Papers by Marie-Claire Savin
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 20, 2022
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), May 5, 2022
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 19, 2022
Materials
The study of the provenance of dolomitic marble artefacts has become relevant since it was discov... more The study of the provenance of dolomitic marble artefacts has become relevant since it was discovered that quarries of this marble other than that of Cape-Vathy located on the island of Thasos have been exploited since Antiquity. To improve our knowledge about the provenance of materials and the extent of their dispersion, multiple archaeometric studies were performed in the past including isotope analyses, petrography, cathodoluminescence, and elemental analyses. In the present work, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been added to this panel of techniques. NMR allows the characterization of the material at a molecular level by looking at different nuclei: carbon, magnesium, and calcium. Statistical analysis of the data collected on both quarry samples and archaeologic items was also implemented and clearly demonstrates the efficiency of a holistic approach for provenance elucidation. Finally, the first 25Mg NMR tests have shown the potential of this tech...
Lucentum
Dentro de la investigación que se está llevando a cabo para identificar y caracterizar el mármol ... more Dentro de la investigación que se está llevando a cabo para identificar y caracterizar el mármol empleado en Galicia desde la Antigüedad, en este trabajo se presenta por primera vez un inventario de los capiteles marmóreos tardorromanos y altomedievales localizados en el ámbito del actual territorio gallego, incluyendo un importante número de piezas inéditas que amplían significativamente el número de ejemplares conocidos hasta el momento.En efecto, a pesar del interés y la calidad de estas piezas, hasta el momento no se había realizado ninguna revisión de conjunto sobre los capiteles marmóreos gallegos a pesar de la singularidad que representan dentro del panorama eminentemente granítico que identifica este territorio. Aunque la mayor parte de estos ejemplares aparecen descontextualizados o en posición secundaria, entendemos que existen elementos coincidentes que evidencian el interés mostrado desde la Antigüedad por obtener y utilizar el mármol en diferentes construcciones, realid...
Archivo Español de Arqueología
Se presenta una revisión analítica de las dos placas marmóreas localizadas en la parroquia de Car... more Se presenta una revisión analítica de las dos placas marmóreas localizadas en la parroquia de Carcacía (Padrón), expuestas en el Museo de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. En función del análisis arqueométrico realizado dentro del proyecto “Marmora Galicia”, frente a la consideración generalizada de que se trataba de piezas realizadas en mármol local, éste se ha podido caracterizar como procedente de las canteras de Trigaches-São Brissos, en la provincia romana de Lusitania. Esa y otras consideraciones llevan a cuestionarse el momento de importación de estas piezas al noroeste, así como el sentido y la función que podrían haber cumplido estas piezas en su lugar de destino.
Estudos do Quaternário / Quaternary Studies, 2020
Resumen: La epigrafía en Galicia es abundante y conocida, pero la aplicación de estudios interdis... more Resumen: La epigrafía en Galicia es abundante y conocida, pero la aplicación de estudios interdisciplinares y nuevas metodologías analíticas puede proporcionar una rica información que matice e incremente la información presente en estas piezas. El caso de la placa funeraria de mármol localizada en Cela (Mos, Pontevedra) es un excepcional ejemplo de las múltiples posibilidades que tiene el estudio arqueométrico del soporte. Así, la identificación del material empleado como mármol procedente del Anticlinal de Estremoz (Portugal) y la reinterpretación epigráfica realizada, introducen nuevos elementos para la lectura histórica-arqueológica de esta pieza y consecuentemente de su significado en el contexto de la arqueología romana en el NW Peninsular. Palabras claves: Mármol del Anticlinal de Estremoz, epigrafía funeraria romana, importación, reuso, Gallaecia. : Epigraphic and archaeometric study of the Roman funerary plaque of Cela (Mos, Pontevedra): new approach to its interpretationGa...
El tema de la extracción de mármol ha recibido poca atención por parte de los investigadores en G... more El tema de la extracción de mármol ha recibido poca atención por parte de los investigadores en Galicia, a pesar de la importancia patrimonial de algunas piezas romanas y medievales fabricadas con este material. El presente estudio intenta compensar esta deficiencia combinando prospección e inventario de canteras de esta zona geográfica. Además, se ha llevado a cabo el análisis de un conjunto de piezas arqueológicas de diversos tipos (inscripciones, capiteles, fustes de columnas, sarcófagos, etc.), algunas de las cuales proceden de edificios emblemáticos como Santa Eulalia de Bóveda, Santa Comba de Bande o la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. Si bien se ha prestado especial atención a la información de diversa naturaleza que pueda arrojar luz sobre la explotación y el uso de este material, el estudio se basa sobre todo en un análisis geológico del problema. Se ha aplicado el método secuencial que combina el examen petrográfico, la imagen MOP-CL y las relaciones isotópicas estables...
Archivo Español de Arqueología, 2022
Se presenta una revisión analítica de las dos placas marmóreas localizadas en la parroquia de Car... more Se presenta una revisión analítica de las dos placas marmóreas localizadas en la parroquia de Carcacía (Padrón), expuestas en el Museo de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. En función del análisis arqueométrico realizado dentro del proyecto “Marmora Galicia”, frente a la consideración generalizada de que se trataba de piezas realizadas en mármol local, éste se ha podido caracterizar como procedente de las canteras de Trigaches-São Brissos, en la provincia romana de Lusitania. Esa y otras consideraciones llevan a cuestionarse el momento de importación de estas piezas al noroeste, así como el sentido y la función que podrían haber cumplido estas piezas en su lugar de destino.
Aquitania : une revue inter-régionale d'archéologie, 2020
As a fundamental question in the study of stone resources, the provenance of geological materials... more As a fundamental question in the study of stone resources, the provenance of geological materials makes it possible to trace back the trade network. However, in Gaul, the abundance and diversity of ornamental rock revealed by archaeology still contrasts starkly with what we know about the quarrying of those resources in the territory.Without speaking of the problems of characterizing and discriminating between the various outcrops of similar rocks, it is obvious that exhaustive knowledge of all potential sources for each category of material is an essential prerequisite but one that is difficult to achieve. By definition, everything that has been taken from quarries over the centuries is no longer there… and certain high quality beds may have been completely worked out. So any provenance study, however sophisticated, remains hypothetical and former attributions must be revised regularly in the light of advances in research.
These limitations are well recognized for white marbles that for years have catalysed efforts in cataloguing potential
quarries and analyses. However, coloured ornamental rocks, including those considered visually the most unusual, may also raise similar problems. This is the case with africano. Africano generally refers to a carbonated breccia, combining white, pink, red, or grey clasts, set in a dark black, green, or brown cement. The name comes from the nomenclature established in the modern period by Roman stoneworkers. The most famous examples of its use are to be found in a number of buildings in Rome, such as the temple of Apollo Sosianus, the neighbouring theatre of Marcellus, or the basilica Æmilia. Among ornamental rocks, africano is reputed for being a very unusual breccia that could not have been extracted from several sources. This view is confirmed in part by the description of Pliny who is surprised at the success of this very distinctive stone, but also by the writings of modern collectors like H. Pullen who sets this breccia apart from others.
For centuries the exact provenance of this very peculiar stone has remained unknown. It was only in the late 1960s that the quarry of Karagöl, near Teos in Turkey, was identified. Alongside this, the equivalence between africano and the marmor luculleum cited by Pliny gradually imposed itself. Ever since, there has been a broad consensus in historiography to systematically associate this material with the Turkish quarry of Teos and with the ancient marmor luculleum when fragments of this type of rock are found in archaeological assemblages. But is this always so? The aim of this paper is to define the potential for use in ancient times of a Pyrenean outcrop cited by several nineteenth-century authors and completely ignored by the scientific community. This outcrop is located at Bize, a village in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the HautesPyrénées department some ten kilometres or so north-west of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the ancient Lugdunum Convenae, about 13 km north of the major marble zone of Saint-Béat. Beyond the observation of the visual kinship with products found in Gaul, the paper seeks to trigger thinking about the validity of this enquiry but it is also an opportunity for a rapid review of our knowledge about africano. While africano is reputed for its unusual character, close examination of the reference samples available to archaeologists reveals that this type of rock is not, despite its reputation, always easy to identify. Moreover the equation africano = luculleum = Teos, which is often taken up in the literature as a sound scientific fact, is less certain upon closer scrutiny, especially because of the recent discovery of new quarries producing this type of material in Turkey. Having clarified this, we set out a first survey of evidence of its use in Gaul and in the neighbouring regions. The map produced shows a more even distribution on the scale of these territories and that is no longer centred on the Mediterranean rim, and overlying in part the distribution of a well-known Pyrenean material, Lez breccia. The remainder of the article presents points relating to the quarry at Bize: the geographical and general archaeological context of the sector, which is particularly conducive to its exploitation; access to it; the visual appearance of the available rocks and their comparison with a fragment of veneer from the Gallo-Roman sanctuary of Eysses, at Villeneuve-sur-Lot. After this preliminary examination, there is no clear evidence the quarry was used in Roman times. Nonetheless, several factors, such as the quarry’s location in a major marble-producing sector, or the presence of africano attested quite evenly in Gaul and northern Spain, invite caution. They show that this hypothesis should be checked out in detail, because it might potentially call into question a large number of attributions.
International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2019
STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research, 2019
ArchéoSciences, 2016
In spite of the great leap forward experienced in our understanding of the use of marble and othe... more In spite of the great leap forward experienced in our understanding of the use of marble and other ornamental stones in Roman Spain, provenance studies are still quite uncommon in some territories of the Iberian Peninsula. This was the case of the northwesternmost part (modern Galicia), where no significant work had been done until now. Within the framework of an interdisciplinary study, a significant number of objects studied did not match with the main well-known Classical marbles but seemed to have been produced with a local stone known as O Incio marble, which had never been yet archaeometrically analysed. Therefore, the quarries near the small village of O Incio were located and sampled, and a multi-method approach combining polarized-light microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray powder diffraction and stable C and O isotope analysis as well as spectrophotometry was applied to characterize the different outcropping marble varieties as the first and basic step to correctly differentiate them from other Iberian and foreign marbles with similar macroscopic features. Résumé : De grandes avancées ont été réalisées récemment concernant l'emploi des marbres et des autres roches ornementales dans l'Espagne romaine. Cependant, certains territoires de la péninsule Ibérique ne font l'objet que de rares études de provenance. Ceci était le cas du nord-ouest (actuelle Galice), où aucun travail n'avait été mené jusqu'à présent. Dans le cadre d'une étude interdisciplinaire, un nombre important d'objets ne correspondaient pas avec les principaux marbres classiques, mais semblaient avoir été mis en oeuvre à partir d'un matériau local connu sous le nom de marbre d'O Incio qui n'avait jamais été objet d'une caractérisation archéométrique. Par conséquent, les carrières avoisinant le petit village d'O Incio ont été localisées et échantillonnées, et une approche multi-méthode combinant analyse pétrographique, cathodoluminescence, diffraction de rayons X, analyse des isotopes stables de C et O et spectrophotométrie a été appliquée afin de caractériser les différentes variétés de marbre. Cela constitue la première étape fondamentale pour les différencier d'autres marbres ibériques et étrangers macroscopiquement similaires.
PATRIMONIO Revista de patrimonio y turismo cultural n°65, 2018
Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone ASMOSIA XI FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND GEODESY Arts academy in Split ARTS ACADEMY IN SPLIT, 2018
Saint-Béat marble (Central French Pyrenees) is considered one of the most famous Roman Gaul marbl... more Saint-Béat marble (Central French Pyrenees) is considered one of the most famous Roman Gaul marbles by archaeomaterials researchers. White, grey and banded greyish varieties were exploited during Roman times, to be used mainly in sculpture (including sarcophagi), decorative architecture and epigraphy, primarily in Southern Gaul, but they were also distributed beyond the Hispanic border. A multi-method approach combining petrography, spectrophotometry, cathodoluminescence with EDX spectroscopy and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to a new collection of samples from quarries along both banks of the Garonne River, next to Saint-Béat village. This work aims to highlight the most useful parameters to discriminate one of the Saint-Béat marble varieties (the coarse-grained white), from other Classical and Hispanic marbles of similar features. This updated characterisation has been successfully checked with Roman artefacts from different archaeological sites of the Hispania Tarra...
Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone ASMOSIA XI FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND GEODESY Arts academy in Split ARTS ACADEMY IN SPLIT, 2018
This contribution addresses the characterization study of grey and greyish banded marbles from th... more This contribution addresses the characterization study of grey and greyish banded marbles from the Estremoz Anticline (EA) marble district in Portugal. During Roman times, the whole of Lusitania, including its capital Augusta Emerita, was supplied with white and coloured marbles from this district. Grey varieties were used mainly in architectural and epigraphic elements, funerary stelae and arae. The interest in the EA marbles focuses here on the grey types as they could have been used for trading beyond their provincial administrative domains, as was the case with the white marbles, in competition with other Iberian and classical materials, creating an increasing need to know how to identify them. A multi-method approach combining visual examination, spectrophotometry to quantify the greyscale tones, optical microscopy (OM), cathodoluminescence (CL) and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to 25 quarry samples, which were collected from the south-eastern part of the EA struc...
Archaeometry, 2019
Identifying the origin of marble used in antiquity brings back to light details of the economic, ... more Identifying the origin of marble used in antiquity brings back to light details of the economic, social and political organization of classical societies, and characterizing in depth the chemistry of marble is key to discovering its provenance. Beyond X-ray diffraction, which could reveal the presence of discriminant secondary crystalline phases and the quantification of accessory minerals combined with a multivariate analysis approach, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) enables one to recognize the local structure arrangement of both crystalline and amorphous materials by looking at one or more selected atoms. In present paper targets the 13 C nuclide, and thus the major component of marble, calcium carbonate. Whatever their geological origin, marbles 13 C-NMR spectra present only one resonance corresponding to the carboxyl function whose intensity and line width vary from one marble to another. If the variation of the NMR signal intensity observed is the result of great ...
International Journal or Architectural Heritage, 2019
Probably the most important Romanesque artwork in Spain, the Portal of Glory of Santiago de Compo... more Probably the most important Romanesque artwork in Spain, the Portal of Glory of Santiago de Compostela is essentially made in granite, the most abundant stone in the NW of Iberia, with the only exception of five marble pieces. Different hypothesis on the origin of these marbles have previously been proposed based on visual assessment or by directly assuming a local source. To shed light on their quarry provenance, a multi-analytical study was performed combining polarized-light optical microscopy, cathodoluminescence microscopy, XRPD, SEM-EDS and stable C and O isotopes. The comparison of the results with the available databases reveals the use of marbles from the Estremoz Anticline (Portugal) in the three exquisitely carved columns strategically placed in the central arcade, whereas the other two pieces are local marbles, illustrating a more complex consumption of this noble material than that initially expected.
Los primeros resultados demuestran la presencia, junto con un significativo número de material ma... more Los primeros resultados demuestran la presencia, junto con un significativo número de material marmóreo importado, del mármol autóctono de O Incio (provincia de Lugo). Aunque bien conocido en la region, este marmol no había sido objeto de un estudio arqueométrico hasta la fecha.
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Papers by Marie-Claire Savin
These limitations are well recognized for white marbles that for years have catalysed efforts in cataloguing potential
quarries and analyses. However, coloured ornamental rocks, including those considered visually the most unusual, may also raise similar problems. This is the case with africano. Africano generally refers to a carbonated breccia, combining white, pink, red, or grey clasts, set in a dark black, green, or brown cement. The name comes from the nomenclature established in the modern period by Roman stoneworkers. The most famous examples of its use are to be found in a number of buildings in Rome, such as the temple of Apollo Sosianus, the neighbouring theatre of Marcellus, or the basilica Æmilia. Among ornamental rocks, africano is reputed for being a very unusual breccia that could not have been extracted from several sources. This view is confirmed in part by the description of Pliny who is surprised at the success of this very distinctive stone, but also by the writings of modern collectors like H. Pullen who sets this breccia apart from others.
For centuries the exact provenance of this very peculiar stone has remained unknown. It was only in the late 1960s that the quarry of Karagöl, near Teos in Turkey, was identified. Alongside this, the equivalence between africano and the marmor luculleum cited by Pliny gradually imposed itself. Ever since, there has been a broad consensus in historiography to systematically associate this material with the Turkish quarry of Teos and with the ancient marmor luculleum when fragments of this type of rock are found in archaeological assemblages. But is this always so? The aim of this paper is to define the potential for use in ancient times of a Pyrenean outcrop cited by several nineteenth-century authors and completely ignored by the scientific community. This outcrop is located at Bize, a village in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the HautesPyrénées department some ten kilometres or so north-west of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the ancient Lugdunum Convenae, about 13 km north of the major marble zone of Saint-Béat. Beyond the observation of the visual kinship with products found in Gaul, the paper seeks to trigger thinking about the validity of this enquiry but it is also an opportunity for a rapid review of our knowledge about africano. While africano is reputed for its unusual character, close examination of the reference samples available to archaeologists reveals that this type of rock is not, despite its reputation, always easy to identify. Moreover the equation africano = luculleum = Teos, which is often taken up in the literature as a sound scientific fact, is less certain upon closer scrutiny, especially because of the recent discovery of new quarries producing this type of material in Turkey. Having clarified this, we set out a first survey of evidence of its use in Gaul and in the neighbouring regions. The map produced shows a more even distribution on the scale of these territories and that is no longer centred on the Mediterranean rim, and overlying in part the distribution of a well-known Pyrenean material, Lez breccia. The remainder of the article presents points relating to the quarry at Bize: the geographical and general archaeological context of the sector, which is particularly conducive to its exploitation; access to it; the visual appearance of the available rocks and their comparison with a fragment of veneer from the Gallo-Roman sanctuary of Eysses, at Villeneuve-sur-Lot. After this preliminary examination, there is no clear evidence the quarry was used in Roman times. Nonetheless, several factors, such as the quarry’s location in a major marble-producing sector, or the presence of africano attested quite evenly in Gaul and northern Spain, invite caution. They show that this hypothesis should be checked out in detail, because it might potentially call into question a large number of attributions.
These limitations are well recognized for white marbles that for years have catalysed efforts in cataloguing potential
quarries and analyses. However, coloured ornamental rocks, including those considered visually the most unusual, may also raise similar problems. This is the case with africano. Africano generally refers to a carbonated breccia, combining white, pink, red, or grey clasts, set in a dark black, green, or brown cement. The name comes from the nomenclature established in the modern period by Roman stoneworkers. The most famous examples of its use are to be found in a number of buildings in Rome, such as the temple of Apollo Sosianus, the neighbouring theatre of Marcellus, or the basilica Æmilia. Among ornamental rocks, africano is reputed for being a very unusual breccia that could not have been extracted from several sources. This view is confirmed in part by the description of Pliny who is surprised at the success of this very distinctive stone, but also by the writings of modern collectors like H. Pullen who sets this breccia apart from others.
For centuries the exact provenance of this very peculiar stone has remained unknown. It was only in the late 1960s that the quarry of Karagöl, near Teos in Turkey, was identified. Alongside this, the equivalence between africano and the marmor luculleum cited by Pliny gradually imposed itself. Ever since, there has been a broad consensus in historiography to systematically associate this material with the Turkish quarry of Teos and with the ancient marmor luculleum when fragments of this type of rock are found in archaeological assemblages. But is this always so? The aim of this paper is to define the potential for use in ancient times of a Pyrenean outcrop cited by several nineteenth-century authors and completely ignored by the scientific community. This outcrop is located at Bize, a village in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the HautesPyrénées department some ten kilometres or so north-west of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the ancient Lugdunum Convenae, about 13 km north of the major marble zone of Saint-Béat. Beyond the observation of the visual kinship with products found in Gaul, the paper seeks to trigger thinking about the validity of this enquiry but it is also an opportunity for a rapid review of our knowledge about africano. While africano is reputed for its unusual character, close examination of the reference samples available to archaeologists reveals that this type of rock is not, despite its reputation, always easy to identify. Moreover the equation africano = luculleum = Teos, which is often taken up in the literature as a sound scientific fact, is less certain upon closer scrutiny, especially because of the recent discovery of new quarries producing this type of material in Turkey. Having clarified this, we set out a first survey of evidence of its use in Gaul and in the neighbouring regions. The map produced shows a more even distribution on the scale of these territories and that is no longer centred on the Mediterranean rim, and overlying in part the distribution of a well-known Pyrenean material, Lez breccia. The remainder of the article presents points relating to the quarry at Bize: the geographical and general archaeological context of the sector, which is particularly conducive to its exploitation; access to it; the visual appearance of the available rocks and their comparison with a fragment of veneer from the Gallo-Roman sanctuary of Eysses, at Villeneuve-sur-Lot. After this preliminary examination, there is no clear evidence the quarry was used in Roman times. Nonetheless, several factors, such as the quarry’s location in a major marble-producing sector, or the presence of africano attested quite evenly in Gaul and northern Spain, invite caution. They show that this hypothesis should be checked out in detail, because it might potentially call into question a large number of attributions.
En la presente comunicación expondremos los resultados de la caracterización multi-método y jerarquizada (“paso a paso”) del mármol de estas canteras, combinando las aportaciones de los métodos ya clásicos en este tipo de trabajos (estudio petrográfico, catodoluminiscencia, SEM-EDS, espectrometría de masas de los isótopos estables del carbono y del oxígeno, difracción de rayos X) con técnicas poco empleadas (colorimetría, ICP-AOS, tratamiento de imágenes petrográficas).
En la presente comunicación expondremos los resultados de la caracterización multi-método y jerarquizada (“paso a paso”) del mármol de estas canteras, combinando las aportaciones de los métodos ya clásicos en este tipo de trabajos (estudio petrográfico, catodoluminiscencia, SEM-EDS, espectrometría de masas de los isótopos estables del carbono y del oxígeno, difracción de rayos X) con técnicas poco empleadas (colorimetría, ICP-AOS, tratamiento de imágenes petrográficas).
El presente estudio da a conocer los resultados de los análisis -no invasivos- de colorimetría y espectroscopia de reflectancia visible, llevados a cabo por primera vez a cinco ejemplos de escultura románica en mármol del Museo Arqueológico Nacional de procedencia gallega y leonesa. En concreto se han analizado dos columnas de San Paio de Antealtares (Santiago de Compostela), un parteluz de Vigo, y dos ejemplos procedentes del monasterio de San Benito de Sahagún (León).
ABSTRACT
The present study reveals the results of the non-invasive analysis of colorimetry and visible reflectance spectroscopy, carried out for the first time to five examples of Spanish Romanesque marble sculpture from the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid, Spain) of Galician and Leonese origin. Specifically, two columns of San Paio de Antealtares (Santiago de Compostela), a mullion from Vigo, and two examples from the monastery of San Benito de Sahagún (León) have been analyzed.
The poster presents new data emerging from the survey of the lithic decoration of Roman buildings in the Hispanic province. Such data is further contextualized within the wider uses of greco scritto marble types in contemporary contexts in Roman Italy. Moreover, the results of the analyses carried out by the Unitat d'Estudis Arqueomètrics laboratory at ICAC on the samples from the Els Munts and the Augusteum and Baths of Cartagena bath complex will be presented. Such results integrate currenty studies on the greco scritto of non-Algerian origins used in Roman contexts in and outside Italy.