LA MINERÍA ROMANA EN EL SUROESTE IBÉRICO

Abstract

In this paper we will produce an overview of the role of Roman mining in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula,  especially  in the Iberian  Pyrite  Belt, a mining  district  that was famous  during  the High Roman Empire Age for its production of silver and copper. We will describe the poly- metallic  nature of their  deposits  and the mining  and metallurgical  engineering  technique  that allowed for the extraction of their complex ores. The slags heaps become a telling source of information  about the production  levels achieved and the Roman settlement  pattern describes the management model for this mining colonization that was under the administration of the imperial  treasury.