Roman military bricks and tiles stamps in Spain. Reflections on the origin and spread

Abstract

In this paper, we present an overview of Roman military bricks and tiles stamps in Hispania, mainly belonging to two legionary units (legio VII gemina and legio X gemina), stationed at León and Rosinos de Vidriales respectively, and others stamped by auxiliary units (ala Parthorum, cohors I Celtiberorum and ala II Flavia), stationed at Herrera de Pisuerga, Cidadela and Rosinos de Vidriales respectively. We also analyze an assemblage of stamps of probable military origin of legio IIII Macedonica found at Clunia and Manigoto (Pinhel). The study of this material provide value information about the origin of the practice of stamping bricks in the Iberian Peninsula, and the identification of names of brickmakers associated with military units, possibly related to the production of workshops established under the military control.