Vestígios de pintura em miliário romano da Via Nova (milha XXXi a Bracara Augusta), norte de Portugal. Uma abordagem multidisciplinar

Abstract

The occurrence of traces of colour in milestones is rare. In the Hispanic northwest, where the density of Roman milestones is quite high, only two cases are known to date, being one of these studied in this paper. It belongs to the XVIII route of the Antonine Itinerary and was identified at mile XXXI a Bracara Augusta, in the 1990s. The aim of this work is to describe the milestone and characterise the type of pigment used in its decoration. To achieve this purpose, a multi-analytical approach was used by combining complementary analytical techniques like X-ray fluorescence, digital and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The results suggest that the grooves of the milestone inscriptions were painted with a pigment obtained from haematite, an iron oxide occurring in northern Portugal.