An archaeometric study of the Monument to Augustus of Saint‐Bertrand‐de‐Comminges: marble provenance and <i>in situ</i> pigment analysis

Abstract An in‐depth archaeometric study was undertaken on the Monument to Augustus (Saint‐Bertrand‐de‐Comminges, Occitanie, France), focusing on both the provenance of the marble and the analysis of the pigments in order to answer questions about the original layout of the Monument and the quarry(ies) that supplied the marble used to create it. A multi‐method protocol including petrography, cathodoluminescence, isotope and elemental analyses, as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was applied to identify the marble provenance. The results indicate that the marble used to sculpt the whole ensemble came from the same quarrying site, one of the Saint‐Béat quarries, as suggested by the strong homogeneity in most of the isotopic and elemental data. Pigment analysis using hyperspectral imaging and portable X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) revealed that red ochre was widely used, sometimes combined with Pb‐based pigments to produce various shades. Overall, this archaeometric study suggests that the different elements of the Monument were created within the same time period and by the same craftsmen, although some questions remain regarding its exact location and the nature of its original structure. However, the question of whether or not all the pieces studied belongs to the same monument remains unanswered.