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uilding project, lead me to propose that the shipment may have been destined for the
Baths of Caracalla in Rome, or a similar complex.
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The marble cargo of the Punta Scifo A shipwreck was assembled in a well-planned
and organized manner. Based on research undertaken on original archival documents as
well as on items still visible in Croton and Corazzo, it has been possible to demonstrate
that 16 column shafts were carried on board. All of these had lengths in even multiples of
Roman feet. The fact that odd numbers are missing and that the column shafts appear to
increase in length according to a predefined set of dimensions suggests a certain degree of
standardization in production. Architects and quarry-workers, separated by thousands of
kilometers, operated according to a simple,
well-organized, and schematic plan that minimized dimensional misunderstandings
through standardization of measurements. It is possible that these 16 column shafts may
have been destined to adorn a two-level façade for a building similar to the Basilica in the
Forum of Pompeii. A remarkable degree of standardization is also present in the 13 basins
found on board, 12 of which can be classified into two groups of 3 ½ and 7 Roman feet in
diameter. They may have been supported by the 15 pedestals decorated with lions’ paws.
One basin and one pedestal were completely finished, probably intended to serve as models
for the sculptors at their ultimate destination; the quarry-coat left on the edges of the
unfinished artifacts helped to protect them during transport.
Based on similarities with wooden and ivory furniture from villas at Pompeii and
Herculaneum, it seems likely that both the basins and the pedestals decorated with lions’
paws were meant to decorate the inner rooms of a contemporaneous Roman building. The