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Naves Lapidariae in the Mediterranean: Statistical Considerations
Even with the aforementioned limitations, a statistical approach to the data in
Tables 19-20 yields interesting results. First of all, from an analysis of the relationship
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between the specific quarries of shipwrecked marble cargoes and the countries where those
shipwrecks are found, a clear pattern emerges. While most of the identifiable marble was
extracted in Asia Minor (39%) and Greece (33%), the marble cargoes discovered in Italy,
France, and Croatia represent 73% of the total number of shipwrecked stone carriers. There
is a clear pattern of stone leaving the East and arriving in the West in massive quantities.
No western marble carriers carrying, for instance, Luna marble blocks have ever been
discovered in eastern waters. Therefore, the marble shipwrecks from Croton seem to
illustrate a trend in which the East (mostly Turkey and Greece) was supplying the West
with high-quality stone. Italy, with 58% of the total shipments, seems to have attracted
most of the eastern marble exports, followed by France (12%) and Croatia (3%).
Table 19. Percentages of known quarries of the 18 shipwrecked marble cargoes for which
the specific origin of the stone is certain.
Provenience
Quarry
Shipwrecks
#
Percentage
%
Asia Minor 7 39%
Greece 6 33%
Italy 3 17%
North Africa 2 11%
Total 18 100%