ABSTRACT
The Necropolis, located in the town of Carmona, is one of the most important Roman burial sites in Spain, and was in use during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Initially, the Necropolis was used as a quarry from which stone blocks were extracted for building construction. The quarry was then abandoned and reused as Necropolis due to the workability of the rock. Taking into account the cultural, artistic and religious importance of this Necropolis, its preservation and conservation are a major issue, from both cultural and economic points of view. Here we summarize the last 10 years of research in the Necropolis and emphasize the need to define accurate and sustainable intervention protocols based on a deep understanding of the environmental and/or anthropogenic-induced deterioration processes. The design of effective preservation and/or conservation strategies should be based on exhaustive in situ surveys and laboratory investigations.
