Classification of Asia Minor marbles based on crystal size for archaeometric assignment

This study was carried out to determine the range of crystal sizes of Asia Minor marbles and to classify the marbles accordingto crystal size. Asia Minor marbles have been used as building stones since ancient times. The literature already includes studies on theircrystal sizes; however, different studies performed on marbles of the same locality have reported different crystal size classes, which hascaused complexity. To eliminate this complexity, this study used multidirectional petrographic analyses on the eight known Asia Minormarbles. Thin sections were photographed under a polarizing microscope, and the crystal sizes of the samples were measured usingcomputerized image analysis. An average of 500 size measurements were taken for each sample to determine the mean and maximumcrystal sizes of each marble. For archaeometric evaluation of the marbles, a crystal size classification is suggested. According to thissuggested classification, crystal sizes of 100–250 μm, 250–1000 μm, and >1000 μm are defined as fine crystal, medium crystal and coarsecrystal, respectively.