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Suetonius, it was Tiberius who “took away from many cities and private citizens ancient
tax exemptions and the rights to exploit mines and quarries and to collect land rents.” 246 It
seems possible that, following a trend initiated by Augustus and Agrippa, Tiberius
148
continued working towards the creation of a centralized internal imperial system to control
quarry production across the Empire.
Under Claudius (A.D. 41-54) the exploitation of a large portion of the Egyptian
quarries began: the “Mons Claudianus,” a name given to the production center of granite in
Gebel Fatireh, seems to reflect the direct involvement of Rome’s fourth emperor in its
reorganization process. 247 Nero (A.D. 54-68) used green porphyry from the Peloponnese in
his Domus Transitoria and villa at Sublacquea, and Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) had the
Templum Pacis built with red granite from Aswan. 248
The fact that no large eastern marble blocks or semi-worked column shafts have
been found at either Pompeii or Herculaneum, suggests that until A.D. 79 the flow of fine
marbles from Greece, Africa, and Asia Minor was directed mostly towards Rome. 249 J. B.
Ward-Perkins noticed at Pompeii a large variety of fine imported marbles, but these are
laid in floors, or cut in thin, little slabs. The only marble used for door sills and other large
architectural elements at Pompeii and Herculaneum came from Luna in Tuscany. 250
Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. Romans
were rebuilding their city as the new capital of the Mediterranean. This face-lift required
246 Suet. Tib. 49.2.
247 Pensabene 1982, 22.
248 Dodge 1991, 35, n. 64-5.
249 Fant 1990, 95.
250 Ward-Perkins 1951, 98.