Ancient white marble trade and its provenance determination

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the history of the exploitation and use of the most important ancient white marble sources located around the Mediterranean Sea and on its islands. It focuses on the spread and trade networks of the white marble quarried from these sources starting from the Neolithic till the Byzantine periods. The paper shows the contribution of white marble trade on the economic and cultural development of the quarrying centers. It highlights the reasons behind the import of white marble from certain quarries during different periods. In addition, the paper reviews the recent reference databases for white marbles used in antiquity, and then the development of archaeometric methods applied in the characterization of ancient white marble and its provenance determination.