Transport and distribution of heavy loads in ancient times: Estremoz Marbles in the Roman province of Lusitania

Abstract

This article analyses the distribution of Estremoz marble from the production centers to the redistribution ports and consumption areas. The marble of the Estremoz Anticline is the most important of the Roman province of Lusitania, and one most of the Hispania, located over150 km from the coast. This product was exploited and distributed to several cities in Roman Hispania and North Africa. This article examines how this transport was carried out by land and river, calculating the economic costs involved. To do this, it is used several Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools in order to find the optimal routes and discuss the transport for heavy loads, relating the mobility to the cumulative economic cost of displacement.