Beyond Pentelikon: Imported white marbles in Athenian sculptural workshops of the Roman period

This article presents the results of a provenance study of the marbles used for 58 sculptures from the excavations of the Athenian Agora (Greece), including numerous unfinished works. The sculptures were preselected for analysis because they did not match the visual characteristics of local Pentelic marble. All sculptures were studied noninvasively with a standard light source, and measurements of the Maximum Grain Size (MGS), the Most Frequent Grain Size (MFS), and translucency were taken. The sculptures were also analyzed for trace elements, such as strontium (Sr) and manganese (Mn), using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) instrument. Samples were collected from 44 sculptures for laboratory-based analyses, including verification measurements of MGS and MFS under a stereoscopic microscope, qualitative examination of crystalline features of the marbles, and Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectroscopy (IRMS) for measurements of the stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen. The results show that a range of imported white marbles were being carved in local Athenian workshops during the Roman period (1st century BCE to 3rd century CE), including marbles from Thasos (5 sculptures), Paros (as many as 16 sculptures), and Afyon, near Dokimeion in Phrygia (as many as 33 sculptures). Marble from Göktepe, near Aphrodisias in Caria, is also identified (3 or 4 sculptures), but it is present only among the finished works. This study highlights the extensive material networks to which ancient Athens belonged and underscores the importance of interdisciplinary methodologies, integrating archaeometry, archaeology, and art history, for reconstructing the artistic practices and aesthetic desires of past communities. • First large-scale marble provenance study of an archaeological group of sculptures from Athens. • Focus on unfinished sculptures to establish a range of nonlocal marbles available to Athenian workshops. • Importance of cross-disciplinary approaches for the identification of sculptural workshops • Implications for the movement and trade of marble in antiquity as they relate to local artistic preferences.