ABSTRACT
The Conventus Iuridicus Asturum (mainly, though not only, modern Asturias and León provinces in Spain) was created after the Cantabrian Wars carried out by Augustus himself, which finished in 19 BC. Even though the NW quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula was rich in gold, the C. Asturum concentrated the greatest deposits in the western ends of both Asturias and León. The exploitation of gold was a strategic need for Augustus’ new Imperial coin, the aureus. Those areas with rich pre-Roman goldwork were systematically prospected and mined during the first two centuries of the Christian Era. As a consequence, local populations were subjected to a special form of imperialist policy directed at ensuring the maximum output of minerals. Settlement form and function was radically changed and a tributary system was put in place, thereby changing local society completely.
This policy had a major effect on the landscape in two ways: the mines brought about important geomorphological changes, and the territorial policy changed the rural exploitation of the area with a new landscape management and an increasing importance of cereal cultivation. In this paper these changes are brought forth as what they are: a measure of the impact that Roman gold mining had on the landscape.
