MARBLE PROVENANCE INVESTIGATION OF ROMAN SARCOPHAGI FROM THESSALONIKI*

Abstract

The provenance question of the marbles used for making the sarcophagi of local production of Thessaloniki in the Roman period had been posed by archaeologists in the past. The hypothesis was that the material came mainly from the quarries of Thassos Island. This paper presents the scientific analysis of 23 characteristic samples from selected sarcophagi at the Museum of Thessaloniki, using three different techniques: electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, stable isotope analysis and maximum grain size measurements, plus in‐situ examination. New combinations of parameters were used in order to resolve fully the provenance of all samples. The results showed that the vast majority of the objects were indeed made in Thassian marble but from three different quarries, namely Vathy/Saliara (dolomitic marble), Aliki (calcitic marble) and Acropolis/Phanari (calcitic marble). The calcitic marbles from Aliki and to a lesser degree from Acropolis/Phanari are met in all the basic types of sarcophagi (framed type, plain type, garland sarcophagi). The use of the better quality and snow‐white dolomitic marble from Vathy/Saliara quarries is relatively restricted and is often found in works that are above the average regarding the quality of their workmanship. In addition, two sarcophagi were made in Pentlelic marble and one in Proconnesian. The scientific analysis results provide a good confirmation of the archaeological estimates and, furthermore, the conclusions constitute henceforth a secure basis for the study of the entire sculptured works of Thessaloniki.