The Economics of the Roman Stone Trade

The Roman Ship 'punta Scifo d' and its Marble Cargo (Crotone, Italy)

“…The Punta Scifo D shipwreck, of a vessel with a cargo of 54 large marble blocks and slabs, occurred in the third century AD, most probably in the first half of the century, off the rocky shore of Punta Scifo, south of the ancient town of Kroton. It confirms that this trade reached its peak in the third century, a fact already highlighted by other authors (Russell , 114–23; Russell ).…”

“…The importation of Proconnesian marble to Italy began in the Flavian period with Hadrian, and in the third century AD its level of distribution increased dramatically, especially in Rome, replacing the marble of Luni (Pensabene , 574; Pensabene and Domingo , 125), because, as attested by Diocletian's Edictum de pretiis , it was one of the cheapest marbles (Giacchero , 210–11; Barresi , 166). This was due perhaps to the efficient organization of the export and distribution, which were probably controlled, if perhaps not completely (see Russell's opinion of partial private ownership of the quarries: Russell , 55, 59, 357–9), by the Emperor (Pensabene , 205), and also thanks to the large size and location of the quarries close to the coast. On the other hand, Dokimean marble, although it was also probably extracted from quarries controlled by the state (Hirt , 116; Pensabene , 366–9), was one of the most expensive marbles, both because of its quality and because of its distance from the sea (Giacchero , 210–11; Ward‐Perkins , 329; Barresi , 166; Pensabene , 215).…”

“…An edict of the proconsul of Asia of the second century AD may confirm that it was a port for shipping marble (Dodge , 45). The marble could have been transported to these two cities along the river from the quarries of Iscehisar, which are still visible and in operation (Monna and Pensabene , 72; Pensabene , 81; Russell , 139). The second commercial trading route started from the island of Marmara with both the local and the Dokimean marble (Marmara was an important stop en route to Constantinople and Nicomedia), where stocks of imported marbles were temporarily stored together with the local marble.…”

“…In contrast to the conclusion of the study of the Punta Scifo A shipwreck, it is not easy to determine whether the cargo of the Punta Scifo D shipwreck belonged to the Emperor or to a private citizen. The state ownership of the Proconnesian quarries and the (at least) partial control by the state of the Marmara quarries (Russell , 42–5), coupled with the private ownership of the Pentelic quarries (Pensabene , 268), would suggest that the initiative was promoted by the Emperor.…”

Extracting economics from Roman marble quarries†

“…Christol and Drew‐Bear, ‘De Lepcis Magna à Aizanoi’; Hirt, Imperial mines and quarries , pp. 290–303; Russell, Roman stone trade , pp. 46–51.…”