Inscribed Pompeian-style mills from Tarragona

Abstract

This paper presents a small assemblage of inscribed Pompeian millstones from Roman Tarraco and its surroundings (Tarragona, Spain). Pompeian millstones are not common in the Spanish Peninsula. Furthermore, most are long-distance imports from volcanic quarry districts elsewhere in the Mediterranean, notably the Vulsini sector near Orvieto (north of Rome) characterised by leucite crystals. Inscribed millstones are even less common in Hispania. The three cases presented in this paper (two catilli and one meta), with clear links to Italy, are the only known examples to date bearing inscriptions in Spain. This paper also establishes that inscription analyses, in conjunction with typological and petrological studies, can serve in resolving the complex process of millstone provenancing and dating.