«L’ERMA» di BRETSCHNEIDER

Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient StoneASMOSIA X

Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of ASMOSIAAssociation for the Study of Marble & Other Stones in Antiquity

Rome, 21-26 May 2012

P. PENSABENE, E. GASPARINI (eds.)

Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XI

I VOLUME

1. APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS - USE OF MARBLE

Architecture with concave and convex rhythms and its decoration in Hadrian age: the Ma-ritime Theatre and the Southern pavilion of Piazza d’Oro in Hadrian’s Villa, B. Adembri,S. Di Tondo, F. Fantini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Imported marbles found in three Roman cities of the territory of “Cinco Villas”(Zaragoza), north of Hispania Citerior, J. Andreu Pintado, H. Royo Plumed, P. Lapuente, M.Brilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pentelic marble in the Severan Complex in Leptis Magna (Tripolitania, Libya),F. Bianchi, M. Bruno, S. Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The limestone quarries of Wadi Gadatza in the territory of Leptis Magna, M. Bruno,F. Bianchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Provenance and distribution of white marbles in the arches of Titus and Septimius Severusin Rome, M. Bruno, C. Gorgoni, P. Pallante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

The imitation of coloured marbles in a first style wall painting from the Etruscan-Romantown of Populonia (LI – Italy), F. Cavari, F. Droghini, M. Giamello, C. Mascione, A. Scala . 55

Small Euboean quarries. The local community markets, M. Chidiroglou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Lumachella at Cosa: late Republican?, J. Collins-Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Ancientmarbles.org: an open community for sharing knowledge about ancient marblefrom different approaches, S. Costa, F. Marri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

The use of marble in Lusitania between Rome and Islam, M. Cruz Villalón . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

“Marmora Ostiensa”. New results from the Ostia Marina Project, M. David, S. Succi, M. Turci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

A column shaft in ‘verde rana ondato’ from the archaeological excavations in Palazzo Al-temps, M. De Angelis d’Ossat, S. Violante, M. Gomez Serito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

The exploitation of coralline breccia of the Gargano in the Roman and late antique pe-riods, A. De Stefano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Ships lapidariae and the wreck, with marmor numidicum, discovered in Camarina: hypo-thesis of route, G. Di Stefano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

V

INDEX

The use of marble in the roman architecture of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), D. Fellague,H. Savay-Guerraz, F. Masino, G. Sobrà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Marmora and other stones in the architectural decoration of early imperial Barcino(Barcelona, Spain), A. Garrido, A. Àlvarez, A. Doménech, A. Gutiérrez Garcia-M., I. Rodà,H. Royo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Provenance of the Roman marble sarcophagi of the San Pietro in Bevagna Wreck, M. T. Giannotta, G. Quarta, A. Alessio, A. Pennetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Thasian Exports Of Prefabricated Statuettes, J. J. Herrmann, Jr., D. Attanasio, A. van denHoek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Multimethod marble identification for figural sculpture in Hippo Regius (Annaba, Algeria),J. J. Herrmann, Jr., R. H. Tykot, A. van den Hoek, P. Blanc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Awaiting identity: Copenhagen’s “diskophoros” and its auxiliary support, M. B. Hollinshead 171

Provenance, distribution and trade of the local building materials in the Sarno river plain(Campania) from the 6th century BC to AD 79, P. Kastenmeier, G. Balassone, M. Boni, G. di Maio, M. Joachimski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

White and coloured marble on Pantelleria, T. Lappi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Local stones and marbles found in the territory of “Alto Aragon” (Hispania), in Romantimes, P. Lapuente, H. Royo, J.A. Cuchi, J. Justes, M. Preite-Martinez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

The Marmor Lesbium reconsidered and other stones of Lesbos, E. Leka, G. Zachos . . . . . 201

The marbles from the Villa of Trajan at Arcinazzo Romano (Roma), Z. Mari . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

The introduction of marble in the cavea of the Theatre of Hierapolis: building process andpatronage, F. Masino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Shipwrecks with sarcophagi in the Eastern Adriatic, I. Mihajlovic, I. Miholjek . . . . . . . . . . 233

The marble decoration of the peristyle building in the SW quarter of Palmyra (Pal.M.A.I.S.Mission), S. Nava . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Stone materials in Lusitania reflecting the process of romanization, T. Nogales-Basarrate, P.Lapuente, H. Royo, M. Preite-Martinez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

A uotorum nuncupatio from Colonia Augusta Firma. An analytical approach, S. Ordóñez,R. Taylor, O. Rodríguez, E. Ontiveros, S. García-Dils, J. Beltrán, J. C. Saquete . . . . . . . . . . . 263

The Muses in the Prado Museum and the pentelic marble of the Odeon in Hadrian’s villa:workshops and statuary programmes. Preliminary report, A. Ottati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Local workshops of the Roman imperial age. A contribution to the study of the produc-tion of Campanian Sarcophagi, A. Palmentieri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Ceraunia and lapis obsianus in Pliny, L. Pedroni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Marbles from the Domus of ‘Bestie ferite’ and from the Domus of ‘Tito Macro’ in Aquileia (UD), Italy, C. Previato, N. Mareso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Production and distribution of Troad granite, both public and private, P. Pensabene,I. Rodà, J. Domingo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

The use of Almadén de la Plata marble in the public programs of Colonia Augusta Firma –Astigi (Écija, Seville, Spain), O. Rodríguez, R. Taylor, J. Beltrán, S. García-Dils, E. On-tiveros, S. Ordóñez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

INDEX

VI

Architectural elements of the Peristyle Building of the SW quarter of Palmyra (PAL.M.A.I.S.(PAL.M.A.I.S. Mission), G. Rossi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Casa del Rilievo di Telefo and opus sectile at Herculaneum, A. Savalli, P. Pesaresi, L. Lazzarini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

The use of marble in Roman Pula, A. Starac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Architectural decoration of the episcopal church of Rhodiapolis in Lycia, A. Tiryaki . . . . . 377

Byzantine carved marble slabs from Çanakkale Archaeology Museum, A. Turker . . . . . . . . 385

First preliminary results on the marmora of the late roman villa of Noheda (Cuenca,Spain), M. A. Valero Tévar, A. Gutiérrez García-M., I. Rodà de Llanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Parian lychnites and the Badminton Sarcophagus in New York, F. Van Keuren, J. E. Cox,D. Attanasio, W. Prochaska, J. J. Herrmann, Jr., D. H. Abramitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

The use of Estremoz marble in Late Antique Sculpture of Hispania: new data from the pe-trographic and cathodoluminescence analyses, S. Vidal, V. Garcia-Entero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Montegrotto Terme (Padova) – Marble and other stone used in architectonic decoration of the Roman villa, P. Zanovello, C. Destro, M. Bressan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

2. PROVENANCE IDENTIFICATION I: MARBLE

The monument landscape and associated geology at the sanctuary of Zeus on mt.Lykaion, I. Bald Romano, G. H. Davis, D. G. Romano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Marbles of the Aracena Massif (Ossa-Morena zone, Spain): aspects of their exploitationand use in roman times, J. Beltrán Fortes, M. L. Loza Azuaga, E. Ontiveros Ortega, J. A.Pérez Macías, O. Rodríguez Gutiérrez, R. Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

Isotopic analysis of marble from the Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora and the Hel-lenistic quarries of Mount Pentelikon, S. Bernard, S. Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

An update on the use and distribution of white and black Göktepe marbles from the firstcentury AD to Late Antiquity, M. Bruno, D. Attanasio, W. Prochaska, A.B. Yavuz . . . . . . . . 461

The use of coloured marbles in the neapolitan Baroque: the work of Cosimo Fanzago(1591-1678), R. Bugini, L. Cinquegrana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

The imitation of coloured marbles in the Venetian Renaissance painting, R. Bugini, L. Folli 475

Stones and ancient marbles of the ‘Francesco Belli’ Collection: archaeological, art-histori-cal, antiquarian, geological - technical and petrographical aspects, R. Conte, A. D’Elia, E.Delluniversità, G. Fioretti, E. Florio, M. C. Navarra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Provenance investigation of a marble sculptures from Lyon Museum, M.P. Darblade-Au-doin, D. Tambakopoulos, Y. Maniatis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

The limestone quarries of the Karaburum peninsula (southern Albania), A. De Stefano . . . 513

The main quarries of the central part of Dardania (present Kosova) during the Roman pe-riod: their usage in funerary and cult monuments, E. Dobruna-Salihu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

The use of marble in Hispanic Visigothic architectural decoration, J.A. Domingo Magaña . 527

Preliminary study of Los Bermejales, a new roman quarry discovered in the province ofCádiz, Southwestern Spain, S. Domínguez-Bella, M. Montañés, A. Ocaña, J. M. Carrascal,J. Martínez, A. Durante, J. Rendón Aragón, J. Rios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

INDEX

VII

Marble pavements from the house of Jason Magnus in Cyrene, E. Gasparini, E. Gallocchio 545

The Portoro of Portovenere: notes about a limestone, S. Gazzoli, G. Tedeschi Grisanti . . . . 555

Saw cuts on marble sarcophagi: New York and Ostia, J. J. Herrmann, Jr., M. Bruno, A. vanden Hoek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

The basalt of the sacred caves at Ajanta (India): characterization and conservation, F. Ma-riottini, M. Mariottini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Marble and stones used in the central eastern Alpine area and in the northern area of Bena-cus: topographical reconstruction of trade routes and aspects of use in the Roman Era,A. Mosca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Life of Nora (Province of Cagliari - South Sardinia). Roman quarries and their organizationin the rural landscape, C. Nervi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Naxian or parian? Preliminary examination of the Sounion and Dipylon kouroi marble,O. Palagia, Y. Maniatis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

Analysis of the stony materials in the Arucci city, E. Pascual, J. Bermejo, J. M. Campos . . . . 601

Blocks and quarry marks in the Museum of Aquileia, P. Pensabene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Archaeology and archaeometry of the marble sculptures found in the “Villa di Poppea” atOplontis (Torre Annunziata, Naples), P. Pensabene, F. Antonelli, S. Cancelliere, L. Laz-zarini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

“Marmo di Cottanello” (Sabina, Italy): quarry survey and data on its distribution, P. Pensa-bene, E. Gasparini, E. Gallocchio, M. Brilli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629

A quantitative and qualitative study on marble revetments of service area in the Villa delCasale at Piazza Armerina, P. Pensabene, L. Gonzalez De Andrés, J. Atienza Fuente . . . . . . 641

Quarry-marks or masonry-marks at Palmyra: some comparisons with the Phoenician-Punic documentation, D. Piacentini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Fine-grained dolomitic marble of high sculptural quality used in antiquity, W. Prochaska . . 661

Discriminating criteria of Pyrenean Arties marble (Aran Valley, Catalonia) from Saint-Béatmarbles: evidence of Roman use, H. Royo, P. Lapuente, E. Ros, M. Preite-Martinez,J. A. Cuchí . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

II VOLUME

3. PROVENANCE IDENTIFICATION II: OTHER STONES

The stone architecture of Palmyra (Syria): from the quarry to the building, R. Bugini, L. Folli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Quarries in rural landscapes of North Africa, M. De Vos Raaijmakers, R. Attoui . . . . . . . . . 689

Local and imported lithotypes in Roman times in the Southern part of the X Regio Au-gustea Venetia et Histria, L. Lazzarini, M. Van Molle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

Preliminary study of the stone tesserae of Albanian mosaics. Materials identification, E. Omari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

4. ADVANCES IN PROVENANCE TECHNIQUES METHODOLOGIES AND DATABASES

Provenance investigation of some funeral marble sculptures from ancient Vienna (France), V. Gaggadis-Robin, J.-L. Prisset, D. Tambakopoulos, Y. Maniatis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725

INDEX

VIII

Isotopic testing of marble for figural sculpture at Guelma, Algeria, J. J. Herrmann, Jr., R.H. Tykot, D. Attanasio, P. Blanc, A. van den Hoek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

5. QUARRIES AND GEOLOGY

Analysis and discrimination of Phrygian and other Pavonazzetto-like marbles, D. Atta-nasio, M. Bruno, W. Prochaska, A. B. Yavuz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

Roman stone-carvers and re-carving: ingenuity in recycling, S. J. Barker, C. A. Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765

Can a fire broaden our understanding of a Roman quarry? The case of el Mèdol (Tarragona, Spain), A. Gutiérrez Garcia-M., S. Huelin, J. López Vilar, I. Rodà De Llanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779

The Roman marble quarries of Aliko Bay and of the islets of Rinia and Koulouri (Skyros,Greece), M. Karambinis, Lorenzo Lazzarini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791

The splendor of Andesite. quarrying and constructing in Larisa (Buruncuk) Aeolis, T. Sa-ner, U. Almaç . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805

Carving a corinthian capital. New technical aspects regarding the carving process, N. Toma . 811

New evidence on ancient quarrying activity at the Mani Peninsula, M.P. Tsouli . . . . . . . . . . 823

Ancient lithic naval cargos around Sicily, S. Tusa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831

An unusual Roman stone cinerary urn from London, D.F. Williams, R. Hobbs . . . . . . . . . . 843

Presenting and interpreting the processes of stone carving: The Art Of Making In Anti-quity Project, W. Wooton, B. Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851

The Roman Mio-Pliocene underground quarries at Ksour Essaf (Tunisia), A. Younès, M.Gaied, W. Gallala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861

6. STONES PROPERTIES, WEATHERING EFFECTS AND RESTORATION

A strigilated sarcophagus in providence: ancient, modern or both?, G. E. Borromeo, M. B. Hollinshead, S.Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871

Art historical and scientific perspectives on the nature of the orange-red patina of theParthenon, O. Palagia, S. Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881

7. PIGMENTS AND PAINTINGS ON MARBLE

The polychromy of Roman polished marble portraits, A. Skovmøller, R. H. Therkildsen . . 891

Some observations on the use of color on ancient sculpture, contemporary scientific explo-ration, and exhibition displays, J. Pollini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901

The Ulpia Domnina’s sarcophagus: preliminary report about the use of digital 3d model forthe study and reconstruction of the polychromy, E.Siotto, M. Callieri, M. Dellepiane, R.Scopigno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 911

8. SPECIAL THEME SESSION: ORDERS, REPERTOIRES AND MEANING OF MARBLE WITHINTHE PUBLIC AND THE DOMESTIC CIRCLE FROM ANTIQUITY TILL POST-ANTIQUE TIME

Marbles from the theatre of Colonia Caesar Augusta (provincia Hispania Citerior),M. Beltrán, M. Cisneros, J. Á. Paz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923

INDEX

IX

Calculating the cost of columns: the case of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, P. Barresi . . . 933

The decorative stoneworks in the east and center of Roman Gaul: recent data of the ar-chaeological operations, V. Brunet-Gaston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941

Colored columns and cult of the emperors in Rome, B. Burrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 947

Roman sculpture in Pannonia between imports and local production, M. Buzov . . . . . . . . . 955

A New Julio-Claudian Statuary cycle from Copia Thurii. Brief remarks on quality andmethods of extraction and processing of marble used for the sculptures, A. D’Alessio . . . . 969

Stone in the decorative programs of Villa A (So-Called Villa Of Poppaea) at Oplontis, J. C. Fant, S. J. Barker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977

Stable isotope analysis of Torano valley, Carrara, marble used in 18th-century frenchsculpture, K. Holbrow, C. Hayward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

Cassiodorus on marble, Y.A. Marano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997

Colored marbles of Diocletian’s Palace in Split, K. Marasovic, D. Matetic Poljak, Ð. Gobic Bravar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003

Fabri Luxuriae. Production and consumption of coloured stone vases in the Roman Period,S. Perna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021

Porphyry bathtubs in the sacred space, O. Senior-Niv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031

Mythological sculptures in late antique domus and villas: some examples from Italy,C. Sfameni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039

Architectural language and diffusion of decorative models: a group of unpublished figuredcapitals from Hierapolis in Phrygia, G. Sobrà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049

INDEX

X

* Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo - Soprintendenza Archeologia della Calabria. Specializzazione inBeni Archeologici - Università degli Studi della Basilicata, alessandro.dalessio@beniculturali.it.

1. See, in this regard, preliminary reports in Sibari I (NSc 1969), Sibari II (NSc 1970), Sibari III (NSc 1972), Sibari IV (NSc1974), Sibari V (NSc 1988-89), GRECO, LUPPINO 1999 and ROCCO 2012.

2. LAZZARINI, LUPPINO, MALACRINO 2010.3. Claudius is unpublished. On Caligula see Sibari III (NSc 1972), 315, nr. 12, fig. 345.4. COSTABILE 2006, 169, figg. 8a-d.5. Sibari III (NSc 1972), 334, nr. 98, fig. 379.

AbstractIt is known that the fate of the city known as Copia, glo-rious heir of Sybaris and Thurii, was bound tightly to thepersonal story of Augustus. In addition to the epigraphicevidence, the submission of the nobles and citizens of thecity to the Julio-Claudian dynasty is documented by somemarble sculptures coming from the urban centre: in par-ticular three fragmentary heads (of the emperorClaudius, of the alleged Caligula and of a child), a base ofan infant statue, two fragmentary seated statues (onemale and one female), and a nude male torso. With ex-ception of the alleged Caligula, sculpted in marmorlunense (Italy), all the statues are made of marble quar-ried in the island of Paros (Greece), particularly from thearea of Stephani Valley, from which lychnites (Paros-1)comes, one of the most valuable marble in antiquity, nor-mally used in statuary and other precious and symbolicartifacts.

KeywordsMarble, statuary, imperial dynasty and cult

The excavations carried out during the second half ofthe last century, and later in 2007-2008 in the theatre ofCopia Thurii and other central areas of the city1 (Figg. 1-2), uncovered many fragments of statues, architectural el-ements, reliefs, inscriptions and other artifacts made ofboth white and colored marbles. More recently, selectedpieces were sampled and subjected to minero-petro-graphic and isotopic analyses with the aim of determiningtheir type and provenance. This work was carried out byLAMA, the Laboratory of Analysis of Ancient Marbles ofthe Department of History of Architecture at the IUAVUniversity of Venice, under the direction of Lorenzo Laz-zarini, and the results were first published in 20102.

Here, for obvious reasons of space, but also becauseof the almost certain “homogeneity” of the original con-text, we have chosen to present only the results of theanalyses carried out on a limited group of white mar-bles, because we think they belong to the same statuarycycle, or group as a whole (see infra), which is the realnovelty of this paper: in particular on samples takenfrom three fragmentary heads (those of the emperorClaudius, of the alleged Caligula3 and of a child4: figg. 3-5), from the base of an infant statue with a support andfoot (Fig. 6)5, from fragments of two other seated stat-

A NEW JULIO-CLAUDIAN STATUARY CYCLE FROM COPIA THURII.BRIEF REMARKS ON QUALITY AND METHODS OF EXTRACTION

AND PROCESSING OF MARBLE USED FOR THE SCULPTURES

A. D’Alessio*

Fig. 1. Copia Thurii: location in South Italy (drawing by A.Tosti).

ues, one male (Fig. 7) and the other a draped female(Fig. 8)6, and from a nude male torso (Fig. 9)7.

Individual samples measuring 0.5, 1, and 2 cm wereused for the analyses. They were partly subjected to iso-topic examination with mass spectrometer, and in partused for the preparation of thin sections for minero-pet-rographic study using polarizing microscope. The re-sults thus obtained, summarized in the relative table(Fig. 10), appear somewhat surprising, although the in-formation they produced is fully compatible with the“unity” of the group of sculptures. A group that wasdisplayed in the so-called Hemicycle (or semicircularporticus) built in the Tiberian period and only laterturned into a theater8, or most likely in the small rectan-gular building with an apse to the rear located immedi-ately to the west, at junction between the plateiai A andB, that can be probably interpreted as an Augusteum(Fig. 11)9. With the exception of the head of the alleged

Caligula, made in marmor lunense (Carrara, Italy), allthe statues are in fact made with material quarried in theisland of Paros (Greece): more specifically, from thequarries of Lakkoi (only the fragment with the infant’sfoot), and in particular those in the area of the StephaniValley, from which, as is well known, lychnites marble(Paros-1) comes, one of the most valuable in antiquity,normally used in statuary and for the manufacture ofother precious and symbolic artifacts10.

In other words, the results seem to confirm our hy-pothesis about the existence at Copia Thurii, of a realJulio-Claudian statuary cycle situated in the central andmost monumental area of what is presently known of thecity, and made to celebrate the dynasty’s magnificenceaccording to the custom, prevalent in the cities of thetime, inducing the élites and the local civic body therebyto manifest their acceptance of imperial authority11. It islikely that this cycle comprised, along with others that

970

A NEW JULIO-CLAUDIAN STATUARY CYCLE FROM COPIA THURII

Fig. 2. Copia Thurii: the central area (after GRECO, LUPPINO 1999).

6. Both found in 1969 in a collapse layer close to the small rectangular building with an apse at Parco del Cavallo (see below).7. Sibari II (NSc 1970), 541, nr. 787, figg. 556-558.8. On the first phase of the monument (the so-called Hemicycle, or semicircular porticus) see lastly MALACRINO 2010 and ROC-

CO 2012, with previous bibliography. In general on urban and topographical development of Copia: MARINO 2010, with completebibliography.

9. On the rectangular building see Sibari II (NSc 1970), 394-397; Sibari III (NSc 1972), 265-266; Sibari IV (NSc 1974), 179-183;Sibari V (NSc 1988-89), 13-28.

10. Bibliography on parian marble and its widespread use in antiquity is now abundant: in this regard see in primis GERMANN

ET AL. 1988, MOENS, DE PAEPE, WAELKENS 1992 and the various contributions edited by SCHILARDI, KATSONOPOULOU 2000.11. On the main Julio-Claudian statuary cycles of the Roman world see BOSCHUNG 2002.

are probably lost, a series of individuals from the impe-rial family whose identification, based on their iconog-raphy and style, is extremely difficult. At this regard,however, the same provenance of marble from the quar-ries of Stephani suggests that the head of Claudius (Fig.3) could belong to a seated statue to which would be at-tributable also the large fragment with male legs anddrapery (Fig. 7). With regard to the torso of the female

statue the presence of the drapery and the seated andmatronly position (Fig. 8) could suggest that it may rep-resent Livia Augusta, deified by Claudius in 42 AD. Al-ternatively, we could think of the emperor’s mother, An-tonia Minor, or of his sister Livilla, wife of Drusus Mi-nor, or even of his second wife, Agrippina Minor. Thislast possibility would also indicate that the beautifulportrait of infant (Fig. 5), also carved in the parian mar-

971

A. D’ALESSIO

Fig. 3. Copia Thurii. Head of Claudius (photo by R. Maccafer-ri).

Fig. 5. Copia Thurii. Head of infant (photo by A. D’Alessio).

Fig. 4. Copia Thurii. Head of Caligula (?) (photo by R. Macca-ferri).

Fig. 6. Copia Thurii. Base with support and child’s foot (photoby A. D’Alessio).

ble of Stephani, can be recognized as the child Nero,adopted by Claudius in 50 AD, while I do not think thatit represents Tiberius Iulius Cermanicus Caesar, one of

the twins of Livilla and Drusus Minor, as suggested fewyears ago by F. Costabile12.

Referring to the complete edition of all the sculptures,I will continue with some brief considerations regardingthe provenance, quality and quarrying methods of themarble – the famed and precious Parian lychnites (Paros-1) – used for the creation of the statues. In this regard, itwill be useful to look especially at the data provided bythe torso of draped female statue. In this case, the marblewas quarried in a block probably no larger than half a cu-bic meter in size, at least based on the measurements ofthe torso itself, equal to approximately 78 to 63 to 40 cm,corresponding almost certainly, at least in height andwidth, to the original one. This is clearly shown by thefact that the torso is fully preserved and the sculpted sur-face of the drapery finished, revealing the underlyinganatomy. The joining surfaces are also preserved and areclearly visible both at the base, in correspondence withthe underside of the block/torso itself, and on the front atthe height of the thighs, just above the knees, and alsoalong the right side as viewed, where the surface travelsobliquely from left shoulder down to beside the thigh(Figg. 8, 12-14). Furthermore, all the surfaces are evenlyworked with a gradina (toothed chisel) and present theholes for housing the connecting pins.

This method of working using separate blocks andsubsequent composition of the sculpted elements indi-

972

A NEW JULIO-CLAUDIAN STATUARY CYCLE FROM COPIA THURII

Fig. 7. Copia Thurii. Fragment of seated male statue (photo byA. D’Alessio).

Fig. 8. Copia Thurii. Torso of seated female statue (photo byA. D’Alessio).

Fig. 9. Copia Thurii. Nude male torso (photo by A. D’Alessio).

12. COSTABILE 2006, 169-170.

cates a practice that is not at all unusual in medium qual-ity Roman statuary and that was widespread in many ge-ographic and environmental contexts in the imperialage. However, in this case it is equally significant in termsof how Parian marble was quarried, transported andsculpted, for a number of reasons which can only bementioned briefly here. We will cite only two representa-

tive cases: the statues of Claudius and Britannicus in theMuseum of Fano13, and a headless male statue recentlydiscovered below the Orti Farnesiani in Rome, probablyrepresenting a Julio-Claudian prince in heroic semi-nu-dity14. In the first case, for the statue of Claudius Parianmarble was used for the foot and legs and Pentelic mar-ble for the torso and head, while for that of his son Bri-

973

A. D’ALESSIO

Fig. 11. Copia Thurii. The City center in the Ist century AD: semicircular porticus and small rectangular building (after MALACRINO

2010).

Fig. 10. Copia Thurii. Results of the minero-petrographic and isotopic analyses of the marbles of statuary and their relative prove-nance (after LAZZARINI, LUPPINO, MALACRINO 2010).

13. BOSCHUNG 2002, 136.14. See TOMEI 2011, 120, and, in the same catalogue, 238, nr. 32.

tannicus lunensis marble was used for the body and Par-ian marble was again used for the head15. Diversely, thestatue from the Palatine Hill was made entirely in Parianmarble, and was sculpted in at least twelve separate partswhich were then joined using iron pins. Unfortunately,we do not ourselves know the exact determination of thedifferent varieties of marble used in these two sculpturesfrom Fano and Palatine Hill, but like the female statuefrom Copia, these examples seem to confirm an old ideasustained by Gnoli, that at least lychnites from the under-ground quarries – but we now know also open-pit ones –of Agios Minas/Stephani Valley near the village ofMarathi on Paros, was extracted in blocks usually notmore than about 1 cubic meter in size16.

Now this statement, which at the time, was perhapsmade in a peremptory manner, has been partially dis-proved by recent findings, beginning with the recogni-tion that the Augustus of Prima Porta, with the excep-tion of the head and right outstretched arm, is carved ina single large block of lychnites measuring approximate-ly 2 cubic meters (about 1 to 1 to 2 m)17. However, theidentity of the individual portrayed, and the manyiconological and ideological meanings attached to it,seem to make the statue of Prima Porta an extremelyunusual, although not exceptional, case of commission-ing, quarrying and working of lychnites on a “monu-mental” scale, because it is an imperial commission(since set up in Livia’s villa). For a wide range of sculp-tures and statuary cycles such as those from Copia, Fanoand other outlying cities in Italy and the provinces, weought probably to continue to think that they were“normally” created using mixed materials, also depend-ing on the availability of supplies, or, when using lych-nites, assembling the sculpture with parts carved in sev-eral smaller blocks.

In conclusion, what must be emphasized is ratherthe question of the value and possible additional signifi-cance attributed to the Parian marble, and specificallyto lychnites, one of the most precious, expensive andprized marbles in antiquity, especially in Roman times,as is apparent from writers such as Virgil, Horace, Plinyand others18. Known to be favored for its purity, bril-liance and translucence, probably due to the uniquecombination of medium grain-size and its sharp, lineargrain-boundaries, which seems to be at the origin of itsname and which evokes the purity and radiance of thegods19, lychnites was among the rare and expensivestones that came under the control of Augustus fromthe beginning of the Principate, as attested by a series ofquarry inscriptions20. J. Pollini suggested that thesemight be precisely the reasons behind the use of this

974

A NEW JULIO-CLAUDIAN STATUARY CYCLE FROM COPIA THURII

Fig. 13. Copia Thurii. Torso of seated female statue: joiningsurfaces on the front at the height of the thighs, just above theknees (photo by A. D’Alessio).

Fig. 12. Copia Thurii. Torso of seated female statue: joiningsurfaces at the base and on the front at the height of the thighs(photo by A. D’Alessio).

15. Public communication by Prof. Maria Letizia Amadori, University of Urbino.16. GNOLI 1971, 225-226; cf. ROCKWELL 1993, 27.17. See POLLINI, HERZ 1992; POLLINI ET AL. 1998; POLLINI 2000.18. VIRGIL, Aen. 1.586-594; HORACE, Carm. 1.19.5; PLINY, NH 36.14.19. Cf. POLLINI ET AL. 1998 and POLLINI 2000.20. FANT 1993, 146 ff., 157 ff.

975

A. D’ALESSIO

type of marble for the Prima Porta statue21. A use thatwould in a certain sense have been taken as an example,becoming a “model” or point of reference for the subse-quent and widespread production of cycles of statuesand portraits of emperors and members of the Julio-Claudians in many cities of the empire, although theycould only rarely have had access to ample and suffi-cient supplies of lychnites. A use of marble that would initself have increased the undeniable power of images de-signed to symbolize everywhere the acceptance of impe-rial authority by the élites and local communities.

Bibliography

BOSCHUNG D. 2002: Gens Augusta. Untersuchungen zu Auf-stellung, Wirkung und Bedeutung der Statuengruppendes julisch-claudischen Keiserhauses, Monumenta ArtisRomanae XXXII, Mainz am Rhein, 2002.

COSTABILE F. 2006: “Una dedica a Tiberius Iulius Germanicusda Copia Thurii ed il progetto di successione dinastica diTiberio”, in MEP IX, 11, 161-172.

GERMANN K., GRUBEN G., KNOLL H., VALIS V., WINKLER F.J.1988: “Provenance characteristics of Cycladic (Paros andNaxos) Marbles. A multivariate geological approach”, inN. HERZ, M. WAELKENS (eds), Classical Marbles: geo-chemistry, technology, trade, Nato Asi Ser., Ser. E, Dor-drecht, 251-262.

GNOLI R., Marmora Romana, Roma, 1971.GRECO E., LUPPINO S. 1999: “Ricerche sulla topografia e

sull’urbanistica di Sibari-Thuri-Copiae”, in AION 6, 115-164.

FANT J. C. 1993:“Ideology, Gift and Trade: A DistributionModel for the Roman Imperial Marbles”, in The IuscribedEconomy: Production and Distribution in the Roman Em-pire in the Light of Instrumentum Domesticum (JRASuppl. Ann Arbor 1993, 145-170.

LAZZARINI L., LUPPINO S., MALACRINO C. G. 2010: “TheWhite and Coloured marbles of the Roman Theatre ofCopia (Cosenza, Italy)”, in M. BOSTENARU DAN, R.P IKRYL, Á. TÖRÖK (eds), Materials, Technologies andPractice in Historic Heritage Structures, Dordrecht-Hei-delberg-London-New York, 71-92.

MALACRINO C. G. 2010: “Il cantiere di costruzione dellagrande porticus semicircolare di Copia”, in S. CAMPORE-ALE, H. DESSALES, A. PIZZO (eds), Arqueología de la con-strucción, II. Los procesos constructivos en el mundo ro-mano: Italia y provincias orientales (Certosa di Pontig-nano. Siena. 13-15 de Noviembre de 2008), Madrid-Méri-da, 247-261.

MARINO S. 2010: Copia Thurii. Aspetti topografici e urbanisti-ci di una città romana della Magna Grecia, Tekmeria 14,Paesatum-Atene, 2010.

MOENS L., DE PAEPE P., WAELKENS M. 1992: “Multidiscipli-nary research and cooperation: keys to a successful prove-nance determination of white marble”, in M. WAELKENS,N. HERZ, L. MOENS (eds), Ancient Stones: Quarrying,Trade and Provenance, Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia,Monographiae 4, Leuven, 247-255.

SCHILARDI D.U., KATSONOPOULOU D. (eds) 2000: ParìaLithos. Parian quarries, marble and workshops of sculp-ture, Athens, 2000.

POLLINI J. 2000: “The marble type of the statue of Augustusfrom Prima Porta. Facts and fallacies, lithic power andideology, color and color symbolism in Roman art”, inSCHILARDI, KATSONOPOULOU 2000, 237-251.

POLLINI J., HERZ N. 1992: “The marble type of the statue ofAugusto from Prima Porta: an isotopic analysis”, in JRA 5,203-208.

POLLINI J., HERZ N., POLIKRETI K., MANIATIS Y 1998: “Parianlychnites and the Prima Porta statue. Newscientific tests and the symbolic value of the marble”, inJRA 11, 275-284.

ROCCO M. 2012: “La campagna di scavo 2007 al Parco delCavallo. Nuove osservazioni sulle fasi dell’emiciclo-teatro”, in ASAIA LXXXIX, s. III, 11 - II, 343-366.

ROCKWELL P. 1993: The art of stonework: a reference guide,Cambridge, 1993.

TOMEI M. A. 2011: “Nerone sul Palatino”, in M. A. TOMEI, R.REA (eds), Nerone (catalogo della mostra, Roma 12 aprile- 18 settembre 2011), Roma, 118-135.

Fig. 14. Copia Thurii. Torso of seated female statue: joiningsurfaces along the right side as viewed (photo by A. D’A-lessio).

21. POLLINI ET AL. 1998, 281 ff.