| Egyptian Journal of Archeological and Restoration StudiesMARBLE ANALYSIS AND PROVENANCE STUDY OF OBJECTS FROM THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF THE DECAPOLIS CITY OF GERASA, JORDAN.
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/ejars.2025.471792
pages: 251-261
Al-Bashaireh, Kh. 1 , Lichtenberger, A. 2 & Raja, R. 3
1 Archaeology dept., Faculty of Archaeology & Anthropology, Yarmouk Uni., Irbid, Jordan
2 Institute for Classical Archaeology & Museum, Munster Univ., Germany
3 History & Classical Studies dept., School of Culture and Society Aarhus Univ., Denmark
Abstract:
This archaeometric study investigates the provenance of marble sculptures and architectural elements from the Northwest Quarter of Gerasa, Jordan, spanning the Roman and Byzantine periods. Fourteen samples were analyzed using macroscopic examination and various tech-niques, including optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectrometry. The results revealed that the coarse-grained dolomitic marble from Thassos-3 Island (Greece) was used for the Roman sculpture of Artemis of the Rospigliosi type, the pres-tigious fine-grained calcitic Docimian marble (Iscehisar, Turkey) was used for an arm fragment of a Roman statue, while Proconnesian-1 or Parian-2 (Lakkoi, Paros Island) marbles were iden-tified as probable sources for the molding of a wall revetment. Notably, the study revealed that Proconnesian-1 marble (Marmara, Turkey) is the most likely source for the medium- to coarse-grained marble used in eight architectural elements. However, the source of marble for the Byzantine sigma table fragment and the Corinthianizing pilaster capital remains uncertain. Despite the secondary use of these elements, the findings align with previous studies indicating that Proconnesian-1 marble was the primary imported marble source in the region, particularly in Gerasa and other Decapolis cities, during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The study also highlights the widespread use of Thassian-3, Docimian, and Parian marbles during the same period.
Keywords:
Provenance, Reused marble Gerasa Jordan Archaeometric analysis Thassian-3 marble Parian marble, Proconnesian-1 marble.
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