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The Roman sanctuary of Piedra Escrita

Cenicientos, Sierra Oeste, Madrid

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities

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The Roman sanctuary of Piedra Escrita

Monument · Cenicientos, Sierra Oeste, Madrid

The Piedra Escrita is a natural granite monolith about 7 metres tall, in the municipal district of Cenicientos, in the southwest of the Community of Madrid. On its western face a niche was carved in Roman times, with a relief of three figures in long robes and two animal silhouettes at their feet, together with an inscription; in 1995 the epigraphist Alicia M. Canto recognised beneath the medieval retouching the original text, a votive dedication to the goddess Diana. In the Middle Ages, the scene already blurred, it was interpreted as the three Marys of the New Testament and the inscription was reworked to read “A las tres Marías” (To the three Marys). The monument was originally a Roman rock-cut oratory. In August 2021 the Community of Madrid declared it a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection).

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Photo: Corucho99 (CC0)

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