Provenance Investigation of Three Marble Relief Sculptures from Ancient Corinth: New Evidence for the Circulation of the White Marble from Mani

Three unique marble relief sculptures of the Roman period from Ancient Corinth were studied using a variety of non-invasive and minimal invasive techniques. The sculptures are of similar size, relief technique, and distinguished material compared to all other sculptures in Corinth. Thus, apart from the interest in identifying the origin of this distinct marble the question of whether they could belong to the same original monument is raised. To tackle this question, we used: (a) optical examination of the whole objects in-situ under transmitted light from a standard lumen source and using portable digital microscopes, (b) stable isotopes delta C-13 and delta O-18 (IRMS), (c) electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and (d) selective thin-section examination. The results indicated that all three reliefs are made of the same marble. Moreover, their identical isotopic signature signifies that they could even belong to the same block of marble that was used for building the monument. As for the provenance of the marble, detailed treatment of the results concluded that the most likely origin must be the white marble quarries of the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnese. This find provides new evidence for the circulation of white Mani marble in Roman times.

Automated summary

This study examined three unique marble relief sculptures from Ancient Corinth using various techniques, finding that they are likely made from the same marble and most likely originated from the white marble quarries of the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnese.