Classical Studies Home			Abstract of a paper presented by Scott Pike at the conference The Parthenon and its Sculptures in the 21st century: The Current State and Future Directions of Research at the Center for International Studies, University of Missouri, St. Louis, April 26-28, 2002: Intra-Quarry Sourcing of the Parthenon Marbles: Applications of the Pentelic Marble Stable Isotope Database Scott Pike Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, VA 24501   Mount Pentelikon in northern Attica, Greece is known to have produced the white marbles used exclusively for the construction of the Parthenon and its accompanying sculptural components. The Pentelic quarries were first opened on a large scale for the construction of the earlier Parthenon in c. 490 BC and were extensively utilized in Attic architecture and sculpture. The Romans also held the fine-to-medium grained white marble in high regard and exported it throughout their empire. A topographic survey of the quarry region indicates over 160 discernible quarry pits. In an effort to interpret ancient quarry management and commerce, a systematic geologic and geochemical characterization study of the Mount Pentelikon marble quarries was undertaken. The project produced a stable isotope database that is able to distinguish between distinct geologic units within the ancient quarry area. In the first application of the database, published stable isotope data from Parthenon sculptural elements currently housed in the British Museum were analyzed (Matthews et al. 1992). The samples indicate an origin from the northeast portion of the ancient quarry region in Marble Unit 3. This suggests that the first exploitation of marble on Mount Pentelikon occurred near the top of the north slope. These findings are inconsistent with Korres’ (1995) speculation that the large architectural blocks required for the construction of the Parthenon were extracted from the Spilia Divali quarry pit further down slope. In an effort to address these apparent inconsistencies, it is anticipated that marble from architectural blocks from the Parthenon will be permitted to be sampled and analyzed. Such a study will shed light on marble procurement practices in place during the construction of the Parthenon. Data from the architectural blocks will allow us to determine if the same quarry pit or pits produced marble for both the architectural and sculptural programs or if marbles from individual quarries were earmarked for a specific use. Applications of the Pentelic marble database may also correlate quarry management to construction phases of the Parthenon. For instance, analysis may reveal if blocks were extracted in order of emplacement in the Parthenon superstructure or if they were extracted by architectural block type. With the continued refinement of marble characterization methodologies these and many other research questions concerning the use of marble can be addressed. References Cited: Korres, M. 1995. From Pentelicon to the Parthenon. Athens: Publishing House "Melissa". Matthews, K. J., Moens, L., Walker, S., Waelkens, M., and de Paepe, P. 1992. The re-evaluation of stable isotope data for Pentelic marble. In: Waelkens, M., Herz, N., and Moens, L., Ancient Stones: Quarry, Trade and Provenance, 203-212. Lueven, Lueven University Press.     For corrections or additions, please contact oknorr@willamette.edu.