Objectives

The main objectives of the project presented here are listed and described below:

• • To observe the evolution in systems of weights in the Iberian Peninsula, from the first weight objects to the end of the High Roman Empire, through the analysis of those pieces.

Fig. 7. Chronological background for the weight systems documented in the Iberian Peninsula and map with their place of origin (designed by D. Barrios)

• • To analyse the factors underlying the implementation of these weight patterns: political, social and economic changes, etc., among pre-Roman cultures in order to compare them with the process of adopting the Roman system.
  • To identify unpublished items deposited in museums and found in archaeological excavations to determine their different uses and value (commercial, production, ritual, etc.) after being analysed in their original context.

Fig. 8. Geographic distribution of the archaeological sites where weight objects were identified during the projects Ponderales de Castilla y León (B2020/003989 and 35.SUBV-21/235-VP); the provinces of Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia are pending study (image by D. Barrios)

• • To make visible the heritage value of these items in the museums’ collections.
  • To examine their function as agents that generated changes in systems of weights, such as the arrival of new merchant peoples, in order to understand the importance of the conquest of the territory by a new society, the Romans.
  • To create a new corpus of finds that will enable a new classification, to facilitate identification and continuity of further research.