Stoneworking

"This poster presents part of the results of a PhD project funded by the Catalan Government (2001 FI 00215) focused on the exploitation and use of local stone in the NE of Spain in Roman times that was included on broader research project on artistic, epigraphic and other Roman remains made of stone in Hispania. A global approach to the stone industries both from the extraction point (quarries) and from the final use (stone objects, buildings, etc.) was intended to get an overall picture of the whole process, its organization and, when possible, its impact on the local Roman society.
Among all the areas studied, the case of the stone used at the Roman town of Aeso (modern Isona) was exceptional in several aspects. The town, which originated as a settlement occupied by the local pre-Roman people, lies on the southern slopes of the Pre-Pyrenees mountain chain. It preserves several remains of its Roman past, among which the Roman walls and an unusually large collection of inscribed pedestals stand out. Even though the urbanism of the town (and thus, the Walls) as well as the epigraphs (which were object of interest since mid 19th century) had been well studied, the origin of the stone used to build and carve them was not known. The stone used in epigraphy was particularly interesting as previous studies revealed that, contrary to what it seemed at first, it was not a regionally-imported stone but a local limestone (Isona limestone) (Fabre et alii 1985). Thus, not only a good example of the building stone but also of a finer one was available. Besides, the high number of pedestals suggested that Isona limestone extraction should have been an important activity in the area during the Roman period.
Therefore, the location of the place where these stones were prized off (i.e. the quarries) was attempted. The followed methodology included a comprehensive bibliographic survey, the sampling of both types of stone, their petrographic characterization, the identification of the most likely geological outcrops and the field survey in order to identify evidences of stone extraction.
As a result, two quarries that supplied building stone to the town were located while the location of the source of Isona limestone proved less straightforward due to the lack of clear quarrying evidences at the geologically matching outcrops. Therefore, other related factors (river networks, accessibility and block transport from the extraction site to site of processing and use, etc) played a key role that led to suggest the use of unusual strategies to make use of the stone resources.


REFERENCES
Fabré et alii 1985 = Fabré, G., Mayer, M., Rodà, I. 1985. Inscriptions Romaines de Catalogne. II. Lérida. Paris. "

The Magical Path to the Acropolis studies the work of the eccentric perfectionist-architect/proto-ecologist Dimtris Pikionis who, one year short of seventy, was suddenly tasked with a work of major historical and psychological weight: to landscape and create new paths to the ancient monument of the Acropolis. This essay also describes Athens in the 1950s and the intellectual milieu in which Pikionis grew up.  Available in printed for at Amazon and the Acropolis Museum bookstore.

This book, based on the PhD thesis of the author, focuses on the main Roman quarries in modern Catalonia. On the one hand, it analises their geographic location, their context (their place within the ancient territory), the evidences of work at the quarries by detecting traces of tools, volume stone extracted, etc; and the other, it attempts to date their life-span through the study not only of the traces but also the use of their stone at the most significant Roman towns of northeastern Hispania(Tarraco Dertosa, Barcino, Gerunda among others). All this is the basis for further considerations on the exploitation, use, distribution and organization of quarrying in Roman times.

The Ornament-Stone from Dersewitz, found in the late 1940 near the village of Stolpe (River Peene; Vorpommern/Germany), is discussed as presentation of a medieval cosmology. Very similar semi-circulares are known in the "Enzyklopedia Liber floribus" and in floor-ornaments in churches

Introduzione Il paese di Pont Canavese viene frequentemente ricordato, nella storia dell'architettura e dell'arte di ambito torinese, per la grandissima diffusione che ebbe, a partire dal terzo quarto del XVIII secolo, il marmo bianco statuario cavato nel territorio comunale all'imbocco della valle Soana. Le zone di estrazione sono state descritte dal testo di Vincenzo Barelli, fondamentale per lo studio dei materiali lapidei storici piemontesi, in questo modo: "Due sono le cave di questo marmo, una sulla destra e l'altra sulla sinistra del torrente Soana ed in sul principio della valle che prende il nome da quel torrente, ed a poca distanza dall'abitato di Pont. La prima è denominata di "Configliè", ed è la così detta "Cava Regia"; la seconda dicesi "Riva di Strobba". Quella fu aperta nel 1772." 1 Un'importante indicazione per la localizzazione delle cave venne inoltre data, nel 1818, da Azimonti: "Ad una piccola lega da Pont, e sopra un monte situato alla sinistra del cammino si trova la Carriera celebre del Marbro bianco, di cui si fecero dai fratelli Collini li bassirilievi di Superga, ed altre opere insigni. Questo marmo forma un filone quasi perpendicolare di tre tese circa di larghezza, e nella direzione fra le 8 e le 9 ore della bussola dei minatori, ed è esso compreso in una roccia scistosa che compare tutta la montagna." 2 Facendo seguito ad un precedente articolo apparso su Canavèis 3 , si vogliono qui ripercorrere, in maniera dettagliata, le tappe fondamentali della messa in luce del filone e degli utilizzi dell'unico marmo canavesano ad essere entrato, a pieno titolo, nella rosa dei materiali lapidei che i sovrani sabaudi utilizzarono per le opere di loro committenza, mettendo in relazione le numerose notizie d'archivio dei due siti estrattivi, con le altrettanto numerose applicazioni che vennero fatte nel corso dell'attività estrattiva.

Lo studio ha permesso, partendo dall'analisi dei marmi piemontesi utilizzati, di identificare l'autore (Giovanni Pietro Baroni di Tavigliano) e l'esecutore (Luigi Giudice) dell'altare maggiore della basilica di San Pellegrino Laziosi a Forlì, commissionato dal vescovo Ludovico Merlini, nunzio apostolico presso il regno di Sardegna.
A questo va poi aggiunto l'ulteriore passo importante con cui è stato possibile identificare, in uno dei disegni delle raccolte di Tavigliano presso la Biblioteca Nazionale di Torino (privo di indicazioni), proprio il progetto dell'altare di Forlì.
Questo al momento è l'unico esempio visibile di utilizzo di marmi piemontesi al di fuori dei confini amministrativi dello stato sabaudo.

During the conquest of Lisbon, D. Afonso Henriques received help from various groups of crusaders from northern Europe who were then awarded land in the Lisbon region. One of these groups consisted of Franks, led by D. Alardo. They were given a small territory on the west side of the foothills of the Montejunto Mountain Range, which came to be known as Vila Verde dos Francos.
Ruins of a small castle dating from this period have survived, on an elevation overlooking the road from Aldeia Galega to Cadaval, allowing for a view over much of the old territory. Further down the hill there is a small village where the Frankish Crusaders settled with their families.
At the end of the 14th century the lordship of Vila Verde dos Francos no longer belonged to the descendants of D. Alardo but to Gonçalo Lourenço Gomide, the great-grandfather of D. Afonso de Albuquerque, viceroy of India. In the northern part of the old property, nextto the ruins of D. Afonso de Albuquerque’s palace (which subsequently belonged to the Marquis of Angeja), ten silos were found, and excavated in 2013. The latter were located very close to an old Gothic fountain with an ogival arch which would probably have supplied the ancient settlement and the major at’s palace.
Findings dated from the 13th to the 16th century were recovered during the excavation conducted on the grounds of Vila Verde dos Francos’ school, indicating that this site was used to store cereals for at least three centuries, and was then abandoned and filled with stones and some household rubbish.
The ceramics consisted mostly of plain wares and some glazed wares, predominantly pitchers, pots and lids, revealing a regional production.

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the constructions of indigenous identity in relation to resource extraction in two regions of Russia. The research concentrates on two case studies: Veps in Karelia (Northwestern Russia) and Soiots in Buriatia (South-Central Siberia). Both indigenous minorities have historical ties with mining industry including diabase and quartzite in Karelia and graphite and jade in Buriatia. The changes of post-Soviet period such as the closure of state mining enterprises in Karelia and the boost of industrial development, including informal mining, in Buriatia had impact on the articulations of indigeneity in both case studies. The dissertation shows that indigenous status recognition in post-Soviet Karelia and Buriatia is closely connected to having larger control over land and resources. To retain this control, community members need to construct their indigenous identities in the firm terms defined by Russian law. At the same time, local connections to land and resources in Karelia and Buriatia influence the character of indigenous claims and question the established state narratives, e.g. through engagement in informal mining activities. Strong ties of Veps with the stoneworking industry, as well as the sacrality of landscape in Soiot and Oka Buriat culture influence the formation of resource identities which are based on local resources and become an additional resource themselves. The research demonstrates that the relations between indigenous communities and mining may go beyond the established dichotomies of “traditional” versus “industrial” or “indigenous person” versus “mining worker.” The dissertation produces a thorough analysis of the links between the construction of resource and the construction of indigenous subject. It contributes to the general scope of studies focusing on indigenous peoples and extractive businesses in the post-Soviet space. It is envisaged that the research will contribute to the practices of negotiations between indigenous residents and extractive industries in Russia.

RESUMEN: En este trabajo presentamos los diferentes tipos de herramientas de cantería localizados en territorio vettón. Analizamos sus características principales y su posible funcionalidad, así como su contexto de aparición y cronología. ABSTRACT: In this paper we present the different types of stoneworking tools located in the territory of the vettones. We analyse its principal characteristics and its possible functionality, as well as the context of appearance and chronology.

The cargo of marble blocks off Capo Bianco was dated to the Roman period. New sampling and analysis has identified Carrara marble, and also Rosso di Francia (Rouge Languedoc) and Portargento, which strongly suggests a post-medieval date. This leads to the suggestion
that nearby finds dating between the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th may come from the same ship, perhaps sailing from France and Liguria to deliver stone in southern Italy. This is rare evidence of the post-medieval marble trade and demonstrates the importance of archaeometric analysis for the interpretation of wrecked cargos.

García-López et al., 2021 // ABSTRACT: The purpose of this poster is to return to the so-called "Lady of Doña Mencía", a stone sculpture traditionally dated in the first half of the s. VI a.n.e., collected in the homonymous municipal area of Doña Mencía (Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain), in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. This piece came from the interior of a recently excavated and documented bagnarola cistern in the Sector 2 of the El Laderón oppidum.

La influencia de la cultura islámica durante el período de dominación normanda de Sicilia juega en su arquitectura un papel relevante. Entre los rasgos de la arquitectura precedente que se incorporan a los edificios construidos en este momento en la isla destaca la pervivencia y asimilación de los espacios centralizados. Se propone un análisis de las distintas soluciones empleadas en la transición de la planta cuadrada a la cúpula. El estudio se ha centrado en aquellos elementos construidos en piedra, en los cuales el control formal adquiere una importancia mayor al requerirse una definición geométrica previa a la talla de las dovelas y sillares. Se señala la relación entre el diseño de las trompas angulares y las bóvedas de arista de la arquitectura árabe-normanda, así como las particularidades detectadas en la construcción de las trompas de nicho, de forma que se pone de manifiesto la importancia de la geometría en su diseño. Los ejemplos estudiados forman parte de un episodio de la tradición constructiva local cuyo conocimiento puede ayudar a entender el alcance de su repercusión en la estereotomía siciliana desarrollada en la Edad Moderna.
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The influence of Islamic culture during the Norman rule of Sicily was reflected in the island’s architecture. The survival and assimilation of centralised space was one of the most prevalent aspects of the existing architecture that was incorporated into the new buildings erected at this time. This paper examines the various solutions used in the transition from the square plan to the dome. It focuses in particular on stone elements, in which the control of form is paramount given that the geometry has to be defined before the voussoirs and ashlars are cut. The relationship between the design of simple squinches and the groin vaults of Arab-Norman architecture is highlighted, as well as the unique features identified in the construction of squinches with cantilevering niches, demonstrating the importance of geometry in their design. The examples analysed correspond to a particular chapter in the local building tradition and help to shed light on the extent of its repercussions for Sicilian stereotomy in the Modern Age.

ARTES Y HUMANIDADES (0101026CT01A01) EL MARMOR EN HISPANIA: EXPLOTACIÓN, USO Y DIFUSIÓN EN ÉPOCA ROMANA Quedan rigurosamente prohibidas, sin la autorización escrita de los titulares del Copyright, bajo las sanciones establecidas en las leyes, la reproducción total o parcial de esta obra por cualquier medio o procedimiento, comprendidos la reprografía y el tratamiento informático, y la distribución de ejemplares de ella mediante alquiler o préstamos públicos. © Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia Madrid 2012 Librería UNED: c/ Bravo Murillo, 38 -28015 Madrid Tels.: 91 398 75 60 / 73 73 e-mail: libreria@adm.uned.es © Los autores Todas nuestras publicaciones han sido evaluadas por expertos ajenos a esta universidad por el método doble ciego.

Como en muchos de los otros territorios del imperio romano, la explotación de los recursos lapídeos locales en la península ibérica fue la base sobre la cual se construyó la civilización romana. El empleo de la piedra para la construcción de edificios, zonas públicas, infrastructuras, o la elaboración de esculturas, epigrafía u otros objetos como sarcófagos fue fundamental desde los primeros años de la conquista romana hasta el bajoimperio. Aún así, el estudio de las zonas de aprovisionamiento y, en concreto, de las posibles canteras ha sido hasta la fecha muy fragmentario.
En esta comunicación presentamos los resultados de un proyecto de investigación que, en el marco del Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani de España, se ha centrado en el estudio de los materiales lapídeos y su lugar de origen, las canteras. Así, se ha procedido la localización, análisis e identificación de las canteras de época romana alrededor de las principales ciudades romanas del noreste de la península ibérica. Los resultados permiten comprobar el estrecho vínculo entre el desarrollo de estos núcleos urbanos y la explotación de los recursos lapídeos de su territorio.

RESUMEN: Este artículo trata de reconstruir los procesos técnicos implicados en los trabajos de cantería realizados por las comunidades de la Meseta occidental durante la Segunda Edad del Hierro. Para ello, se ha acudido tanto a datos arqueológicos como etnográficos. De esta manera, se analizan las características del granito, el proceso de extracción en la cantera, los posibles medios de transporte, las herramientas utilizadas y el proceso de labra, centrado en la realización de los famosos “verracos”. Estos aspectos técnicos resultan fundamentales a la hora de estudiar los productos finales elaborados en granito y son el primer paso para lograr un mayor conocimiento sobre el papel desempeñado por los canteros dentro de las sociedades protohistóricas
del occidente peninsular.
ABSTRACT: This paper reconstructs the technical processes involved in producing the stone works made by the communities of Western Iberia during the Late Iron Age. For this study, we use both archaeological and ethnographic data. We analyze the characteristics of granite, the extraction process in the quarry, the available means of transport, the tools used and the carving process, focusing analysis on the zoomorphic sculptures known as “verracos”. Assessment of these technical aspects is essential for the analysis of the finished products and constitutes a first step in better understanding the status of stonemasons within the protohistoric societies of the Western Iberian Peninsula.

La découverte d'une carrière de pierre à ciel ouvert du premier Moyen Âge, exceptionnellement bien conservée, a permis de mettre en place une technique de relevé à échelle un des traces d'outil présentes sur les parois calcaires de cette carrière. Les outils utilisés et les gestes techniques précis d'extraction de la pierre ont pu être déterminés grâce à une grille d'analyse établie à partir des traces d'outil et après expérimentation. L'utilisation du marteau taillant a ainsi été démontrée pour la première fois pour l'extraction de la pierre. Cet outil impose un mode d'extraction original : tranchées verticales à profil en V, produisant des blocs caractéristiques de profil et de plan trapézoïdaux.

The cultural landscape of the Inca Empire was literally carved in stone. The Inca defined themselves in terms of their sacred landscape from the genesis of their civilization, and carefully crafted their built environment so as to create a seamless fusion between the physical and the cosmological. Within Inca ideology and cosmology, the natural environment was complementary to the built environment; through shaping stone in construction projects, the Inca tamed the forces of nature that were inherently unordered, and imposed Inca-ness onto the landscape. Yet this reverential treatment of stone, though deeply engrained in Inca thought and practice, arose from an established aesthetic tradition that was common across the Andes. Through the exploration of this pan-Andean stone aesthetic, one can better understand how the Inca manipulated the landscape that surrounded them in order to perpetuate a dominant state ideology and create a pervasive collective memory that further enforced systems of power amongst the ruling elite.

La chronologie sur la fondation de sont présentées Cordoue est un débat qui reste ouvert actuellement, puisque traditionnellement deux dates: 169/168 ou 152/151 av. J.-C. Nous savons que les attaques de Viriate ont eu lieu au cours de l’année 144 av. J.-C., cet évènement est un moment clé pour indiquer la fin de la construction des remparts de la ville.
Nous nous sommes intéressés à la capacité humaine en ce qui concerne l’édification de la muraille républicaine de Cordoue. L’objectif de notre travail est d’évaluer le temps nécessaire
à la réalisation des défenses, pour cela, il est primordial de définir la structure afin de proposer différentes alternatives. Les conclusions de notre recherche essayent de prendre en
compte l’ensemble d’une organisation logistique qui a pour corps principal l’exploitation des carrières. L’identification et l’analyse des carrières localisées autour du Castillo de Maimón
nous offrent une nouvelle perception sur l’origine des blocs utilisés pour la muraille.

Overall, this paper explores how 19th-century building manuals have been and can be used to better understand the economic implications of ancient construction. This paper, while reaffirming the usefulness of such sources, and consequently, the usefulness of this approach for the quantification of the economics of Roman construction, has also demonstrated some of the failings of these sources. Misinterpretation can lead to erroneous conclusions about the labour and, consequently the costs involved in the production of architectural ornamentation. These manuals, therefore, should be used with caution and alongside other forms of evidence. That being said, 19th-century building manuals in general, and Pegoretti’s manual in particular, are important and useful resources for understanding ancient building projects in terms of how they relate to other aspects of the ancient economy and in assessing their broader economic implications.

North Wraxall villa on Truckle Hill was initially
excavated by Poulett Scrope in the 19th century
after several walls were exposed (Scrope 1862).
The excavations revealed a villa which had three
courtyards or compounds, and a well-preserved
bath house (Scrope 1862; Andrews et al. 2014). A
number of the finds from the excavation form part
of the collections of Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
and the Ashmolean Museum.
Further investigations were undertaken in
recent years in the vicinity of North Wraxall villa
by Wessex Archaeology (Andrews et al. 2014).
A geophysical survey in 2008 confirmed the
general accuracy of the plan of the villa complex
published in 1862 (Archaeological Surveys 2008).
Accompanying these investigations work was also
undertaken to confirm the location of materials
held in the Devizes and Castle Combe Museums
(the latter now closed), which concluded that much
of the stonework, including the Roman coffins,
could no longer be traced.
In 2017, Wiltshire Museum discovered that
two finials and three column bases recovered in
the 19th century had in fact still survived, and
these were subsequently donated to the museum
by Charles Fry and Deborah Gough. The donation
and the account offered by Charles Fry provides a
new insight into the stonework from North Wraxall
villa. This has led to a re-analysis of the material
held in Wiltshire Museum from the 19th-century
excavations, including unpublished watercolours
of the bath house and finds painted by Scrope.

This thesis aspires to contribute to a better understanding of the socio-economic and political conditions prevailing in the Balkans during Late Antiquity by examining closely the important Aegean province of Thessaly (provincia Thessalia) from the mid-3rd until the end of the 7th c. A.D. The main discussion of this topic, contained in the first volume of the thesis (243 p., with 615 references to other works and 996 footnotes), is supported by 8 complementary studies (appendices) and 28 tables presented in the second volume (160 p.) and by extensive illustrations in the third volume (one map, 217 plates with plans and photos and a folded map showing the plans of 15 early Christian churches, all drawn at the same scale). The main contribution of the present study is that, for the first time, it brings together and systematically exploits all the rich late antique remains that have come to light within the province of Thessaly in the course of systematic or rescue excavations and field research. Furthermore, all this important material is presented within an interpretative framework, which interconnects with historiography (byzantine chronicles, vitae of saints, travellers' memoires), in order to examine within Thessaly two key issues in late antique studies: the transformation of urban centres and the nature of the regional economy.
Despite the unequal archaeological investigation in the twelve Thessalian cities under investigation (the extent and duration of the systematic or rescue excavations vary significantly from site to site), the overview of all the archaeological material available at present, that is undertaken here for the first time, allows a number of important conclusions to be drawn about the transformation of urban centers and the economy of Thessaly during Late Antiquity. The Thessalian cities may be divided into three categories: port-cities (Demetrias, Thebes), coastal cities (Echinos, Lamia), and inland cities. Among them, only Thebes and Diocletianoupolis are new (or almost new) foundations. In those cases, where the available archaeological data allow such observations (Larisa, Demetrias), it becomes clear that the intra-mural extent of the cities decreases during Late Antiquity. Some of the town-planning characteristics of their Graeco-Roman past (Hippodamian planning, part of the water and sewage system, baths) survive in certain cities, but others disappear (e.g. the theatres at Larisa and Demetrias do not function after the middle of the 4th c.). The impact of the new religion becomes clear in the increasing number of ecclesiastical buildings that have been excavated, especially in the port-city of Thebes (nine basilicas, four baptisteries and the bishop's palace). At present, there is no explicit evidence in Thessaly for the transformation of a pagan temple into a church (as observed in Athens or Carian Aphrodisias), while the archaeological evidence indicates that in Larisa, at least, there existed a considerable community of pagans as late as the end of the 5th c. The epigraphic record testifies also to the presence of Jews in some Thessalian cities (Larisa, Thebes, Hypata), although no remains of a synagogue have been revealed so far. All of the Thessalian cities had walls that must have been repaired repeatedly, if one takes into account the damages they suffered after natural catastrophes (earthquakes) and, above all, the repeated barbarian incursions, which became more intense in Thessaly from the last quarter of the 5th c. onwards. This study proposes that it is during this period and, more specifically, after 483 (the retreat of the Ostrogoths from Thessaly) that important repair work was undertaken on the walls of Larisa and that the castle of Iolkos in the wider area of Demetrias was built. Procopius' testimony that the walls of the Thessalian cities were renovated under Justinian cannot be put to the test in all cases, but it seems to be valid for Larisa, the castle of Iolkos ("Demetrias"), Thebes, and Diocletianoupolis (the latter, as argued in this thesis, was even visited by Procopius himself). The general historical background seems also to justify the absence of Lamia from Procopius' catalogue, as the only Thessalian city whose walls were not renovated under Justinian; we may easily imagine how superfluous repair works on the battered walls of this city must have looked, especially after the construction of the far more important and mighty defences of the nearby Pass of Thermopylai. The overview of the most recent archaeological evidence undertaken in this study shows a varying degree of prosperity in the Thessalian cities. The capital of the province (Larisa) and its two ports (Demetrias, Thebes) present a rich archaeological record throughout the 6th c., which gradually diminishes in the course of the 7th c., while in the case of Thebes everything comes to a standstill after the middle of the 7th c. Indeed, while Larisa and Demetrias seem to survive the "Dark Ages", the city of Thebes disappears from the literary and archaeological record after the end of Heraclius' reign. The coastal Thessalian cities (Echinos, Lamia) must have faced considerable difficulties as early as the beginning of the 5th c. (their numismatic finds are not dated beyond the 4th c.). Among the inland cities, Hypate, Trikke, and Diocletianoupolis exhibit limited building activity during the 5th c., while our information on the other Thessalian cities (Kaisareia, Gomphoi, Pharsalos) does not allow at present any conclusions on their level of prosperity and fate during Late Antiquity. The two Thessalian cities (Larisa, Demetrias) that survived the turbulent "Dark Ages" managed to do so on account of the following reasons (in order of importance): they had an important administrative position, they played a key-role in the economy of the region, they were easily accessible by the Byzantine army/fleet and finally, they occupied a well defended and suitably manned site. Larisa, for example, as the capital of the province, was placed in the centre of the communications network and the fertile Thessalian plain, at a distance of 60 km from the port of Demetrias. Its vulnerable location was improved significantly when, towards the end of the 5th c., the length of its walls was reduced, allowing thus a better use of its manpower for a more effective defence. The two port-cities of Thessaly, Demetrias and Thebes, were equally important for the region's economy. The prosperity of these neighbouring ports presupposed peaceful conditions and a fairly high amount of transactions that would justify the existence of them both. Such conditions prevailed more or less until the end of the 6th c. when, owing to the barbarian incursions, this intense trade decreased and as a result the presence of two ports on the Pagasetic gulf became superfluous. At this moment Demetrias took precedence over Thebes, as it was located (already from the end of the 5th c., as argued in the present thesis) on a much better defended location (castle of Iolkos), contrary to Thebes, which lay virtually unprotected on the coastal plain. Subsequently, it must have been the port of Demetrias where the convoy of the Thessalonians arrived in 677, hoping to buy foodstuff from the Belegezites Slavs, who lived "in the area of Thebes and Demetrias". The same port may have been the export point of wheat produced in the sitonia which (as argued in vol. 1, p. 103-112) may have been set up by Constans II and/or his immediate successors in the valley of the Spercheios river, in order to face the pressing food demands of Constantinople especially after the 640s, when the capital could no longer rely on large supplies of Egyptian wheat. It is, indeed, the primacy of Egypt as the main wheat supplier for Constantinople that explains the relative silence of the sources in what concerns the indisputable potential of Thessaly in the production and exportation of goods during Late Antiquity. It is worth noting that the references in Byzantine sources (Miracles of St. Demetrios, Michael Choniates) to the fertile land of Thessaly become far more numerous after 646 when Egypt was irrevocably lost to the Arabs.
The study of the economy of the region takes account of the local resources, such as agriculture and stock-raising with an emphasis on traditional Mediterranean products (wheat, olive oil, wine), as well as pisci- and apiculture, forestry and game, manufacturing installations (salt ponds, mosaic and glass production, quarries), and the amount and type of trade channelled through Thessaly’s two major ports on the Aegean Sea, Thebes and Demetrias. The limited written sources for the economy of late antique Thessaly are complemented by information that confirms Thessaly's potential in producing and exporting goods before and after Late Antiquity, a methodological approach well justified by the fact that the products and their cultivation and manufacturing methods remained virtually unchanged in the Mediterranean basin throughout the pre-industrial era. The emerging picture on the economy of late antique Thessaly is further illucidated by the archaeological remains of late antique manufacturing installations in the area (vol. 2: appendix 5) and the detection of identifiable products of certain or possible Thessalian origin outside the province’s borders, such as the renowned green Thessalian stone or verde antico (vol. 2: appendix 6 and tables 6-11) and the Late Roman Amphora 2 (vol. 2: appendix 7 and tables 12-26). This approach, together with the study of inscriptions and the identification of mints on the coins excavated in its two ports (vol. 2: appendix 3-4 and tables 2-5), reveal that Thessaly’s economic interests lay within the Eastern Mediterranean, while its main trading partners were located in the north and northeastern Aegean provinces.

El presente artículo pretende poner de manifiesto el papel decisivo que el cantero y arquitecto Melchor de Aguirre, junto con su taller, jugó en el cambio de modelo de los retablos y las portadas del Barroco tardío andaluz. Con esta premisa, se realiza un estudio que contrasta los hallazgos de trabajos precedentes, así como los resultados propios derivados de las investigaciones desarrolladas sobre este conspicuo alarife como autor del Oratorio de San Felipe Neri de Granada.
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This paper aims to highlight the decisive role played by the stonemason and architect Melchor de Aguirre, together with his worshop, in the change of model of altarpieces and façades during the late Baroque in Andalusia. With this premise, it’s done a study that contrasts the findings of previous works, as well as the own results derived from the investigations carried out on this eminent architect as author of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in Granada.

The recycling of stone has been a common practice since antiquity, yet the process is often regarded as a distinctly Late Antique phenomenon. The process of sculpting stone in the Classical World is traditionally viewed as a process which started in the quarry, where architectural blocks or statues were roughed-out for export, and ended in sculptors’ workshops or on-site. However, the use and acquisition of stone was more complex than the quarry to finished object model. Stone was obtainable from a variety of other sources: stone from cancelled commissions and demolition projects, architectural elements damaged during transit, or unfinished blocks, which developed faults upon further carving and were therefore unusable for their original use, could have acted as sources for stone. Previously cut stone could have been put to a variety of uses. It could have been used in its original form or re-carved into a similar or completely new object. In regard to the latter, surviving evidence indicates that Classical stone-carvers were proficient at transforming highly specific objects into quite different ones: columns were re-carved into statue bodies, entablature blocks reworked into sarcophagi, even statue fragments were re-cut into new objects. The cost and effort required to transport stone and the labour required to carve it, gave it a lasting value. This value made it unlikely that such a resource would have been discarded if it could have been usefully re-used, carved into something new (or even burned for lime). This poster draws on several examples of re-carving to examine the practice of transformative recycling. It will consider the variety of such practices, the types of sculpted objects that best lent themselves to re-use and what limitations the size of these objects had on their value in re-use. This poster concludes that the intrinsic value and availability of stone led Roman sculptors to utilise second-hand pieces for a variety of purposes quite different from their original function.

Questo articolo studia le caratteristiche petrografiche e culturali di sei marmi piemontesi [provenienti da Foresto, Pont Canavese, San Martino (TO), Frabosa Soprana, Paesana e Valdieri (CN)], e il calcare fossilifero proveniente da Gassino Torinese (TO), utilizzati a Torino durante la seconda metà del XVIII secolo, sia per le decorazioni architettoniche che per la scultura.
Attraverso l’analisi critica dei dati ricavati sia da fonti di archivio che da fonti analitiche, possiamo affermare che il marmo bianco di Pont Canavese (o “bianco di Pont”) è il più simile (da un punto di vista sia estetico che tecnico) al cosiddetto marmo “statuario” di Carrara. Infatti, il “bianco di Pont” è il più omogeneo tra i marmi bianchi piemontesi e quello che risponde meglio alle esigenze della scultura, anche se la sua bellezza è lontana da quella dello “statuario” di Carrara, a causa delle sue caratteristiche macroscopiche. Infine, si tratta del marmo più tipico del periodo: infatti nel corso dell’ultimo quarto del XVIII secolo è stato scoperto, ampiamente utilizzato e abbandonato (in seguito all’occupazione francese del Piemonte).














This article deals with the petrographical and cultural characteristics of six white Piedmontese marbles (coming from the towns of Foresto, Pont Canavese, San Martino in the province of Turin, and the towns of Frabosa Soprana, Paesana, and Valdieri in the province of Cuneo, and the fossiliferous limestone coming from Gassino Torinese in the province of Turin, that were used in Turin in the second half of the XVIII Century, both for architectural decoration and sculpture.
Through a critical analysis of data coming from both archival and analytical sources, we can say that the white marble from Pont Canavese (or “bianco di Pont”) is the most similar (from both an aesthetic and a technical point of view) to the so-called Carrara “statuario” marble. In fact, the “bianco di Pont” is the most homogeneous among Piedmontese white marbles and the one which best corresponds to a sculptor’s needs, even if its beauty is far from the beauty of Carrara “statuario”, due to its macroscopic characteristics. Finally, it is the most typical marble of the period: in fact it was discovered to be widely used and abandoned (after the French occupation of Piedmont ) all in the last quarter of the XVIII Century.

Les carrières de pierre antiques bénéficient depuis la fin des années 1980 d’un regain d’intérêt de la part de la communauté scientifique (J.-P. Adam, R. Bedon, J.-C. Bessac). On s’est pendant longtemps attaché à les analyser sous l’angle du droit romain, et parmi elles ce sont surtout les carrières les plus prestigieuses qui ont attiré l’attention (marbres de Chemtou, de Paros ou de Carrare). Grâce notamment à l’apport de la géologie au champ archéologique, il est dorénavant reconnu que des carrières plus modestes en nature de la pierre comme en volume d’extraction constituent elles aussi un pan essentiel de la réflexion portée sur l’anthropologie, l’histoire des techniques et l’économie antique. Toutefois encore faut-il identifier et localiser ces carrières, à défaut de préservations des vestiges qui restent des cas exceptionnels (carrière de Locuon, Morbihan). Reconnaître des carrières antiques peut s’avérer difficile, et ce particulièrement dans les régions où abondent les pierres de qualité. Les sources antiques n’aident guère le chercheur en ce sens; le mépris relatif des hommes de lettres romains pour les travailleurs manuels y est pour beaucoup (cf. Cicéron, De Officiis, LXII). Les textes de lois romaines, déjà fort usités par les chercheurs du siècle dernier, abordent la question des carrières essentiellement au travers de la propriété foncière et du droit pénal, et les mentions précises identifiant une carrière donnée sont rares. Toponymie et microtoponymie sont des outils que l’on manie toujours avec une précaution extrême: déformation de la langue et des sonorités, erreurs de la tradition orale. On constate cependant pour le cas bourguignon des correspondances significatives: dérivés de lapis retrouvés pour les carrières de Lavau (Yonne), de lauseria pour celles de Luzy (Nièvre), ou encore de quadraria pour Carisey ou Quarré-les-Tombes (Yonne). Enfin, la discipline archéologique constitue la source d’information la plus fiable, encore que le plus souvent la prospection ait du être motivée en amont par des données d’une autre nature.