramics, in general, and terra sigillata, in particular, are revealed to us as a highly active industry, the result of which is a very high level of production covering a wide range of typologies. The owners of the industries were usually great lords (domini) who owned large estates. These centres were run by foremen. Generally freedmen of the owner, they organised and controlled production. The workforce was mainly slave labour, with an abundance of women and children.
The study of this set of iron tools provides fundamental information for understanding the complexity of economic activity in a Late Roman villa. The villas of the Republican and High Imperial periods formed the basis of agricultural exploitation and were an essential part of supplying the cities.
Technological revolutions and work organisation. Technology and social improvements. Glass was the preferred material in Roman times for containing drinks, especially wine, as may have been the case with this bottle for table service. It is a clear example of the transformation of an ancient material, glass, considered a luxury product, into a popular and easily accessible one thanks to the new blowing technique.
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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