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

Empire’s most prominent cities. This marble had to be imported from remote locations,
and “the improbably economic phenomenon” 225 of a trade in stone did take place.
141
In order to better understand the shipwreck under consideration here it is necessary
to gain a broader perspective of the entire system at work. In the first century B.C. Cicero
was already proud of it, and improvements would continue during the two centuries that
followed. This chapter provides a brief summary of the introduction of this building
material in Rome at the end of the Republic, its widespread use under the Empire, and will
review in detail what is known regarding the production of the Proconnesian, Docimian,
and Carystian quarries –all marble types carried by the five ships that sank to the south of
Croton. 226
A Historical Outline of Marble Imports to Rome
The Early, Controversial Adoption of Marble during the Republic
Once Rome conquered the East in the second century B.C., the Roman ruling class
became the natural successors of the Hellenistic monarchs, and they began adopting the
former dynasts’ court rituals and symbols of power. The battle of Magnesia ad Sypilum
(189 B.C.) is traditionally considered a crucial landmark between Roman involvement in
eastern affairs and the real conquest. Pliny saw this event as a cultural watershed: after the
225 As J. C. Fant writes (1993, 71), “stone is heavy, dense and expensive to transport. In the ancient world
people looked for building stone close at hand, and stone from local quarries was rarely carried very far from
its source.” The Romans were able to overcome the limits imposed by the cost of transportation, making
marble available on a large scale.
226 The Punta Scifo A shipwreck was carrying pavonazzetto and Proconnesian marble; the Capo Cimiti
merchantman five cipollino column shafts. The other three cargoes have not been analyzed yet.