Piedra Escrito deposit in Cenicentes
Well of Cultural Interest in the category of Archaeological Zone
The Piedra Escrito site, in Ceniientos, is an outstanding material testimony of Roman culture in the southwest of the Community of Madrid, not only because of its status as a symbolic and votive monument, but also because of its permanence in its original location, acting as a border signaling landmark.
Witness to the diachronic process of occupation of this territory throughout history, it stands out for its landscape value, inherent to the conditions of the environment and to the anthropic action itself on it. Being considered as a cave altar dedicated to the Greco-Roman divinity Diana, protector of hunting and forests, the monolith has attributed to the place in which it is inserted a magical-religious significance that in medieval times resulted in its Christianization, the concentration of scattered burials in the area and the construction of a nearby hermitage.
Historical-artistic context
In a place located between the Roman provinces of Lusitania and Tarraconensis from the XNUMXnd century is the site of Piedra Escrito, in the territory that had previously divided the border between Vetones and Carpetani. The presence of populations of pre-Roman origin is confirmed, both in the nearby towns and in the vicinity of Piedra Escrito, related to the existence of sanctuaries or sacred altars in the open air, common in these cultures. The syncretism typical of the classical world leads to the survival of preexisting beliefs and rituals like these, which Roman culture collects and romanizes.
The Roman presence in the territory is documented on the Piedra Escrito path, which links the current town of Cenihundos with the area where the monolith is located, at the crossing of the Arroyo de los Molinillos from the existence of a possible Roman bridge and in nearby towns such as Cadalso de los Vidrios.
Archaeological surveys carried out in the area have revealed ceramic material of the type terra sigillata and other ceramics from the medieval period, indicating a continued settlement throughout successive cultural periods. Likewise, the historical documentation alludes to the foundation of a church in the XNUMXth century, according to documentation from the Toledo Cathedral Archive. Although there are no material remains of it, in the XNUMXth century a "Virgin of Written Stone" was still preserved in the parish church, as cited in the historical documentation.
In this sense, the significance of the landscape in which the monolith is inserted as a symbolic and sacred place, meant the Christianization of the monolith in medieval times, evident by the alteration of the original Latin inscription; as well as probably the concentration of the population around this area and the existence of a hermitage and a medieval necropolis from the twelfth century.
Generally, these burials with a scattered pattern that did not make up a delimited cemetery enclave, were associated with small cattle settlements next to sacred places, which would make sense considering the importance of transhumance in the area, especially after the feudal transformation, supported by the development since the XNUMXth century of the network of royal ravines, cords and paths that interconnected them. In fact, the Cordel de San Juan delimits the site from the surroundings of Piedra Escrito to the south and connects the Cañada Real Leonesa Oriental and the Cañada Real Segoviana.
patrimonial values
The large granite stone that makes up this rural oratory aedicula It has a base of more than three meters and a height of five meters at its highest point. Its imposing presence in the environment implies, in addition to a historical-artistic value for being one of the few Roman remains of this type in the southwest of the Community of Madrid; a landscape value due to its status as a border landmark. It is worth noting the relief that it presents in the southeast plane, inserted in a vertical niche with a semicircular finish in the form of a smooth shell. In it, a man and a woman are sculpted, robed on the right, performing a sacrifice on an altar and a third, larger figure, located on the left, identified as the goddess Diana. In the lower part of the composition, although in a poor state of conservation due to erosion, two recumbent animals, goats and cattle, seem to be distinguished, possibly related to the aforementioned sacrifice.
Together with the aforementioned scene, the interpretation of the theme of the set is based on the inscription, located to the left of the relief. Although partially deteriorated and altered in medieval times, the transcript reveals a reference to the goddess: "A[nimo] L[ibens] S[olvit votum] Sisc[inius?] Q[¿?] Dianae".
In medieval times, the pre-existing letters of the Latin inscription were modified with shallower strokes to Christianize their meaning and replace it with "To the three Marys". In addition to this inscription, the monolith has another symbolic mark on the back, interpreted as a plantigrade footprint with five holes. The identification of this mark with the footprint of a bear, in addition to reinforcing the association of the monolith with the goddess Diana, would represent the mark of the limit of the forest of Cinder, referring to the double symbolic condition of Piedra Escrito.
In the vicinity of the monolith there is a granite rock more than four meters long, altered to resemble the shape of a boar. It does not seem to be in its original location, but rather it would have been moved about nine meters from the monolith, paved with several stones on its southern flank. However, the presence of this element is related to the cults associated with the Vetton territory and its survival and assimilation during the Roman period, establishing a geostrategic relationship of this monument with the Toros de Guisando from Avila, as the researcher Alicia Canto points out.
Image gallery
Protected Heritage
The Patron Saint Festival of San Isidro, the Ecce Homo attributable to Caravaggio and the Piedra Escrito site are some of the assets declared by the Community of Madrid in 2021.