On the Use of White Marbles in Roman Forum Sempronii (Fossombrone, Marche, Italy): An Overview of the Archaeometric Data on Architectural Elements

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the characterisation, identification, provenance determination, and quantification of the white, greco scritto-like and polychrome marbles used for architectural purposes at Forum Sempronii, a Roman town in the Marche region of Italy. Samples of five fragments of white marble and one fragment of a greco scritto-like marble have been studied using mineralogical and petrographic observations and stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) of carbon and oxygen. Polychrome marbles were macroscopically identified by comparison with reference samples and available image databases. Analytical results of the white and greco scritto-like marbles identified the material as coming from the quarries of Carrara (Luni, Italy) and Proconnesos (Marmara, Saraylar, Turkey) for white marble, and of Ephesos-Hasançavuslar for greco scritto-like marble. Further, at least eleven imported polychrome stone varieties were distinguished. The study clearly illustrates that Forum Sempronii had access to the main marble trade networks of the Roman Mediterranean. The early attestation of Proconnesian marble at the town’s augusteum (i.e., Augustan date) is unique for central Adriatic Italy.

Trading Marble for Steel: Early Roman Import of Carrara Marble into the Alps—The Example of the Magdalensberg Trading Post in Noricum

“…Several occurrences are known, e.g., in the Mani peninsula, in Chios, Teos, Ephesos, Aphrodisias, or Tunisia and many more. Many of these deposits were studied in the past and a series of authors mention the use of Bardiglio in Roman times, evidently by visual examination but without proof or presentation of numerical analytical data [34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. In general, only scarce analytical data are available, and the data at hand are far away from being a comprehensive databank.…”