A New Database of the Quantitative Cathodoluminescence of the Main Quarry Marbles Used in Antiquity

Blanc, Philippe; Mercadal, María Pilar Lapuente; Garcia-Moreno, Anna Gutiérrez

doi:10.3390/min10040381

Cited by 23 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(40 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, Marmara Island must be discarded as a marble source due its distinctive CL pattern in homogeneous dark blue with a clear heteroblastic texture whose bimodal development of calcite provides a mortar texture, which fails to match with those shown by the marbles under consideration. In addition, although the M sarcophagus sample falls close to the calcitic Thasos isotopic field, the petrography and especially its CL features, with mediumto-high intensity (Blanc et al 2020), completely discard this origin.…”

Section: Isotopic Signaturementioning

confidence: 84%

Addressing the controversial origin of the marble source used in the Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi of Gadir (Cadiz, Spain)

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dating from the fifth century BCE, two Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi, a male and a female, found in Gadir (Cadiz, Spain), are so far the most ancient marble sculptures found in the Iberian Peninsula. The identification of the source of the marble used to produce them has been a subject of controversy for several decades and has recently resurfaced when it was published that they were made by Phoenician artisans using Iberian marble from Macael. This identification is not only unreasonable from an archaeological point of view but also unsupported by any analytical data. On the contrary, as the sarcophagi belong to an Eastern Mediterranean Sidonian production, their raw material is most likely to be Greek-Minor Asian in origin. In order to shed a light on this dispute and objectively resolve the provenance of the marble, a multi-method analytical approach was carried out. Optical microscopy, cathodoluminescence analyses, and C and O stable isotopes clarify the provenance of the marble, confirming that both singular sarcophagi were carved in a Cycladic marble, in accordance with their Sidonian style.

show abstract

Section: Isotopic Signaturementioning

confidence: 84%

Addressing the controversial origin of the marble source used in the Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi of Gadir (Cadiz, Spain)

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The petrographic features of this very fine-grained marble point to a high-quality classical marble and its particular CL features match with the Italian Carrara marble [43]. Among the other known candidates, Paros and Göktepe marbles would show a very low CL [44] (appearing the intrinsic blue-violaceous CL of calcite only after long exposure times) and Pentelic and Dokimeion marbles would show a patchy CL pattern including high and low intensity areas unrelated to the crystals [45].…”

Section: Cathodoluminescence Of Selected Samplesmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Colors of the Circus Mosaic from Barcino (Roman Barcelona): Characterization, Provenance, and Technology Issues

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Archaeometric studies on mosaics often concentrate only on glass tesserae, while comprehensive studies including both stone and glass tesserae are scarce; however, both types of tesserae can sometimes bring relevant data to elaborate archaeological knowledge on a studied mosaic. In this paper, a representative set of tesserae from a large polychrome Roman mosaic retrieved in Barcelona (NE Spain) is investigated using various methods. Most of the techniques were directly applied on samples prepared as petrographic thin sections (including polarized-light, cathodoluminescence and electron microscopies, and synchrotron through-the-substrate μX-ray diffraction). The results indicate that, from the ten sampled stone tesserae, there are (i) seven limestones, one of them identified as Alveolina limestone (early Eocene) from the southern Pyrenees (ii) two sandstones from Barcelona’s Montjuïc hill (Miocene) and, (iii) a Carrara white marble from the Apuan Alps (Italy). The profuse presence of tesserae of both local and imported materials with well-known uses in architecture, epigraphy, and sculpture could imply that tesserae were a by-product of their main use. Two different production technologies were identified for the three sampled glass tesserae. The concurrent use of antimony- and tin-based opacifiers is in agreement with the accepted archaeological chronology of the mosaic (4th century AD).

show abstract

“…However, along with these Hispanic marbles a large variety of stones from other quarries located in the Empire can be found in southern Hispania (Beltrán, 2012b), although they are mainly elements easy to transport, as opus sectile veneers and revetments (Becerra, 2016; Becerra & Vargas, 2018; Gutiérrez‐Deza, 2007; Pérez Olmedo, 1996). Luni ‐Carrara marble was notably used in western areas of the Roman Empire for imperial building projects (Antonelli & Lazzarini, 2015; Attanasio, 2003; Blanc et al, 2020; Cramer et al, 2010; Gutiérrez García‐Moreno & Rodà, 2012; Lapuente & Royo, 2016; Pensabene, 2012a, 2012b), as seen in various Baetican towns, for example, in Astigi (Ordóñez Agulla et al, 2018), Hispalis (Taylor et al, 2018), and Italica (Becerra, 2017; Rodà, 1997; Rodríguez Gutiérrez, 2004, 2008); its use even extending to North Africa (Antonelli et al, 2009b, 2014). The use of ornamental rocks from southern Hispania combined with other stones from distant places of the Empire stand out in urban contexts, above all, in public buildings (Becerra, 2019; Mayer & Rodà, 1998; Rodríguez Gutiérrez, 2004, 2008), as the Traianeum of Italica .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marmora of the Traianeum of Italica (Santiponce, Seville, Spain): New data provided by archaeometric analysis

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article aims to identify a series of stone materials used in the ornamentation of the Traianeum of Italica (Santiponce, prov. Seville, Spain), the imperial cult shrine commissioned by Hadrian in honour of his adoptive father, Trajan, from a petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical point of view. The study highlights the simultaneous use of local and, above all, foreign marbles. Local marbles from Almadén de la Plata (prov. Seville) and Hill of Mijas (prov. Malaga) were used particularly for wall coverings and pavements, whereas Luni‐Carrara marble stands out as the preferred ornamental foreign marble used in column shafts, bases, capitals, balustrade finishes, and so forth. In addition, cipollino marble was mainly used for the column shafts of the hecatostylon portico, but the analysis has not been able to specify its exact provenance, whether it is from Euboea or local, possibly the area of Almadén de la Plata. However, given that this was a construction promoted by the emperor, it might be possible that it would have come from Greece.

show abstract

A New Database of the Quantitative Cathodoluminescence of the Main Quarry Marbles Used in Antiquity

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Addressing the controversial origin of the marble source used in the Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi of Gadir (Cadiz, Spain)

Addressing the controversial origin of the marble source used in the Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi of Gadir (Cadiz, Spain)

The Colors of the Circus Mosaic from Barcino (Roman Barcelona): Characterization, Provenance, and Technology Issues

Marmora of the Traianeum of Italica (Santiponce, Seville, Spain): New data provided by archaeometric analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About