“Construire la ville, histoire urbaine de la pierre à bâtir, sous la direction de Jacqueline Lorenz, François Blary et Jean-Pierre Gély, Editions du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, CTHS Sciences 14, Paris 2014”

Résumé
Les villes antiques témoignent d’une richesse édilitaire sans précédent. Malgré de nombreux monuments encore en élévation, rares sont ceux dont les placages de marbres sont encore visible in situ. A contrario, les églises de Sainte-Sophie et du Saint-Sauveur à Constantinople témoignent d’un goût affirmé des Byzantins pour les décorations architecturales en pierres marbrières, que l’on peut encore observer aujourd’hui. Cette continuité de l’intérêt pour décorer les monuments entre les périodes antique et médiévale a souvent été mentionnée. Cependant, une rupture nette entre les deux empires doit être soulignée. Elle se traduit par la disparition de certaines roches décoratives, au profit de nouvelles.
L’étude de quelques cités doit être l’occasion de mettre en avant cette rupture. L’utilisation du « grand antique des Pyrénées » au sein de ces deux monuments constantinopolitains est en cela exemplaire.

“Decorative stones in monuments of ancient cities and Constantinople”

Abstract
Ancient cities show an unprecedented wealth of monuments. While many monuments still remain standing, few have their marble decorations in situ. In contrast, the churches of St. Sophia and St. Savior in Constantinople show the Byzantines’ strong taste for architectural decorations in decorative stones, which can be seen today. The continuity of this interest to decorate monuments between antiquity and the medieval period has often been observed. However, a clear break between the two empires should be underlined. It results in the loss of certain decorative rocks, in favor of new ones.
The study of some cities offers an opportunity to highlight this break. The use of the so-called “grand antique marble of the Pyrénées” in these two churches in Constantinople can be taken as an example.

• B.BASILE, L.LAZZARINI, The archaeometric identification of the Marbles of the Greek statuary and architectural elements of the Paolo Orsi Museum in Syracuse
• C.G.MALACRINO, Architettura ionica nell’antica Kaulon. Alcune riflessioni sulle colonne e i blocchi lapidei rinvenuti a Capo Cocinto (Monasterace Marina, RC)
• K.GALOR, A Marble fragment with menorah from the Jewish Museum of New York
• J.A.DOMINGO, El coste del marmol. Problemas e incertitumbres de una metodologia de calculo
• M.RUGIADI,L.LAZZARINI, Marble sources and artifacts from Ghazni(Afghanista) and their archaeometric characterization
• A.BARTELLETTI, A.AMORFINI, E.CANTISANI, F.FRATINI, The Late Medieval Marble inlays of the floor of the San Martino Cathedral in Lucca (Italy)

S.MEDAS, Due relitti con carichi lapidei rinvenuti al Bacàn (Bocca di Porto di Lido, laguna di Venezia)
R.BUGINI, L:FOLLI, Three important stones of Italian Baroque and Rococo architecture: Macchiavecchia, Broccatello, and Rosso di Arzo (Ticino, Switzerland)
P.NOVARA, Appunti su una lastra marmorea frammentaria proveniente da Sant’Apollinare Nuovo di Ravenna

Reviews:
D.Craig Patch, Dawn of Egyptian Art (F.Carò)
A.Gutierrez Garcia, P.Lapuente Mercadal, I.Rodà de Llanza, Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, Proceedings of the IX ASMOSIA Conference (L:Lazzarini)
D.Del Bufalo, Porphyry. Red Imperial Porphyry, power and religion (L.Lazzarini)
E.Vio (ed.), Il manto di Pietra della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia. Storia, restauri, geometrie del pavimento (C.G.Malacrino)
M.Spanu, Diokaisareia in Kilikien, Ergebnisse des Survays 2001-2006, 2, The theatre of Diokaisareia (C.G.Malacrino).

White marble sculptures from the National Museum of Roman Art (Mérida, Spain): sources of local and imported marbles. Eur J Mineral, 26, 2, 333-354. doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2014/0026-2369

ABSTRACT
This contribution reports the results of the archaeometric study of 51 marble sculptures and decorative elements from the capital of Roman Lusitania, Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain). These artefacts found on display at the Spanish National Museum of Roman Art comprise a representative record of archaeological pieces from different decorative programmes dated from the end of the 1st century BC to the end of the 2nd century AD.

A multi-method approach combining polarized-light microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray powder diffraction, and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to identify the marble provenance. The comparison of the results with the available databases confirms the use of different white marble varieties from the Estremoz Anticline (Portugal) as well as some Carrara and well-known marbles from Greece and Turkey. Another outcome of the study is the highlight of the most relevant parameters that serve to discriminate Estremoz Anticline marbles from other Iberian and classical marbles. In particular, the study is completed with a revision of the best parameters that may facilitate the Estremoz Anticline and Almadén de la Plata marble discrimination and an updated isotopic diagram for both white marble sources.

“Bars with marble surfaces at Pompeii: evidence for sub-elite marble use,” Fasti Online Documents & Research 

http://www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2009-159.pdf