Absolute Dating

In the absence of absolute dating, there are other elements that can help us to know the relative chronology of the monuments. The characteristics and style of the religious and funerary written monuments and their texts did not stay static but changed during the Roman period. Thus, if we can identify when innovations were introduced and when others disappeared, their presence can be use for determining the date of an inscription.
External elements as typology and decoration as well as internal characteristics of the text can aid us to reach and approximate date. However, the spread of new styles and text formula and their disappearance did not happen at the same time or in all the provinces and regions. As a consequence, out best chance to adjust the date of the presence of specific typology or formulae is to be able to study the evolution of the epigraphic habit of a delimitated place where a considerable amount of inscriptions have been found. In this case, the interrelation of the external and internal elements of the group and the comparison of the inscription that can be certainly dated with those which share some elements makes possible to establish a chronotypology of the place . Unfortunately, we are not in that position. The group of inscriptions of our territory do not offer the option of establish a chronotypology of the place and …show more content…
In our case there is not any indication of the use of a particular type of material or support during a precise lapse. Steles from Belorado-Fresno de Río Tirón were simple river blocks but it does not appear that this typology could be linked to any precise chronology . In addition, the house-form steles from Poza de la Sal do not seem either to have been produced during a specific time period that could allow us to date