The tabula censualis of Pelóu (Grandas de Salime, Asturias: HEp 18, 2009, 21) in the context of Northwestern Hispania: an approach as a military management document

Abstract

During the archaeological fieldwork campaigns of 2003- 2006, in the so-called “Monte Castrelo” of Pelóu (Grandas de Salime, Asturias), a Roman inscription was found among other surprising findings. It was initially considered a tabula censualis. The inscription is a list of about fifty individuals written down on a slate, a very common material in the western part of Asturias. Despite its significance, it still has not received a monographic study, so its official nature has been generally admitted as a part of provincial census. After the recent comments and observations made by López Barja on this point, who defends that a census function is innapropriate in this case, we can approach the issue through landscape perspectives and a comparative method with other informal lists, which can forge new paths for a better understanding of this document.