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The provenance of marbles, mainly used for sculptural material and recently unearthed from the foundations of a building dating back to the Late Antiquity at the Palatine Hill (Rome), has been determined using a well-established multimethod approach that includes petrographic, isotopic, cathodoluminescence and trace element analytical techniques. Almost the totality of this material was supposedly relevant to a building complex developed in the Severan age, thus allowing investigation about the use and distribution of sculptural marbles in such a temporal context. A large fraction of the marbles tested are shown to be from Asia Minor, originating mostly from the recently discovered site of Göktepe near Aphrodisias, whereas non-Asiatic marbles include Paros-lychnitic and non-lychnitic, and Pentelicon provenances. Carrara seems to play a subordinate role, related mainly to architectural elements. Petrography was the starting point for assignment elaboration. This study confirms the importance of strontium concentration and the contribution of cathodoluminescence to distinguish Göktepe from Carrara marble as previous studies have already shown. Carbon and oxygen isotopes were crucial for the identification of Paros-lychnite and Penteli marbles, respectively. The multimethod, however, remains the most reliable approach for assigning the provenance of white ancient marbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the petrographic and isotopic characteristics of some black limestones that were exploited in antiquity near the ancient site of Teos in Ionia (south‐western Anatolia, Turkey). The best‐quality black limestone of Teos is represented by a series of step‐cut‐shaped blocks situated north of the Seferihisar–Sığacık road, destined to be exported and used for architectural elements. The techniques used to study these blocks allow possible identification of the origin of Teos in ancient black stone artefacts. Nevertheless, petrographic and geochemical investigation on some black limestones that outcrop in the area near Teos has not firmly identified the quarry fronts from which these blocks were quarried away, but it supports the known hypothesis that Teian black limestones were found and quarried in conjunction with the Africano marble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the provenance of the black limestone of the monument known as Bocco, named after the king of Mauretania who presented Silla with this work as a sign of his submission to the power of Rome. A multi-method approach, comprising petrographic observations, carbon and oxygen isotope composition and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristics, was used for this purpose. The monument is part of a reconstruction of a rectangular base (approx. 8 × 2 m) which is likely to have served as the base for a bronze statuary group and is currently composed of six blocks of limestone whose exterior is engraved with a fine frieze. The results of the different analyses were compared with the data of a published database of the most important black limestone quarries exploited during Roman times in the Mediterranean area. The petrographic and physico-chemical parameters did not prove to be very effective in determining the provenance of the black limestone of Bocco; the isotopes result even raised some uncertainty as to whether all six blocks came from the same quarry, though this doubt was dispelled by the EPR data and, above all, by the evident petrographic similarity between them. Differences in the isotopic composition of the various blocks may be due to an in situ rock alteration process caused by interaction with an aqueous fluid. It was, however, impossible to determine with certainty the origin of the material of the stone artifact using the database available; it is possible that the black limestone of Bocco came from an ancient quarry that is likely to be located in north western Africa but has not yet been uncovered. An alternative hypothesis, according to which the limestone used for the monument of Bocco came from the ancient quarry of Ain el Ksir, one of the Tunisian quarries present in the database, is also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We compiled a database of some of the most important black limestone quarries used in Roman times to be able to determine the provenance of ancient artifacts. For this purpose, we adopted a multimethod approach using the techniques commonly applied to study the provenance of white marbles: petrographic observations, carbon and oxygen isotope composition, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristics. Few black limestones were quarried and traded in ancient times; indeed, the importance of most of these quarries was restricted to the areas in which they were located. In this work, we selected a limited number of quarries that produced material believed to have been exported and used throughout the Mediterranean area; most of the quarries selected are found in northern Tunisia, i.e. the Roman proconsular Africa: Djebel Oust, Djebel Azeiz, Ain al Ksir and (presumably) Thala. The “Nero Chiota” limestone quarried on the Aegean island of Chios (Greece) was also included in the database. The petrographic and physicochemical parameters used to distinguish between the different provenances of the black limestones we selected proved to be very effective. The isotope and EPR numerical data processed by means of discriminant analysis proved to be almost decisive in determining the provenance of unknown artifacts. However, the combination of these parameters with the petrographic data definitely provides a more organic characterization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports an updated and enlarged archaeometric database of Proconnesos marbles with the aim of attaining more reliable inter- and intra-site identification. Quarry and artefact samples (n = 397) from 23 different quarrying areas were characterized using petrographic, isotopic and EPR results. The most distinct property of Proconnesos marbles is their extremely weak EPR intensity, associated with the low concentration of Mn2+impurities. This feature, supported by the contribution of other important isotopic and petrographic variables, forms the basis for the correct identification of Proconnesos marbles. Within the site the distribution of properties is relatively homogeneous; only limited intra-site discrimination is possible. All the experimental results, as well as the quarry samples are made available to other researchers willing to measure additional experimental properties, thus increasing the rate of within the site discrimination. Extensive survey has proved that, although about 10% of the samples exhibit maximum grain size below 1.0 mm, no locations exist where fine grained marbles could be intentionally quarried. The historical aspects of Proconnesos marble quarrying and usage are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]