Nuove possibili tracce di escavazione di lapis specularis nel territorio di Cattolica Eraclea

Abstract: The geoarchaeological survey of the Messinian gypsum in the area Cattolica Eraclea area provided probable traces of excavation at about 5 km from the Inferno cave, the only Roman quarry of lapis specularis identified in Sicily. Trenches and cavities, partly obstructed by debris, were excavated in correspondence with a dense network of fractures, up to one meter wide, filled by secondary gypsum crystals up to 40 cm across. The site contains pottery fragments dating from the Hellenistic period to the Middle Ages, but the determination of the excavations chronology needs further studies.