During Roman times, various rock types have been selected for the manufacturing of religious and funerary sculptures, others have been carefully chosen for particular architectural and ornamental pieces. The latter stones were restricted to public buildings or major private houses. This taste for ornamental stones, part of which were derived from the Mediterranean realm, has generated an important supply activity of products derived from provincial quarries. Where are these materials coming from? What is their geographical distribution? What kind of social and economic mechanisms are playing here? What kind of decorative elements have they been used for? What happened after abandonment of the buildings? Were the quarries still active during post-Roman times? What is the importance of
their recycling?
