The Use of Marble in Roman Pula

THE USE OF MARBLE IN ROMAN PULA

Alka Starac*

* Arheološki muzej Istre, Carrarina 3, HR-52100 Pula, [email protected]. Lazzarini 2003, 23-45.2. IIt X/1 85.3. IIt X/1 45.4. IIt X/1 584; Mlakar 1957, 445, no. 3, fig. 13. 5. IIt X/1 676-677 = Starac 2006 (a), p. 112-117, no. 72.6. Cambi 1988, 42, 59; Starac 2006 (a), p. 177-178, no. 177. Analogous sarcophagi with battle theme: Ghedini, 1989, 193; Koch,

1993, 101.7. Gabelmann 1973, 13-38; Koch, Sichtermann 1982, 445; Ciliberto 1993, 37; Cambi 2010, 15.8. IIt X/1 252; Starac 2006 (a), p. 171, no. 161.9. Gabelmann 1973, 31, no. 9, T. 6,2; Starac 2006 (a), p. 171, no. 162.

AbstractThe article presents a synthetic panorama of the use ofmarble in the Roman Pula. Imported marbles wereused for the production of honorary inscriptions, fu-nerary monuments, statues, decorative sculpture, luxu-ry furniture, fountains, architectural decoration andconstructive architectural elements. The presence ofdifferent imported marbles confirmed by the miner-alogical-petrographic analysies is recorded. The textwas proposed as an illustration of the historical courseof the use of marble in the public, private and funerarycontext and in the arrangement of space in the local en-vironment.

KeywordsArchitectural elements, statue, Pula

Pula is located in a limestone karst area rich in qual-ity white limestone suitable for construction purpose.Istrian limestone was used for construction and sculp-ture not only locally, but also as a valuable export build-ing material1. For the design of demanding decorations,white and colored marbles were imported from variousremote parts of the Roman Empire, mostly from Italy,Greece and Africa. Transport of raw marble blocks, se-mi-finished and finished products was carried out bysea. On the territory of Roman colony of Pola, importedmarbles were used for the production of various monu-ments: honorary inscriptions, funerary monuments,statues, decorative sculpture, luxury furniture, foun-tains, architectural decoration and constructive archi-tectural elements.

Honorary inscriptions

The use of marble for honorary inscriptions wasmore exception than a rule at Pula. Only two honoraryinscriptions survived to the present were carved in mar-ble: one of them decision of the city council in favor ofan eminent citizen from the 2nd century AD2, and anoth-er marble base for a statue of the emperor from the 4th

century3.

Funerary monuments

Tombstones were usually made of limestone. Onlyindividual prominent citizens of the early empire or-dered tombstones made exclusively of marble: one seviraugustalis4 and duumvir of Nesactium had temple-shaped funerary monument of Prokonnesos marble5. Byentering of the sarcophagi into fashion during the 2nd

century, relative number of marble tombstones slightlyincreased. The most esteemed Attic sarcophagi are rep-resented by the 3rd century sarcophagus with sea battlebetween Greeks and Persians6. Sarcophagi of Prokon-nesos marble were loaded on boats and shipped semi-finished or at least roughly shaped7. In this way, the sar-cophagus of Cincia Aphrodisia of Prokonnesos marble,dated to the 2nd century, was brought to Pula8. The pur-chaser had to choose the sarcophagus, order decorationand determine text to be inscribed in the inscriptionfield. An example of such a semi-product is the fragmentof the sarcophagus of Prokonnesos marble with a sphinxon the narrow side, that was finished at Pula in the sec-ond half of the 2nd century under influence of Atticworkshops9. Other preserved fragments of the sarcopha-

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gi of Prokonnesos marble all belong to the shorter, later-al side of the sarcophagus10. Three fragments decoratedwith couple of embraced, nude, winged erotes possiblybelonged to the one same sarcophagus11. In addition tothe sarcophagi, in the 3rd century one fragment of Pentel-ic marble stela with relief representation derived fromthe Greek sepulchral art was recorded12.

Statues

White marble found the most representative pur-pose in statuary. Free-standing marble statues adornedpublic spaces of religious or official character, of theclosed or open type. Their concentration was by far thelargest in the forum area, accordingly to the concentra-tion of the official cult and administrative facilities. Thelargest number of marble statues in Pula representedmembers of the imperial family: a colossal torso of theemperor in cuirass made of Pentelic marble found at theLarge theatre (Inv. no. A-446)13, a right leg of a nakedman laid on the cuirass in lightly supranatural dimen-sions made of Carrara or Thasian (Capo Vathy) marble(Inv. no. A-431)14, a lower part of a semi-colossal impe-rial statue in cuirass with a kneeling barbarian slave

made of Pentelic marble, dated to the 1st third of the 1st

c. AD (Inv. no. A-440)15, a torso of the man in cuirasslightly larger then life size made of Pentelic marble, dat-ed to the 1st half of the 1st c. AD according to pterygaewith Zephirus head (Inv. no. A-29837)16. To the groupof imperial statues can be added a fragment of shoulderof a man in a military tunic with a draped military cloak,made of fine-grained white marble (A-6821)17. (Fig. 1 a,b) The height of the entire statue was about 220 cm.Two fragments belong to unknown officials: a fragmentof the right arm of a man lightly larger then natural size,made of medium to coarse-grained white marble fromParos (Lakkoi) (Inv. no. A-29664)18 and a right shoulderof the man in cuirass lightly larger then life size, made ofPentelic marble (Inv. no. A-6827)19. Analysis of selec-tioned samples revealed that white marbles utilised forimperial and other official statues were Pentelic, Parianand Carrara marble, Pentelic the most often20.

Head of an elderly bald man in natural size, made offine-grained white Carrara marble and dated to the 2nd

half of the 1st c. BC21 shows certain similarities with Cae-sar’s portraits (Inv. no. A-5270)22. Two marble femalehead in natural size arrived to us without a correspon-ding body parts23. Identification of both remains in thequestion and in the field of observations that they re-


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10. Starac 2006 (a), p. 175-176., cat. nos. 166-170.11. Starac 2006 (a), p. 175, no. 166 = A-27723; Id., p. 175, no. 167 = A-444; Id., p. 176, no. 169 = A-379. All cited inventory

numbers refer to the Archaeological museum of Istria (AMI).12. Gnirs 1913, 278-279, inv. no. A 445.; Starac 2006 (a), p. 60, no. 14.13. Reichel 1892, 154; Gnirs 1915 (a), 70, Abb. 36; Fischer 1996, 92, Taf. 44 a, b.14. Reichel 1892, 156; Gnirs 1915 (a), 79, no. 48.15. Gnirs 1910, 176; Fischer 1996, 92, Taf. 29 b, c; Cambi 2002, 130, proposes datation to the 1st half of the 2nd c. AD.16. Bolšec Ferri, Matijaši 1988, 150; Cambi 2002, 131.17 Reichel 1892, 156-157, no. 5.18. Starac 2006 (b), p. 104, no. 73.19. Starac 2011, p. 144., fig. 4.20. Starac 2011, p. 139. The analysis was performed at the Laboratorio di Analisi dei Materiali Antichi, Dipartimento di Storia

dell’Architettura, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, using a polarizing microscope.21. Mirabella Roberti 1949, 265, fig. 18; Cambi 2000, p. 32, 238-239, no. 17, Pl. 8-9.; Id. 2002, 120, fig.170.22. Fittschen, Zanker, Cain 2010, kat. 13, Taf. 17.23. Cambi 2000, 43-44., Tab. 54-57., nos. 46-47.

Fig. 1. Shoulder of an official (Inv. no. A-6821).


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semble to well-known female members of Julio-Claudi-an house. It is certain that they originate from the peri-od of Claudius. Their dimensions suggest that statues ina whole did not surpass the natural height of 170-180cm. While the head of a younger woman with hairstyletype “Agrippina Minor” found at the southeast cornerof the forum in archaeological research (A-16943), inthe literature compared with Agrippina Minor24 but infact very similar to the portraits of Agrippina Maior25,another head intended for hatching (A-5271) entered inthe museum collection as the old finding without moredetailed information about the circumstances of discov-ery. A dame has hairstyle type “Agrippina Maior”26.

Statues of the Pula forum do not necessarily havebeen placed in a same object, and the period in whichthey arise encompasses two hundred years, from Augus-tus to the Antonine dynasty. Colossal torso of the emper-or in armour (Inv. no. A-446) comes from a Large the-ater located on the slopes of Zaro hill, outside the south-ern city walls, where it decorated a central niche of thescaenae frons. Given the folds of drapery at back sideand depiction of gryphons without candelabre at chest,it can be dated to the period of the Antonine dynasty, i.e.in the second half of the 2nd or early 3rd century27.

Gods and goddesses

The divine statues that adorned the interior of tem-ples were usually made of marble, but none of the sur-viving fragments can not be connected with certainty

with some of the Roman Capitoline deities. Deities ordivinized humans were depicted in the size differentfrom natural, smaller or larger. Only one piece of thisgroup was object of petrographical analysis. Two smallwhite marble sculptures of Venus Anadyomene belongto the group of the divine representations. First one rep-resents Venus Anadyomene holding mantle in theheight of hips by her left hand, it is preserved in its low-er part from the feet to the navel and made of coarsegrained white marble (A-4614)28. Another small statueof Venus without mantle is preserved from the knee tothe navel (A-4818, fragment 9 cm high). In this categorybelongs a torso of Venus slightly smaller than life-size,64 cm high (A-430 = A-6856)29. (Fig. 2 a, b, c) It is pre-served the right side of the nude female body from thearmpit to the hip with the larger part of the back. Thestatue was composed of several separate pieces of mar-ble and cracked in places where marble was weakenedby long holes, drilled for the metal fittings that mergedtorso with arm and leg. Traces of rust showed that thejoints were made of iron. Fragment of a vase of whitemarble decorated with palmettes, lotus leaves, frieze offlower tendrils and a swan and other birds in relief (A-6806) belongs to a statue of Venus Cnidia from the tem-ple that was a part of a private residential complex inthe bay of Val Catena (Verige), on the island of VelikiBrijuni near Pula30.

A fragment of wing with accurately made feathers ofwhite marble, 10.5 cm high and 4.8 cm wide, is flatten atthe joints and equipped with a hole for the insertion ofmetal connectors. It could belong to a statue of Mercury

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24. Bolšec-Ferri, Matijaši 1988, 149-151; Matijaši 1993, 47-52; Cambi 2002, p.130, fig. 179.25. Wood 1999., fig. 87-94. Portraits from Velleia (fig. 87) and from Istanbul (fig. 89) are especially similar to the head from Pula.26. Cambi 2002, p. 133, fig. 187; Trillmich 1994, 114-115; Fittschen, Zanker 1983, kat. 4, Taf. 4-5.27. Stemmer 1978, 152; Fischer 1996, 171.28. Jurki 2005, 159.29. Reichel 1892, 157, no. 6; Gnirs 1915 (a), p. 88, no. 239.30. Gnirs 1915 (b), 99-164; Begovi Dvoržak 1993 - 1994,p. 29, fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Venus (Inv. no. A-430)


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in almost life-size, as part of his winged hat (A-4846)31.(Fig. 3)

Seated statue of goddess Magna Mater, preservedheight of 47 cm, was found in Nesactium and it lacksonly the head (A-4625 = A-5748)32.

Small head of a young man with a Phrygian cap witha neck, 19 cm high, belonged to a larger sculpturalwhole, and originates from Nesactium as well (A-4824 =old no. 4295)33. (Fig. 4 a, b, c) The cap was laterallyprolangated above ears, the top is broken off. We found

similarities with a cap of Mithras’ bronze bust from Sis-cia dated to late 2nd - beginning of the 3rd c. AD34. Backside is flattened and provided with a hole for fasteningon the background, surrounded by traces of rust. Re-garding composition of the group and torsion of theneck with eyes raised above, it probably representedMithras and not Attis. Two small marble female headswith idealized facial features and Greek hairstyles canbe identified as representations of goddesses. Theseheads are: the head with the diadem and with the neckshaped to be embedded into the torso, 19 cm high (A-4826)35, and the head of Parian marble with a slot for awreath of different material (A-27765)36. Similarities canbe found in two Dalmatian heads of goddesses with ide-alized features, one from Aequum dotated with dia-dem37 and another from Salona, provided with a slot forinsertion of diadem and dated to the 1st c. AD38. A smallhead of bearded Silenus (A-4823) 15 cm high comesfrom the Small theatre39.

Fragments of the lower part of the statue of a womanof white marble, with feet in sandals (A-424) and theedges of the chiton and hymation (A-436) was made inthe natural (or lightly more than life) size and originatefrom the forum of Nesactium40. Probably belonged to


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31. Vickers 2004, p. 313, Fig. 5, the head of Mercury with petasos (wings broken off), 2nd - 3rd c. AD; Cambi 2002, p.104, fig.142; the statues of Mercury in Rome (type Hermes Ludovisi), Musei Capitolini 2010, p.200-201; Museo Nazionale Romano 1985,p. 197, no. IV, 7.

32. Jurki 2005, 212, proposed datation to the 2nd half of the 1st c. AD and to the 1st half of the 2nd c. AD.33. Jurki 2005, 216, interprets it as Atis and dates to the 2nd - 3rd c. AD.34. Cambi 2002, p.115, fig. 164.35. Starac 2006 (b), 69, fig. 36.36. Starac, 2006 (b), 103, cat. no. 72. The analysis was performed at the Laboratorio di Analisi dei Materiali Antichi,

Dipartimento di Storia dell’Architettura, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, using a polarizing microscope.37. Cambi 2002, p. 102, fig. 137.38. Cambi 2002, p. 102, fig. 138.39. Mirabella Roberti 1949, p. 249.40. Puschi 1914, p. 38, fig. 15; p. 45, fig. 18.; found at twin basilicas 1906-1908.

Fig. 3. Wing (Inv. no. A-4846)

Fig. 4. Attis, Nesactium (Inv. no. A-4824)


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the sacred whole, associated with the imperial cult; simi-lar examples were found in Pula, Nin, Narona41.

A number of fragments of statues of white marble innatural or lightly more than life size (about 180 cm high)shows quality workmanship, but due to lack of data on thecircumstances of the findings one can not be sure whetherthey belonged to the series of statues of the imperial cult,or perhaps to other religious themes: a fragment of a neckwith broken-off head and circular-shaped part of the bustintended to be inserted in the torso (A-6822), a fragmentof the resting forearm with draped folds of clothing (A-6862), a fragment of a female foot booted in a closedleather shoe with pointed top, 6.7 cm high and preservedin length of 9 cm (A-4853 = old no. 4296), a fragment of arectangular base 11 cm wide with a front part of bare rightfoot, that in a sudden movement relies on the fingers (A-6824)42. Group of fragments of the folds of clothing canbelong to one same statue, according to the quality of mar-ble and proportions (A-6847, A-6850, A-6851, A-6852, A-6853, A-6854, A-6859)43.

Decorative sculpture

A small number of fragments of white marble stat-ues displays naked boys or young men in size somewhatless than natural. These are: a fragment of a statue of aboy, survived from the knee to the navel, 30 cm high (A-428 = old no. 895) and two different fragments of thelower leg, 20 cm high (A-6861 and A-4872). Statues ofnaked boys and young men are mostly decorative incharacter and usually decorated gardens and porticos ofprivate villas44. Depending on the symbolism of thecharacter, they adorned as mythological heroes the pub-lic spaces, especially theaters.

The statues of ancestors and deserving members ofthe family also had their place in the decoration of pri-vate property. Into this group can be classified two frag-ments of arms with a slung draperies, found in the por-tico of luxurious maritime villa in Valbandon45. One isthe upper arm, 15 cm in diameter (A-6791) and anotheris forearm, 10 cm in diameter (A-6790).

Undetermined fragments

Roman collection of the Archaeological Museum ofIstria has many fragments of white marble sculptures of

small dimensions that display good quality workman-ship, but due to lack of archaeological documentationas well as fragmentary state of preservation, it is not pos-sible to determine with certainty whether a particularfragment belonged to a group of statues of sacred char-acter, decorative sculpture, architectural decoration,sarcophagus or other type of tombstone. These are frag-ments: a lion (A-8711), foot of erot leaning against thefluted column 21.5 cm high (A-6863), female head witha neck, 7.5 cm high (A-4835), female head with a neckand chin broken off, 8.5 cm high (A-4821), chest of aman who holds by his right hand the fold of toga, 16.5cm high (A-4837), handful with nude forearm holdingthe drapery 7 cm high (A-5189), the left side of chestand left upper arm of a small, dressed female figure in apreserved height of 20 cm (A-6825). Bust of a lyingwoman, perhaps part of a tombstone, was made ofcoarse-grained white marble from Paros, Lakkoi (A-4615)46. Relief fragment of grayish-white marble show-ing a smooth column of an aedicula and bare right footof a dressed woman (A-6855), could show the mytho-logical or religious scene.

Particularly is interesting a fragment of a white mar-ble in the shape of leg in a life-size, that is covered onthe front above the knee by folds, and on the backgrows in acanthus leaves (A-6846).

Female head in high relief made of white marble, 9cm high (A-4822), is connected to the wall by her leftcheek and could belong to a sarcophagus. The same ap-plies to the head of the boy with the hand over themouth made of Prokonnesos marble (A-8714)47.

Luxury furniture and utensils

White marble was used largely for statues and reliefsintended for decoration of private houses. Herma withthe figure of Dionysus made of Prokonnesos marble (A-4608) could belong to the private or public ensemble,perhaps to a cult object. It is certain only that it wasused as the carrier of the fence48. The features and dia-dem with grapes resembles to those at the bronze statueof Dionysus from Dalmatia made in the 2nd c. AD afterPolycletus’ original, nowadays situated in the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin49.

Marble relief slabs showing on two opposite sides afigural scenes – oscilla – were part of the ambiental dec-oration. Rectangular oscillum of white marble with thin

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41. Cambi 1998, 45-61; Starac 2003, 197-200; E. Marin et alii 2004.42. Gnirs 1915 (a), p. 89., no. 257.43. Reichel 1892, 154, 158, no. 10, 11.44. Cambi 2002, p. 106, fig. 147, analogous torso of a naked youth from Salona, copy of Policletus’ Westmacott boy, 1st c. AD.45. Gnirs 1912, Valbandon, p. 9-12, fig. 3-4.46. Starac 2006 (a), p. 185, no. 185. The analysis was performed at the Laboratorio di Analisi dei Materiali Antichi,

Dipartimento di Storia dell’Architettura, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, using a polarizing microscope.47. Starac 2006 (a), p. 180, no. 176.48. Mirabella Roberti 1949, 260.49. Cambi 2002, p.115, fig.163; Jurki 2005, 182, offers datation of herma to the 1st c. AD.


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black lines, 17 cm high, 24,7 cm wide and 3.5 cm long(A-4866), belonged to the peristyle decoration of theprivate house near the amphitheater at 1st c. AD. On theone side is a head of Silenus with pointy ears and beardin the profile, on another side hippocampus in thewaves50. It was provided for hanging on a string be-tween columns; traces of rust in the upper part testifyabout iron fitting.

Elements that can be correlated with marble furni-ture, especially marble tables, are extremely rare andpreserved in small fragments only, which poses thequestion on accuracy of recognition. Elongated conicalfragment of white marble depicting long curls and ivyleaves between wings and longitudinal smooth stripscould belong to a table support (A-47075). The frag-ment is preserved at height of 30 cm, width of 18 cmand length of 12 cm, three sides are dressed in relief anda fourth side is roughly hewn, broken off above and be-low.

Egyptian alabaster was used to produce small cos-metic bottles (A-5018, A-5019, A-5021), named afterthe material of which they were made, and for graveurns (A-5017).

Fountains

Marble was used often for making decorative foun-tain pools placed in the peristylia of private houses51.From fine-grained white marble was made a rectangularfountain basin, decorated on four sides with floral ten-drils in relief that come out of kantharos (A-6583)52.

The fountain basin was found at the location of a subur-ban house, outside the city and near the Porta Gemina,indicating that the basin belonged to a private house.Marble was used for the production of square fountainbasins with interior diagonal cross-form and side cas-cade motifs. The most beautiful among them, made ofwhite marble with thin black lines, has on two oppositesides depictions of a lying nymph surrounded by twoerotes, and of a young man above the cascade. On tworemaining opposite sides, are placed shells with cas-cades in the central hollows (A-447 = A-4602)53. Anoth-er similar marble fountain basin has in the middle anemphasized circular opening of the fountain and the lat-erally semi-circular cascades (A-486)54. (Fig. 5) Follow-ing the example of marble fountain basins with interiordiagonal cross-form, the fountain basin made of lime-stone has five-petalled rosettes in semi-circular hollowsinstead of the cascades (A-328).

Architectural decoration

Different forms of architectural decoration, or deco-rative panels placed on structural elements such aswalls, floors, niches, loggias, architraves, asked for plu-rality of colors of marble. Marble was often combinedwith other polychrome stones, granite, for example. Thepanels with reliefs of white marble belong to architec-tural decoration: they can be divided into panels withfigural religious scenes, and panels with vegetable orna-mentation. Figural religious scene can be found on thefragment of slab of fine-grained white marble with aprocession of barefoot women in Greek dress and rear-ing deer or goat in a high relief, which can be character-ized as the work of the Greek workshop (A-8719) fromthe 2nd half of the 1st c.-1st c. AD. According to some au-thors, depiction belongs to the Silvanus’ cult or to thecycle of Pan and Nymphae55. Another religious scenecan be recognized at the fragment of a panel, 5 cm long,depicting the aedicule in the landscape between twotrees with dense crowns56, preserved in the height 23 cm(A-5754). (Fig. 6) To the group of panels with vegetabledecoration, belongs the frieze with acanthus tendrilsand astragal (A-6844), plate of Prokonnesos marble thathas semi-circular field filled with floral motifs and bor-dered by astragal and cyma C, preserved in height of 51cm, width of 27 cm and length of 10 cm (A-47068),plate of Prokonnesos marble with vegetable tendrils and


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Fig. 5. Fountain (Inv. no. A-486).

50. There were various interpretations of bearded head: Mirabella Roberti 1938, 262, fig. 13, Boreus; Jurki 2005, 200, Poseidon(Neptunus) and Tifon on the other side; Cambi 2002, p.98, fig. 133, Silenus and hippocampus. Bacchetta 2005, p. 92, Fig. 18.

51. Gnirs 1915 (a), 86, fig.43.52. Schiavuzzi 1904, 359, fig. 98-99; Gnirs 1915 (a), p. 53, n. 112; De Franceschi 1934, p. 248.53. Gnirs 1915 (a), p. 87, fig. 43. At ASMOSIA X Conference held at Roma 2012, Annewies van den Hoek, Donato Attanasio,

John J. Herrmann Jr.3 and Robert H. Tykot presented poster concerning Thassian exports of prefabricated statuettes, discussinganalogous fountain basins made of Thassian marble.

54. De Franceschi 1934, p. 248. On this type of fountains: Ciliberto 2010, p. 100-149.55. Jurki 2005, 178.56. Similar religious landscapes in marble at Rome, Claudian period: Sculture di Roma Antica 1999, p. 86-87; La Rocca 1994, p.

274-278, Abb. 9, 10, 15.


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rosettes bordered by cyma C, length of 12 cm (A-367).Corner fragment of gray marble showing palmettes andtendrils, framed by a flat lath (A-6869), could belong tothe base of the altar tomb. Plate with a relief of stone-masons at work is made of white Carrara marble (A-27608)57. The motif depicting slaves in their trade is notamong usual motifs on marble slabs of architecturaldecoration. The uniqueness of this review highlights theimportance that the stone-masons had in Pula.

Some plates were worked on two opposite sides,probably in the secondary use. Plate depicting a horsein the framed field with inscription FELIX, on the op-posite side carries multiple molding (A-5763). (Fig. 7a, b) Broken off on the left and below, preserved in theheight of 28 cm and width of 40 cm, while the fulllength is 9 cm. There is a hole for metal join on the top.This slab, made of grayish white marble, was found atNymphaeum along the road leading from the city to-ward the amphitheater, built on natural source andpaved by the white marble stairs58. Another bilaterallydecorated panel is made of Prokonnesos marble andon the one side displays the complicate molding, whilethe opposite side carries the final part of the late an-tique inscription [...] RS with the letters 7 cm high (A-47074). (Fig. 8 a, b) Below the inscription, the surfaceis roughly hewn and intended for attaching of anotherelement by brass connector. The angle of plate is pre-served in height of 36 cm and width of 44 cm, a fulllength of 5-9 cm.

The most important bilaterally worked marble slabbears at front the inscribed decision of the City councilof the Roman colony of Pola from the second centuryAD, related to the allocation of public space to a deserv-ing citizen with the aim to perform religious rituals inthe honour of Minerva (A-6384). (Fig. 9 a, b) On theopposite side shows a part of vegetable frieze and twocassettes, framed by a flat lath and separated by a

groove. The cassettes have a small box in the shape ofrhombus, filled with flowers and acanthus buds in thecorners outside the rhombus. Frame in the shape ofrhombus repeats alternation of two flat laths and a cen-tral groove.

Preserved are two round medallions made of whitemarble: the face of a young man with curly hair in amedallion, 8.5 cm in diameter (A-4820), and a lion’shead with gaping jaws, 17 cm in diameter (A-5014). In-terior of the wealthy private homes and public buildingscould be decorated with thin marble cornices, poly-chrome panels at walls and colored marble plates inlaidin the floor (opus sectile, opus scutulatum)59. Ionic stylebasilica behind Forum explored in the 2003 was deco-

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Fig. 6. Plate with sacred landscape (Inv. no. A-5754).

57. Starac 2006 (a), 102., cat. no. 71.58. IIt X/1 33; De Franceschi 1934, p. 248.59. Gnirs 1912, Valbandon; Id. 1910, 175-176, fig. 4; Bolšec-Ferri, Matijaši 1988, 151; Uj i 1996, 11; Starac 1998, 57, cat. nos.

11, 12, 14, T. 1, 2.

Fig. 7. Plate of the horse Felix, two sides (Inv. no. A-5763).


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rated inside with slabs of gray marble and gray graniteand simply molded cornices of white marble60. From theneighbouring building, located directly behind forumtemples, come plates made of various colored marbles:“fior di pesco”, Numidian marble, “giallo antico”, whitemarble with gray veins61. Parts of the Amphitheater,among them probably lodge, were covered with marble

relief decoration of which is preserved only a face of theEgyptian deity Hathor made of fine-grained white mar-ble and coated by gold (A-8712)62. Interior of the Smalltheater was decorated by simple molded cornices ofwhite marble with a thin gray veins 8 cm high (A-5974,A- 5975, A- 6394), of gray marble (A-5976) and of thecompletely white marble (A-6395).


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Fig. 8. Reutilised marble plate, two sides (Inv. no. A-47074)

Fig. 9. Plate with the title of the colony of Pola, two sides (Inv. no. A-6384)

60. Starac 2006 (b), 95-97, cat. no. 36-42.61. Starac 2006 (b), 92, cat. no. 17-20.62. Degrassi 1933, 395-396; Jurki -Girradi 1974, 17, fig.15. Jurki 2005, 224, proposed datation to the 2nd - 3rd c. AD but without

explanation or comparison.


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Constructive architectural elements

The marble was used in large quantities only in themost representative and most valuable objects, becauseof its cost. The cornices, architraves, bases and capitalsof columns were made of white marble or of Prokon-nesos marble, while the black Luculean marble or gray“bardiglio” marble were utilised for the smoothcolumns. We know two large building complexes of Ro-man Pola with constructive elements in marble: a Fo-rum portico and Large theater of Mount Zaro. Marblecornices decorated also a number of public and cultbuildings around Forum: the cornice with consoles ofwhite Carrara marble was found in the ruins of the Ionicstyle basilica (A-27609)63, while another cornice deco-rated with dentils, ovoli, cyma and everted lath with ob-long pod-shaped leaves on top, 25 cm high (A-241)64

was found in the three-apses object of the imperial cultat Forum. They belong to the Julio-Claudian period, tothe first half of the 1st century AD. White marble cor-nice from the public water reservoir at Pula city’s hill isdated to the first half of the 1st century AD (A-124)65.Fragments of a cornice of white marble with small con-soles covered by shallow carved acanthus leaf and bor-dered by a strongly drilled spherical astragal belong tothe non-located architectural whole (A-36, A-37, A-327,A-331, A-6738). Various fragments of richly moldedmarble cornices are coming from unknown objects (A-4119, A-6628, A-6630, A-6680, A- 6702, A- 6742, A-6838, A- 6840, A-18612, A- 47067). Number of buildingswith marble constructive elements in the Roman Pulamust be amended. Historical sources mention the mar-ble cornice attributed to one of the Forum temples inPula, which as a private gift to Pope Benedict XIV inthe 1756 arrived to Rome - and disappeared among thepriceless treasures of Capitoline Museum66.

Marble is relatively less common as the material forarchitraves, being limited on those of smaller dimen-sions (A-47070). A console of white marble covered be-low by acanthus leaf, 12.5 cm high, 14.5 cm wide and 29cm long (A-6618) is probably a part of the door lintel.According to the oval shape of slightly pointed peaks ofacanthus leaf that resembles to the capitals of the Largetheater (A-129, A-130), this console can be attributed tothe same building. Equal design of acanthus leaf can beseen on the fragment of the volute of a marble capitalfrom unknown locality (A-6795).

Fragment of Corinthian capital of white marble withcarefully shaped acanthus leaves with narrow triangularendings (A-6807) suits the tastes of Augustan Age.Corinthian capital of white marble with two rows ofshort acanthus leaves and curled fluted chalices bor-dered by a twisted band, 33 cm high and bottom diame-ter of 25 cm (A-47073), does not fit into any known ar-chitectural unit. Volute of the Ionic capital of Prokon-nesos marble (A-10352 = A-4730) refers by the qualityto the Greek workshops of Augustan Age67.

We point out the fact that only during the later Au-gustan Principate builders began to use marble in sub-stantial quantities in the construction of public buildingsin Pula. Smaller, at the same time older then two Romantheaters, located within the city walls, goes into the firstorder of public buildings constructed at a newly found-ed Roman colony, at the beginning of Augustus’ Princi-pate68. Exclusively limestone was used for construction,while the marble occurs only in the interior decoration.At the end of the Augustan period begins intensive im-port of marble for large structural elements. Reconstruc-tion of the Forum portico begins at this time69. Two floorporticos that framed Pula Forum contained a smoothcolumns of gray marble (A-244, A-549, A-47071, A-47072)70. The Roman collection of the ArchaeologicalMuseum of Istria keep also fragments of uncompleted“bardiglio” marble columns (A-382, A-27614, A-27615,A-27616)71. All fragments were shipped to Pula in a stateof semi-products as rough-surfaced cylinders, and havebeen rejected due to breakage during the fine process-ing. Next important building with marble columns wasthe Large theater. It is believed that its construction be-gan in the Flavian era and continued during the 2nd cen-tury72. Scaenae frons was largely - though not entirely -built and decorated with marble elements. Columns ofscaenae frons were made mostly of gray marble, as it wascommon in the construction of the Roman theaters73. Anumber of columns of smaller diameter made of blackmarble probably were located in the upper part of scae-nae frons (A-47065, A-47066). To the lower floor of aprominent central projection of scaenae frons could be-long a column of black marble seven meters long, bro-ken during loading and abandoned in Pula harbor74.Bases of the columns (A-47056, A-47057, A-47058) andcapitals (A-117, A-544, A-546) made of Prokonnesosmarble belong to columns of scaenae frons. All architrav-es (A-47053, A-47054, A-47059) and cornices of scaenae

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63. Starac 2006 (b), p. 95-96, cat. no. .37.64. Gnirs 1910, 174; Fischer 1996, 93.65. Gnirs 1911, 21-22, fig. 16; Fischer 1996, 113; Gobi 1998-1999, 49.66. I am grateful to Danko Zeli for this notice. Pasquali 2000, 159-166.67. Cavalieri Manasse 1978, p. 199, T. 67, 1-2; Burši Matijaši 1985, T. I, 4, p. 53, n. 4.68. Fischer 1996, 106-111.69. Fischer 1996, 70-96.70. Forlati Tamaro 1923, 215; Gobi 1998-1999, 51, 54.71. Pensabene, Bruno 1998, 4; Starac 2006 (b), p. 60-62, p. 101, cat. nos. 68-70.72. Fischer 1996, 163-171.73. Álvarez, De La Barrera, Velázquez 2001, 20; Chevallier 1979, 128, Orange.74. Uj i 2009, 366.


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frons were also carved from Prokonnesos or white mar-ble (A-552, A-47055, A-47060, A-47061). Only onepiece decorated by mythological figure is preserved, themarble cornice with console in the shape of a sphinx (A-5744)75. Niches probably once contained a number ofmarble statues, of which is partially preserved only thelargest, the central statue of the emperor in armor (A-446).

Conclusion

In the Roman Pula was highly developed stone-ma-sonry, refering as well to local limestone as to importedmarble. The construction of monumental public build-ings from the Augustan period to the period of Severus –just to mention a Forum complex with temples, an am-phitheater and two theaters – demanded a permanent

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75. Gnirs 1911, 34, Abb. 38; Fischer 1996, 167.


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presence of a large number of skilled artisans trained inthe extraction, processing and integrating of local lime-stone. Let us add that even the construction of city wallswith towers and entrances, construction of tombstonesand of all houses whose walls were traditionally built oflimestone. In all these constructions local Istrian lime-stone was basic and the most important building materi-al. In several places, in the immediate vicinity of Pula,was documented the existence of the quarries where theRomans extracted stone. The most important one is aquarry in Vinkuran, continuously active today, that inmemory of long lasting activity bears the old name CaveRomane76. Stonemasons specializing in processing ofmarble (marmorarii) were present from the early 1st cen-tury AD. Rough-surfaced blocks of marble were dis-patched from overseas, by ships, arriving to the port. Anoverview of marble pieces found in Pula offer notice ofgreat variety of its use, especially during 1st-2nd c. AD(Fig. 10). White marbles were the most popular, beingutilised predominantly for sculpture, fountains and con-structive architectural elements. As for the function, itcould be pointed out that Pentelic marble was destinedprimarily for sculpture, gray and black marbles for con-structive architectural elements as columns and archi-traves, while Carrara marble served in architectural pur-pose as well as for sculpture. Prokonnesos marble foundfortune in several fields, serving for making of construc-tive and decorative architectural elements and for sar-cophagus production. Egyptian alabaster was destinedfor vases and urns exclusively. Although only minornumber of samples was object of mineralogical-petrolog-ical analysies, 13 in total, the excellent trade connectionswith Italy and Eastern Mediterranean could be pointedout. In chronological terms, import of Carrara marblewas documented in Julio-Claudian period only; Pentelicand Prokonnesos marble were utilised almost equallyduring whole Roman period, while Paros marble was im-ported in the period 1st-3rd century AD.

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The Use of Marble in Roman Pula

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