digital processing

The Roman quarry of El Mèdol , located in modern-day Tarragona (Tarraco in ancient times) in Catalonia is literally a man-made marvel. This limestone quarry was used by the Romans to build the city center of ancient Tarraco and other major Roman monuments in the area. Virtually, at the center of the Roman quarry lies the ‘agulla de Mèdol,’ a 20 meter (65.6 feet) tall limestone column “needle.” The base of the agulla is where Roman quarrying began, giving an estimation of the vast volumes of limestone quarried from here. At the base of the agulla, and in other parts of the quarry, inscriptions in red paint and charcoal were discovered. These have formed the basis of a fabulous study