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A thousand and one columns: observations on the Roman granite trade in the Mediterranean area
Abstract
Provenancing and archaeological information on Roman granite columns in the Mediterranean area has been collated from a range of published papers by the author and others, together with new analyses for Rome, to produce an integrated dataset comprising 1176 columns. This dataset allows an overview of Roman granite trade in seven regions across the Mediterranean area. Examination of the data indicates that columns made from Troad (Turkish) granite are the most numerous observed overall (compatible with Lazzarini's earlier (2004) observation that this is the most widely distributed type), followed by Aswan, then Elba and Giglio, and Kozak Dağ (Marmor Misium). In the city of Rome, Mons Claudianus columns predominate. In geographically peripheral parts of the Roman world (Spain, Israel), granite columns are mainly from local sources, and are generally of smaller sizes than those seen in Rome and Tuscany. Analytical data can be used to suggest multiple extraction sites within some quarries, and have the potential for identification of specific intra-quarry provenance. Dating evidence for primary use of columns from the quarries considered is relatively sparse, but suggests early (first century BC) exploitation of Spanish and Elba granites, while column production at Aswan and Troad persisted into the fourth century followed by reuse within later antiquity, in the fifth and seventh centuries AD.
... In particular, the use of granite (sensu lato i.e. including all types of granitoids in the geological sense) for making column shafts is widely attested in the monumental architecture of the Roman Empire as well as in public and religious medieval buildings. A common prejudice in the interpretation of medieval granite shafts is that they are all spolia from Roman monuments, thus allowing to discuss the Roman trade characteristics based on a medieval corpus, neglecting the possibility of medieval quarrying [2]. Several source quarries have been identified, the major ones being in Egypt (Aswan and Mons Claudianus), Asia Minor (Mysia and Troad) and Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). ...
... Several source quarries have been identified, the major ones being in Egypt (Aswan and Mons Claudianus), Asia Minor (Mysia and Troad) and Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Minor quarries with still significant dissemination have been found in Sardinia and Corsica [2][3][4][5]. Other sources have been identified, e.g. in Calabria and Spain, but deemed to have limited local usage [2,6]. ...
... Minor quarries with still significant dissemination have been found in Sardinia and Corsica [2][3][4][5]. Other sources have been identified, e.g. in Calabria and Spain, but deemed to have limited local usage [2,6]. Granite shaft sourcing has been mostly done through visual comparison with reference specimens and laboratory analysis of samples [7][8][9]. ...
We present a scheme for non-destructive provenancing of granite shafts dating from the Roman to the medieval period using a combination of visual, magnetic, and chemical determinations. Our results on two monumental medieval complexes in Europe, in Pisa and Lyon, shows both oriental provenance, most likely spolia, and shaft from the quarries within the influence zone of the Pisa Republic (Elba, Corsica and Sardinia) that possibly correspond to shafts newly obtained in the quarries, particularly for the large diameter shafts of Ainay in Lyon (from Corsica) and Piazza dei Miracoli (from Elba and Sardinia). pXRF appears to be an efficient way to discriminate Corsican from Egyptian grey coarse grained granite provenance.
... Although shaft trade was established throughout the Mediterranean basin, only a few source quarries have been identified for granite shafts (Lazzarini, 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Russell, 2013), with major sources in Egypt (Aswan and Claudianus), Turkey (Troad and Mysia) and the Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Other source quarries for granite shafts in antiquity are known in Corsica, Sardinia and Spain, in particular, but these sources show more limited long-distance diffusion according to previous authors (Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Clerbois et al., 2022). ...
... Although shaft trade was established throughout the Mediterranean basin, only a few source quarries have been identified for granite shafts (Lazzarini, 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Russell, 2013), with major sources in Egypt (Aswan and Claudianus), Turkey (Troad and Mysia) and the Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Other source quarries for granite shafts in antiquity are known in Corsica, Sardinia and Spain, in particular, but these sources show more limited long-distance diffusion according to previous authors (Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Clerbois et al., 2022). This scarcity of sources, despite the quite common occurrence of granite, has been ascribed to various factors: granitic outcrops allowing for the extraction of unfractured blocks up to 8 m long are uncommon; quarries close to the Mediterranean Sea or to large rivers such as the Nile were favoured in order to allow long distance transport by boat, minimizing expensive transport by road; greater skill is required to carve out geometrically perfect shafts than to cut parallelepiped blocks; large quarries were often the personal property of the Emperor and the control of shaft trade was a political issue. ...
... Researchers have therefore sought to develop suitable non-destructive in situ techniques. In various studies Williams-Thorpe and co-authors used magnetic susceptibility to source Roman granite shafts; they produced a synthesis paper on more than one thousand shafts from numerous regions throughout the Mediterranean area, from the Levant to Spain (Williams- Thorpe, 2008). The same methodology was adopted in this study, as described in the methods chapter. ...
... Although shaft trade was established throughout the Mediterranean basin, only a few source quarries have been identified for granite shafts (Lazzarini, 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Russell, 2013), with major sources in Egypt (Aswan and Claudianus), Turkey (Troad and Mysia) and the Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Other source quarries for granite shafts in antiquity are known in Corsica, Sardinia and Spain, in particular, but these sources show more limited long-distance diffusion according to previous authors (Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Clerbois et al., 2022). ...
... Although shaft trade was established throughout the Mediterranean basin, only a few source quarries have been identified for granite shafts (Lazzarini, 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Russell, 2013), with major sources in Egypt (Aswan and Claudianus), Turkey (Troad and Mysia) and the Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Other source quarries for granite shafts in antiquity are known in Corsica, Sardinia and Spain, in particular, but these sources show more limited long-distance diffusion according to previous authors (Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Clerbois et al., 2022). This scarcity of sources, despite the quite common occurrence of granite, has been ascribed to various factors: granitic outcrops allowing for the extraction of unfractured blocks up to 8 m long are uncommon; quarries close to the Mediterranean Sea or to large rivers such as the Nile were favoured in order to allow long distance transport by boat, minimizing expensive transport by road; greater skill is required to carve out geometrically perfect shafts than to cut parallelepiped blocks; large quarries were often the personal property of the Emperor and the control of shaft trade was a political issue. ...
... Researchers have therefore sought to develop suitable non-destructive in situ techniques. In various studies Williams-Thorpe and co-authors used magnetic susceptibility to source Roman granite shafts; they produced a synthesis paper on more than one thousand shafts from numerous regions throughout the Mediterranean area, from the Levant to Spain (Williams- Thorpe, 2008). The same methodology was adopted in this study, as described in the methods chapter. ...
Determining the source quarries for granite shafts in antiquity provides insight into ancient trade routes for such prized materials. We briefly review how non-invasive techniques are currently being applied to address this archeometric task. In specific cases established protocols based on magnetic susceptibility can be integrated with chemical analysis, as demonstrated herein. A systematic inventory and sourcing of granite shafts of presumed antique origin was performed in the region that once formed Gallia Narbonensis. A total of 276 complete shafts or shaft fragments were identified in 21 localities. After fragment pairing hypotheses, they were attributed to at least 174 original shafts. Only four localities (Aix, Arles, Die, Riez) contribute to 54% of the whole corpus. Provenance was determined through visual, magnetic susceptibility and chemical comparison with known antique quarries in Egypt, Turkey, Elba, Corsica and Sardinia. Most of the shafts originated in Turkey (75%), followed by Elba (20.5%). Minor sources are the pink granites of Aswan and Sardinia, as well as grey granite from Corsica, found only in Die. Ambiguity between the Corsican source and the grey Egyptian granite from Mons Claudianus was resolved using portable X-ray fluorescence to determine Sr and Rb contents. As most of the corpus consists of shafts present in medieval to modern contexts, caution is required in interpreting our findings in terms of Ancient Roman architectural and economic choices. Long distance transport of spolia or newly quarried shafts may have occurred after Roman times.
... In particular, the use of granite (sensu lato i.e. including all types of granitoids in the geological sense) for making column shafts is widely attested in the monumental architecture of the Roman Empire as well as in public and religious medieval buildings. A common prejudice in the interpretation of medieval granite shafts is that they are all spolia from Roman monuments, thus allowing to discuss the Roman trade characteristics based on a medieval corpus, neglecting the possibility of medieval quarrying [2]. Several source quarries have been identified, the major ones being in Egypt (Aswan and Mons Claudianus), Asia Minor (Mysia and Troad) and Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). ...
... Several source quarries have been identified, the major ones being in Egypt (Aswan and Mons Claudianus), Asia Minor (Mysia and Troad) and Tuscan islands (Elba and Giglio). Minor quarries with still significant dissemination have been found in Sardinia and Corsica [2][3][4][5]. Other sources have been identified, e.g. in Calabria and Spain, but deemed to have limited local usage [2,6]. ...
... Minor quarries with still significant dissemination have been found in Sardinia and Corsica [2][3][4][5]. Other sources have been identified, e.g. in Calabria and Spain, but deemed to have limited local usage [2,6]. Granite shaft sourcing has been mostly done through visual comparison with reference specimens and laboratory analysis of samples [7][8][9]. ...
... Linking pieces of tools, artifacts, monuments, building elements, etc. With their extraction and production site brings crucial information on the extension of former commercial trades as well as the nature and modes of these exchanges and the transportation of raw materials (e.g., Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Vandenabeele and Donais, 2016;Fantuzzi et al., 2020). The last decades * Corresponding author. ...
... These rock types were intensively quarried to provide monumental, durable and elegant architectural pieces (e.g., columns, fronton, arches, obelisks; Adam, 2011) that were ultimately used to build colossal edifices in the entire Mediterranean basin (see Waters, 2016 and references therein). Sourcing these granitic monuments still provide crucial information to constrain quarrying strategies, the dynamics of raw materials transportation and vectors of commercial trades through the empire (Williams- Thorpe, 2008;Clerbois et al., 2020). Addressing these questions requires developing and validating analytical methods using non-invasive, non-destructive, and portable instruments. ...
... A multi-method approach is crucial for large scale geoarchaeological studies and provenance investigations of granitoids; more specifically for those exploited during the Roman period when a large variety of igneous rocks was extracted from a multitude of quarries scattered through the entire Roman empire (e.g., Turbay et al., 2019) and ultimately shaped for their monumental architecture. Although several major roman imperial projects were supplied by the mainstreamed "Granito del Foro" extracted from the Mons Claudianus quarry in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (e.g., Peacock et al., 1994), several authors emphasized the importance of alternative smaller quarrying spots providing a similar stylish igneous rock (e.g., Williams-Thorpe, 2008). Distinguishing between these rocks is delicate based on their appearance. ...
We present a workflow to conduct a full characterization of medium to coarse-grained igneous rocks, using portable, non-invasive, and reproducible approaches. This includes: (i) Image Analysis (IA) to quantify mineral phase proportions, grain size distribution using the Weka trainable machine learning algorithm. (ii) Portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (PXRF, Bruker Tracer IV) to quantify the whole-rock's chemical composition. For this purpose, a specific calibration method dedicated to igneous rocks using the open-source CloudCal app was developed. It was then validated for several key elements (Si, Al, K, Ti, Ca, Fe, Mn, Sr, Ga, Ba, Rb, Zn, Nb, Zr, and Y) by analyzing certified standard reference igneous rocks. (iii) Portable Magnetic Susceptibilimeter (pMS, Bartington MS2K system) to constrain the mineralogical contribution of the samples. The operational conditions for these three methods were tested and optimized by analyzing five unprepared surfaces of igneous rocks ranging from a coarse-grained alkaline granite to a fine-grained porphyric diorite and hence, covering variable grain sizes, mineralogical contents, and whole-rock geochemical compositions. For pMS and PXRF tools, one hundred analyses were conducted as a 10 cm × 10 cm square grid on each sample. Bootstrap analysis was implemented to establish the best grid size sampling to reach an optimized reproducibility of the whole-rock signature. For PXRF analysis, averaged compositions were compared to PXRF analysis on press-pellets and laboratory WD-XRF analysis on fused disk and solution ICP-OES (for major) and solution-ICPMS (for trace element concentrations). Ultimately, this workflow was applied in the field on granitoids from three Roman quarrying sites in the Lavezzi archipelago (southern Corsica) and tested against the Bonifacio granitic War Memorial, for which its provenance is established. Our results confirm this information and open the door to geoarchaeological provenance studies with a high spatial resolution.
... For this reason, to locate the source of a column considered in an ancient city, the method commonly used is to compare some archaeological samples taken from this city and some geological samples taken from the granite quarries by using mineralogical-petrographic and geochemical analyses (Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe, 1993;Williams-Thorpe and Henty, 2000;Potts, 2002;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Ay, 2017;Ay and Tolun, 2017b). ...
... The mineralogical-petrographic analyses are an examination of the samples in a microscopic environment using their thin sections. These analyses carry out to determine the types, quantities, sizes, and shapes of the minerals forming the rock types, main and secondary components of the samples (Galetti et al., 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Ay, 2017;Ay and Tolun, 22 2017b). The geochemical analyses perform in determining the type and number of major elements contained in the samples (Galetti et al., 1992;Potts, 2002;Williams-Thorpe, 2008). ...
... These analyses carry out to determine the types, quantities, sizes, and shapes of the minerals forming the rock types, main and secondary components of the samples (Galetti et al., 1992;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Ay, 2017;Ay and Tolun, 22 2017b). The geochemical analyses perform in determining the type and number of major elements contained in the samples (Galetti et al., 1992;Potts, 2002;Williams-Thorpe, 2008). ...
Ay and Tolun [An Archaeometric Approach on the Distribution of Troadic Granite Columns in the Western Anatolian Coasts. Journal of Archaeology & Art, 156, 2017, 119-130 (In Turkish)] have analysed the distribution of the monolithic columns produced in the ancient granite quarries, located in Troad Region and Mysia Region in Northwestern Anatolia, by archaeometric analyses. Moreover, they have achieved some results by interpreting the prominent data obtained therein. In this study, we propose a novel soft decision-making method, i.e. Monolithic Columns Classification Method (MCCM), constructed via fuzzy parameterized fuzzy soft matrices (fpfs-matrices) and Prevalence Effect Method (PEM). MCCM provides an outcome by interpreting all the results of the analyses mentioned above. We then apply the method to the problem of monolithic columns classification. Finally, we discuss the need for further research.
... Historically, Marmor Troadense was a well-known precious stone, widely distributed and mainly used for columns and pillars (Lazzarini 1987(Lazzarini , 2004b(Lazzarini , 2010Williams-Thorpe 2008). The stone was shipped to its destinations in the Roman Empire from the ancient harbor of Alexandria Troas (Ponti 1995). ...
... BC until the 5 th c. AD under the imperial control (Lazzarini 1987;Ponti, 1995Ponti, , 2002Williams-Thorpe 2008). Recently, Yavuz (2014) proposed that the quarries stopped operating no later than 395 AD based on radiocarbon dates of 4 charcoal samples from the sediments covering the ruins of Alexandria Troas. ...
This research sheds light on the use of white marble and polychrome stones in building the five-aisled basilica at Gadara (Umm Qais), north Jordan. The research uses different analytical techniques to investigate the physical, mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic properties of 24 marble elements aiming at the identification of their provenance. The basilica was likely built in the 4th c. AD, renovated by an addition of a new mosaic floor in the early of the 6th c. AD, reduced to a chapel in the 8th c. AD, and converted into a mosque during the Ayyubid-Mamluk periods. The results showed three sources of the white marble: the Thasian-3 from Cape Vathy, Thasos Island, Greece; the Proconnesian from Saraylar and Kavala (Proconnesian-1) and Çamlik (Proconnesian-2), Marmara Island, Turkey; and the Parian-2 from Lakkoi, Chorodaki valley, Paros Island, Greece. The results show the use of four well-known varieties of polychrome stones which were widely used by the Romans in antiquity: Marmor Sagarium/Breccia Corallina, Marmor Troadense/Granito Violetto, Marmor Styrium/Cipollino Verde, and Marmor Pavonazzetto. These results attest the prosperity and the major development of Gadara during the 4th c. AD, and indicate its wide trade connections to import such a combination of building stones for different functions. The results support previous studies that showed the dominant use of Proconnesian marble at Gadara during the Byzantine period, and present new evidence of use of new polychrome stone varieties in the decoration of Gadara’s structures.
... The samples clearly have macroscopic features typical of Marmor Troadense (Granito Violetto) (Fig. 7a), identifiable to the variety with coarse (2-3 cm across) pink K-feldspars. This was a well-known and important stone much used in antiquity for columns and pillars (Lazzarini 1987(Lazzarini , 2004Williams-Thorpe 2008). ...
... Although the Mysian granodiorite, also used for pillars and columns, was contemporaneous with the Troadic granite, it occurs much less frequently and with a more limited distribution (Lazzarini 2004;Williams-Thorpe 2008). ...
The provenance of granite, basalt, and marble used in building the cruciform basilica of Abila of the Decapolis, northwestern Jordan, is investigated using chemical and petrographic techniques. The basilica is dated to the late fifth or early sixth century AD. The stones were characterized using macroscopic traits in combination with optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and stable oxygen and carbon isotope spectrometry. These data were compared to the published databases for marbles, granites, and basalts used in antiquity. The comparison showed that the basalts are most probably local. The islands of Marmara (Proconessos-1), Turkey, are the primary source of the white marbles, while Paros island (Paros-2), Greece, is a minor source. The source of the green Cipollino marbles is Styra in the island of Euboea (Greece). The pink and gray granites are likely microasiatic from the Çigri and Kozak Dâgs, respectively, northwest Turkey.
... Moreover, non-invasive in situ techniques are more and more demanded to avoid sampling patrimonial cultural objects. They proved for example to be effective for the study of rocks such as obsidian, granite, sandstones and greywacke (Frahm and Feinberg, 2013;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Rochette et al., 2022;Uchida et al., 2021). The present work focuses on the provenance of statuary limestones of a set of six protohistoric statues from various localities in Provence and hosted at the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille (MHM) (Fig. 1A-F). ...
... The primary methods used in this direction are mineralogical-petrographic and geochemical analyses. To make this distinction, the analysis results of the samples taken from geological sources and archaeological finds are compared (Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe, 1993;Williams-Thorpe and Henty, 2000;Potts, 2002;Williams-Thorpe, 2008;Ay, 2017;Ay and Tolun, 2017b). ...
Recently, Ay and Tolun’s analysis [An Archaeometric Approach on the Distribution of Troadic Granite Columns in the Western Anatolian Coasts. Journal of Archaeology & Art, 156, 2017, 119–130 (In Turkish)] about the distribution in North-Western Anatolia of the monolithic columns produced in the ancient granite quarries, located in Troad Region and Mysia Region have been modelled by using a soft decision-making method referred to as Monolithic Columns Classification Method (MCCM). We, in this study, propose a new method named Monolithic Columns Classification Method Based on Histogram (MCCMh). MCCMh uses the similarity of the histograms of the section images and a threshold value. The results herein corroborate the results mentioned above wholly. Finally, we discuss the need for further research.
... During Roman times, as Lazzarini (1987) suggested, quarrying started in the 2nd century BC and lasted approximately until the 2nd century of the Byzantine Empire, corresponding to the 6th century AD. This hypothesis was also supported by Williams-Thorpe (2008). Pensabene (2002) said that quarries, during that time, were almost exclusively imperial ones. ...
In this study, we present new field and chronological data from 2 antique quarries of marmor troadense (Kestanbol quartz-monzonite) in northwestern Turkey. Marmor troadense has been mined and the building stones have been exported all over the Mediterranean region since approximately 2500 years ago. Analysis of 11 samples from the quarried bedrock for cosmogenic Be-10 showed that the landscape is so old that the inheritance obscured the absolute dating of the operation periods. Nonetheless, C-14 analysis of 4 charcoal samples from the sediments covering the ruins of Alexandria Troas indicated that these quarries stopped operating no later than 395 AD. These lines of evidence are in accordance with the results of field mapping. First, we mapped Kestanbol quartz-monzonite in detail and prepared a detailed geoarchaeological map of the quarrying activity in this area. We estimated the excavated amount of rock in 2 quarries to be >750 m(3) and identified 60 columns of granite and other building stones. Our findings suggest a gross budget of approximately 150 million euros for the quarry operations in this region based on present costs. Various operation periods of this large economy, if present, still remain to be uncovered.
... Ongoing aspects of this research will include a verification of the use of 'Granito di Nicotera' in the ancient Roman monuments of Italy, in order to identify any possible confusion with the more famous Marmor Claudianum. Although huge monolithic columns, such as those of Trajan's Forum, could not have been quarried at Nicotera, and are definitely made of Marmor Claudianum (cf., Williams-Thorpe et al. 1996;Williams-Thorpe 2008), the granite of Nicotera might have been used for medium-and small-sized shafts. We suspect a significant extra-regional distribution of such columns, and some exports to Rome. ...
Granitoid rocks were among the stone materials most frequently used for columns and pillars during the Roman period. When employed in Rome and the Mediterranean provinces, they were mainly quarried in Egypt, in Asia Minor and in Italy. Some of these rocks show very similar macroscopic features, so it is often very difficult to tell them apart with the naked eye. This is the case with the ‘Granito del Foro’ (or Marmor Claudianum), from the Gebel Fatireh, in the Eastern Desert, and the ‘Granito di Nicotera’ (Calabria), both exploited from the first century ad onwards. Both feature medium grain size and a white-greyish colour with black patches. In order to obtain a certain microscopic and geochemical discrimination of these rocks, and to provide the first known petrographic classification of the ‘Granito di Nicotera’, a comprehensive mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical investigation was performed on several samples from the quarry. The results were compared with the corresponding data known for Marmor Claudianum in the literature. Good discrimination between the granites is possible, mainly on the basis of modal mineralogy and geochemical characteristics. The ‘Granito del Foro’ contains hornblende, while the ‘Granito di Nicotera’ contains muscovite, and has a distinctive peraluminous index and trace element abundances.
... However, Girona marble, particularly the exquisite Rossa Girona, has been transported all over the world beginning in antiquity when the Roman mines were providing both granite and marble to the empire, so such movement in the 12th century is certainly not impossible. (Morbidelli, Tucci, Imperatori, Polvorinos, Martinez, Azzaro, and Hernandez 2007) (Willaims-Thorpe 2008) It is, though, unlikely due to the regional nature of most carvers' reputations and the local nature of the pre-14th century guild system. Additionally, the skill set of an individual stone carver is more easily replaced by another carver in another location than the skill set of a Master Mason (with the obvious exceptions of the truly great carvers in the class of (later) Michelangelo, Donatello, etc.). ...
In the mid 1940's, while walking in the cloister of the monastery at Ripoll in Catalonia,ethnomusicologist Marius Schneider noted that the carvings of the column capitals seemed familiar. On inspection of these and the ones at Sant Cugat del Valles he realized that they were the creatures comprising an Indian musical notation. On further study he realized that they "sang" the hymn of the patron saint of the region, St. Cucufate. He further extended his findings to include the Cathedral at Girona as well as the monasteries at Ripoll and Sant Cugat del Valles. While this is a fascinating notion, that a 12th century carver was "writing" music in the stones of cloisters in the region, it has a practical implication for economic history as well. Given that carvers must be familiar with the stone of a region, and that their skills were generally more locally than widely known, it is unlikely that more than one workshop was undertaking this particular style. By this signature skill, carving Indian musical notation, it is possible to trace the path of the work of this particular workshop, and its master carver.
Preface
This proceeding book includes the papers presented at the Conference of the XII. Association for the study of Marble and other stone in Antiquity (ASMOSIA XII). The conference was organized by Geological Engineering and Archaeological departments of Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Türkiye, on the 8th to the 14th of October. Like in the previous congresses, ASMOSIA XII was highly international and interdisciplinary. During the
conference more than 100 oral and poster presentations were submitted by the partecipants, archaeologists, geologists, art historians, conservators, historians of Classical antiquity, architectural historians, chemists and physicist from at least 15 different nationalities. The papers presented in this book can be grouped under 4 main headings like applications to specific archaeological questions – use of marble; provenance identification marble and other stones; advances in provenance techniques, methodologies and databases; quarries and geology: quarrying techniques, organisation, transport of stones, new quarries, stone carving and dressing, hazards and preservation of quarries; stone properties, weathering effects and restoration, as related to diagnosis problems, matching of stone fragments and
authenticity and pigments and painting on marble.
In this symposium, which lasted 7 days, including five days of presentations and 2 days of field trips, important scientific discussions were made on the above-mentioned issues
by the attendees from various disciplines. We believe that the proceeding book of ASMOSIA XII including the results of the important multidisciplinary works will help the researchers
who work in these fields. We would like to thank Dokuz Eylül University for it’s support during the symposium and for printing this proceeding book. We would like to express our special thanks to Dr. Akın Ersoy and to the other organization committee members of the ASMOSIA XII conferences. Additionally, we also would like to thank the reviewers who gave important
support during the reviewing processes of this book. Finally, we want to dedicate this volume of the XII Asmosia Izmir Proceedings to the dear memory of Moshe Fischer. Esteemed colleague, one of the greatest scholar about Roman architectural decoration in the Levant and in larger part of the Mediterranean, Moshe was fellow of Asmosia since the first Workshop held at Il Ciocco (Lucca, Italy) in 1988 and finally member of the executive Committee of Asmosia since 2015. We will never forget his friendliness and kindness, his archaeological expertise, his deep voice and his mustache.
Ali Bahadır Yavuz
Burak Yolaçan
Matthias Bruno
This paper opens with a consideration of the biography of a large basin discovered during excavations at the Abbasid capital of Samarra. The large, circular, basin from Samarra closely matches historical descriptions of a fountain located in the city’s Congregational Mosque which became known as “kasat firun,” or the “Cup of Pharaoh” and, since its discovery, this excavated basin and the historical account of the fountain have often been conflated as one and the same. The excavated basin is carved from a non-local—and probably Egyptian—stone which may have generated its mysterious association with the Pharaonic past. A consideration of the possible sources from which such a large stone basin might have been obtained during the Islamic period, however, opens up a wider discussion related to the reuse of pre-Islamic artefacts as water features. This paper explores possible scenarios through which the basin from Samarra might have been acquired by the Abbasid caliphs alongside the logistics associated with its transport to Samarra. In addition, the likely motivations for the installation of this enigmatic stone basin are evaluated—including pragmatic reuse of an impressive piece of stonework, a symbolic statement of contemporary pre-eminence over the rulers of the past or perhaps even beliefs in the quasi-magical powers of ancient objects. Alongside this, the existence of several comparable, near-contemporary, basins, demonstrate that the reuse of objects from the past as contemporary water features in important locations, was a wider practice seen in both the Islamic world and beyond. As an object that seems to have led multiple lives, the complex biography of the basin from Samarra illuminates the ways in which material remains of the past were understood and repurposed during the Abbasid Caliphate.
Rock column is one of the most representative structural elements used in Roman buildings. Its main section is the shaft, a cylindrical conduit between the base and the chapiter. Their decontextualization sometimes makes it difficult their provenance. This is the case of granite shafts coming from the ancient Colonia Augusta Firma Astigi, nowadays Écija (Seville, Spain). In this paper, 52 pieces of granite shafts preserved both along the streets and in the Municipal History Museum of Écija have been studied, to understand the provenance of the granite used in its construction and the type of building where they were employed. An approximation of the granite composition based on the quantity of the main minerals was carried out by digital image analysis. This non-invasive technique allows us to identify the main characteristics of the granites according to their provenance. Additionally, the column heights were calculated according to Roman treatises of architecture. The combination of these techniques allowed us to determine the quarries of the granite columns. The results showed that 20 shafts may come from the Troad region (Turkey), which granite was one of the most commonly used in the Roman constructions on the provinces; although granite from other quarries, i.e. Gerena (Spain) or Forum (Egypt), might have been used in this city during the 2 nd century AD too. The relationship between provenance of the granite and height of the column allows us to specify aspects referred to the magnification of buildings or the sponsors of the monumentalization of public spaces carried out in time of the Roman emperor Hadrian.
Ancient granite columns have been a pervasive element in the architecture of Rome since the Imperial era. However, in the fifteenth century, just as the effort to revive Antiquity intensified, these ubiquitous and durable ancient columns fell out of use. It was instead the stone travertine that became the columnar material of choice. Yet, just as quickly as this change occurred, within an exceptionally short period of thirty years, beginning with the construction of the Palazzo della Cancelleria courtyard, Rome saw a renascence in their application. While little has been made of this material shift, this article argues that the sudden extensive employment of spoliated granite columns was a crucial component in the recovery of a distinctly local Roman Antiquity. It was through the use and transformation of spolia that builders and patrons attempted to create an architecture that not only recalled Antiquity, but resubstantiated it, literally making it whole again.
In this dissertation I consider the role which tufo quarries played in the economy of urban construction at Rome by analyzing, in detail, one such quarry just east of the city???that which produced lapis Gabinus, a building stone used widely at Rome in the first century BCE. The principal evidence for this analysis consists of the remains of quarry faces at Gabii, associated archaeological features, and the distribution of the stone in extant Roman monuments. Wherever possible, petrographic analyses were utilized to confirm the presence of lapis Gabinus, which has been misidentified in the past. I use this evidence to develop a picture of the scale, organization, and techniques of the production and transportation of lapis Gabinus blocks. In addition, I explore methods of quantifying the cost of stone quarrying, in terms of manpower, in order to assess the economic significance of the quarries more generally. I demonstrate that the use of lapis Gabinus was influenced by a number of factors, including the decline of the town of Gabii, Roman knowledge of the stone???s physical characteristics, and the ease with which it could be transported by river to the capital. Moreover, processes of lapis Gabinus extraction and transportation played a large role in tying Rome to the countryside and highlight the intersection of stone quarrying with other industries in the wider economy.
While most studies of Roman stone quarrying focus on imperial involvement and on marbles and other fine decorative stone, by reconstructing the processes of extraction and transportation for the lapis Gabinus quarries I provide insight into the everyday working of a production site which is more representative of stone extraction across the empire. At the same time, lapis Gabinus appears in some of the most significant Roman monuments of the first
century BCE, and the organization of its production therefore has implications for Roman public architecture more generally. This approach exposes in greater detail the dynamics of the construction industry in the Late Republic and provides a unique lens with which to view the economic ties between Rome and its immediate hinterland.
Schörle, K. 2010 “From Harbour to Desert: an integrated interface on the Red Sea and its impact on the Eastern Egyptian Desert” Fasti Online http://151.12.58.75/archeologia/bao_document/articoli/5_SCHÖRLE.pdf
‘Marmor Misium’ was one of the most used granites of antiquity, especially for the manufacture of columns and slabs. It was quarried in the area of Kozak (Turkey) and used locally from the Late Hellenistic period and later, probably at the end of the 1st century AD, exported to Rome and other important Roman towns of the Mediterranean sea. It seems that ‘Marmor Misium’ continued to be quarried until the Early Byzantine time; it is now still quarried for local use (road paving, etc.). In spite of its historical importance and geological interest, this granite has never been the subject of detailed petrological studies. That is why in this work it has been sampled from various outcrops of the plutonite and in abandoned ancient quarries and characterised petrographically and geochemically. From the petrographic point of view, the plutonites of Kozak are medium-grained biotite-hornblende granite and granodiorite composed of 34.2–53% (modal) zoned plagioclase, 23.7–35.4% K-feldspar, 21.4–29% anhedral quartz, 4.9–10% brown biotite and 7.7% green hornblende. These rocks are I-type metaluminous granitoids of high-k calc-alkaline orogenic series forming a crystallised body at a depth of about 10 km. The positive distinction between ‘Marmor Misium’ and two other granites used in antiquity and macroscopically very similar to it, those from the Elba and Giglio islands (Italy), is easily made by considering the absence of hornblende, the peraluminous character and the lower Sr and Ba and higher Rb contents for the latter.
Three hundred and fourteen Roman granite columns at seven sites in Israel have been provenanced to their quarry sources, using a combination of mineralogy, magnetic susceptibility, portable gamma ray spectrometry and electron microprobe analysis. Most of the columns (195) originate in the Troad area of western Turkey. A small number (6) come from other sources in western Turkey, probably all from Kozak Dağ. The remainder of the columns (113) are from the Aswan quarries in Egypt. Ashkelon was importing most of its columns from Turkey (Troad), while Caesarea Maritima imported a greater percentage of Aswan columns.
Magnetic susceptibility provides a rapid, cheap and non-destructive method of in situ characterization of archaeological artefacts containing magnetic minerals, and can be used as an aid to geological provenancing. Three hundred and sixty-three Roman granite columns were measured by this method and results show clear groupings and similarities with potential granite sources in Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Magnetic susceptibility measurements must be made on representative, unweathered surfaces of rocks and artefacts, and corrected for object size and surface relief according to manufacturers’recommendations. In addition, corrections for column curvature have been derived for use with measurements made on columns.
Portable gamma ray spectrometry (PGRS) provides a non destructive means to analyst quantitatively large artefacts, such as building stones, for the radioelements K. U and Th. Nine Raman granitoid columns at the Leptis Magna Ruins in Windsor Great Park, London, were measured in situ by PGRS. Corrections for the environmental background contribution to the gamma ray flux measured, and for the shape and size of the columns, are described Comparison of the PGRS data with a radioelement data base for Roman granite sources indicates that most of the columns originated in the Troad area of Turkey. Two columns could not be unambiguously provenanced using PGRS alone because there is insufficient difference between radioelement concentrations in certain sources. However, non-destructive measurements of magnetic susceptibility, used in conjunction with PGRS data, suggest that these two columns originated in the Kozak Daǧ, also in Turkey.
Mons Claudianus in the Eastern Desert of Egypt was an important source of granodiorite for Roman columns. Computer contouring of 1119 magnetic susceptibility measurements at the quarry shows systematic variations, with low readings in the west of the quarry area and higher readings in the east. One hundred and seventy measurements on 62 columns of Mons Claudianus type in Rome and its environs were compared with the quarry readings, using a t-test based procedure. Some columns with distinctively low or high magnetic susceptibility could be provenanced very precisely to areas of about 700 × 700m within the 9km2 of Mons Claudianus. Columns with susceptibility in the middle of the Mons Claudianus range could not be provenanced precisely. Results indicate early (first century AD) use of both west and east parts of Mons Claudianus, and contemporaneous use of several parts of the quarry, rather than systematic or sequential opening of the area. Columns found in third-century AD monuments, provenanced to the same parts of Mons Claudianus as earlier material, may indicate reuse of columns in some monuments. Magnetic susceptibility constitutes a portable and non-destructive method capable of provenancing not only to a quarry, but to specific areas within a single quarry.
Granito del foro is a distinctive igneous rock, in fact a granodiorite rather than a granite, long known and named for its use in buildings of the Roman Forum. Exactly what is it? Where does it come from? Where else was it used and not used? What does the granito del foro say about ownership and empire?
One hundred and fifty two granite columns were examined in eight towns and archaeological sites in Andalucía and Extremadura, Spain, in order to determine the geological provenance of the columns. Three non-destructive methods of characterization were used: mineralogical features, magnetic susceptibility, and concentrations of radioelements (K, U, Th) determined by portable gamma ray spectrometry. Columns were compared with potential sources within Spain and in the Mediterranean area using analogous data previously published and also new data obtained for this work. The majority of the columns are made of Spanish granites, some of which were probably quarried near Mérida. Different chemical types of Spanish granites were used in the northern part of the area studied (Extremadura) and in the southern part (Andalucía). Twenty five columns are not of Spanish granites, but were imported from other sources, namely the Troad and Kozak Dağ areas of western Turkey, the Italian islands of Elba and/or Giglio, and Sardinia (confirming a column previously identified in the literature). The imported columns are found in Itálica, Hispalis (Seville) and Astigi (Écija), and were probably carried along the River Guadalquivir and its tributaries.
Roman granites of Sardinia: geochemical and magnetic characterisation of columns and quarries, and comments on distributions in the Mediterranean area
- Williams-thorpe
History of Ancient Russian Art
- Ainalov D.v
Pietre e Marmi Antichi
- L. Lazzarini
Rome in the Desert: a symbol of power
- D.p.s. Peacock
Provenancing of Roman granite columns in Cyprus using non-destructive field portable methods
- Williams-thorpe
Roman granite columns in Elba, Giglio and Tuscany: a contribution to provenancing and distribution studies Marmora
- O Williams-Thorpe
- I J Rigby
in press:Roman granite columns in Elba Giglio and Tuscany: a contribution to provenancing and distribution studies
- Williams-Thorpe O.Andrigby I.J