A few years ago, an extraordinary find in Badalona, a plate with only a few letters, allowed us to restore the name PORCIUS. In all probability it can be related to the great Marcus PORCI, the main wine producer of Baetulo.

This plate was engraved in a material only apparently humble, the stone of Alcover. It is a compact limestone located in the Prades mountains, between the towns of Alcover and Mont-ral. Macroscopically, the Alcover stone is a non-translucent, compact and homogeneous stone with a very fine grain, which presents a great stratification; it is grayish-brown in color and can also reach reddish tones.

The layering it presents favors the fact that it can be worked in plates that can range from a few millimeters to 10-12 cm. In Roman times it was used as an epigraphic support, for paving slabs and for tombs.

It is the first time that this type of support is located outside the area of Tarraco and highlights the scope of its epigraphic workshop, and Baetulo‘s relations with the provincial capital. In addition, it is not a single piece but other epigraphic fragments of Baetulo from the same proto-imperial period, have as their support the Alcover stone, as has been demonstrated thanks to the corresponding analyses. We will see in this talk what a stone can tell us by itself and also the written message it supports.

By Isabel Rodà de Llanza and Diana Gorostidi