White sculptural materials from Villa Adriana: study of provenance

Abstract

This contribution reports the archaeometric study of 62 fragmented sculptures from the collections stored in the reserves of Villa Adriana, Tivoli. They were carved in white fine to very fine grained marble, but also medium and coarse types were investigated. Provenance determination was carried out using a sequential approach, taking into account petrography and cathodomicrofacies as the first step, combined with the C and O stable isotopes. Complementary techniques, EPR and quantitative CL,were used to verify or specify from among the different options. The paper discusses the results of combining different analytical techniques in comparison to the most reliable databases. They confirm the use of Carrara but also point to a variety of classical marble sources in Greece and Turkey, including the recently discovered Göktepe quarries. Some results must be considered provisional, until the detailed petrography of Göktepe is published.