Provenance of marbles from Baths of Nero (Pisa, Italy)

Lezzerini Marco;Sorrentino Germana;Columbu Stefano;Rizzitelli Claudia;Gualandi Maria Letizia

2018-01-01

---

Abstract

The study of ancient marbles plays an important role in the interpretation of an archaeological site and gives interesting information about building materials used in ancient times and their trade routes. The present work focused on the study of coloured and white marbles from The Baths of Nero (Terme di Nerone), an interesting archaeological site near the Miracles Square in Pisa (Italy). The Baths of Nero are the only Roman monumental building still visible in Pisa. Forty-three samples were collected from the recent archaeological campaign (2017) carried out along the northern structures of the Roman thermal complex. The archaeological excavations were interrupted at the level above the Roman layers. Several fragments of marble, some of which finely carved, and potteries from the Roman age (in secondary context), medieval to post-medieval ages have been found. Greco scritto marble, Marmor Sagarium, Marmor Taenarium are the main types of colored marbles. Based on mineralogical and petrographic analyses, C and O isotope ratios Monte Pisano marble, Apuan marble, marbles of the Eastern Mediterranean area have been identified. From the Middle Ages, the re-use of ancient marbles was frequent, and they had a very great symbolic value.