Download Pdf of Dissertation - Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M ...

These items from Punta Scifo A represent, currently, the only archaeological evidence of
paw-footed marble bases that may have been destined to comprise part of the furnishings
of a Roman building. The four “anchoring pegs,” small rectangular protrusions usually
located under the four corners to fix the object in the soil, are missing. 173 This evidence
further strengthens the likelihood that these basins were not made to be placed outdoors
in the open ground.
Statue Pedestals
The last class of large marble artifacts to be analyzed are the statue pedestals, all
of which appear to be Proconnesian in origin. Originally six in number at the time of
discovery, only five are extant in Croton and Corazzo. Table 17 provides the dimensions
of each pedestal, including the heights of STP 6 as recorded by P. Orsi. Its width and
length are tentatively reconstructed based on a similarity in height with STP 1.
Table 17. Dimensions, in meters and Roman feet, of the statue pedestals from the Punta
Scifo A wreck site. Figures in italics are tentative.
Statue Pedestal #
Height
(m)
Height
(R.ft)
Width
base
(m)
Width
base
(R. ft)
Length
base
(m)
STP 1 1.550 5 ¼ 0.775 2 ½ 0.860 3
Length base
(R. ft)
STP 2 1.300 4 ½ 0.821 2 ¾ 0.735 2 ½
STP 3 1.420 4 ¾ 0.740 2 ½ 0.860 3
STP 4 1.460 5 0.820 2 ¾ 0.870 3
STP 5 1.30 4 ½ 0.68 2 ¼ 0.73 2 ½
STP 6 1.55 5 ¼ 0.775 2 ½ 0.860 3
173 Slavazzi 2007, personal communication. For pictures of pedestals with “anchoring feet” under their
bases see Slavazzi 2001 93-111, and Slavazzi 2005, 169-77.
123