Mediterranean trade of the most widespread Roman volcanic millstones from Italy and petrochemical markers of their raw materials

Antonelli, Fabrizio; Lazzarini, Lorenzo

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.02.008

Cited by 61 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…Transport by water was often preferred to small-load transport by animal-drawn carts and sleds on land. Beside the manufacture of mortars and querns (Antonelli & Lazzarini, 2010;2012; F I G U R E 1 Historical use of Euganean trachyte: a) indication of the area of trachyte circulation in Roman times (shaded) and principal extraurban roads; b) Roman road with trachyte flagstones in Classe, the ancient port of Ravenna, 4-6th c. CE (Maioli & Stoppioni, 1987); c) funerary stele of Oppi family, Padova, 1st c. CE (courtesy of Musei Civici di Padova, Gabinetto Fotografico); d) Roman rotary querns, Padova (courtesy of Musei Civici di Padova, Gabinetto Fotografico); e) arcade of Palazzo della Ragione, Padova, 13-14th c. CE; f) Basilica of Sant'Antonio of Padova, 13-14th c. CE, with trachyte pillars and buttresses, and on the left the equestrian statue of Gattamelata by Donatello, 15th c. CE, with trachyte base; g) Piazza San Marco, Venezia, 12-19th c. CE, paved with trachyte; h) Köln Cathedral, 13-19th c. CE, with replacing ashlars in Euganean trachyte [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] trades often went as far as the Po Valley and beyond (Capedri et al, 2000). Diverse applications in urban environments continued in the 19th and 20th centuries (Borghi et al, 2015;Lugli et al, 2016;Negri, 1966).…”

Section: Historical Outlinementioning

confidence: 99%

New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

et al. 2017

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Trachyte of the Euganean Hills is a subvolcanic porphyritic rock historically used as carving and building stone in northern and central Italy–primarily from Roman times onward–with the first evidence of its use dating back to prehistory. The numerous quarries and very similar trachyte varieties, as well as thewidespread use of this stone, create several problems in defining its provenance for archaeological and historical materials. New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of Euganean trachyte are presented here, providing a Comprehensive reference database for archaeometric studies. The petrographic markers principally include quantitative data on mineralogical composition and textural features of phenocrysts and groundmass, determined by image analysis of chemical maps acquired by micro X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscope-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy; particular use has been made of data on the abundance and grain-size distribution of feldspar phenocrysts, phenocrysts-groundmass ratio, content of SiO2 phases in the groundmass, and the arrangement and grain-size of microlites in the matrix. The geochemical tracers involve composition of bulk rock and phenocrysts, determined by X-ray fluorescence and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively; quarry recognition can be achieved using plots built from concentrations of major and trace elements, with mineral-scale chemistry being the most effective and precise discriminant property, especially in the case of biotite and, secondarily, augite, kaersutite, and magnetite

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Section: Historical Outlinementioning

confidence: 99%

New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

et al. 2017

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“…Most of the millstones for grinding cereals discovered at archaeological sites throughout the Mediterranean area are made of volcanic stone (Williams-Thorpe 1988; Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe 1991Thorpe , 1993Renzulli et al 2002;Antonelli and Lazzarini 2010;Santi et al 2013). In general, lavas are characterized by wear resistance and are particularly suitable for milling because of their abrasive property and rough vesicular surface (Peacock 1980;Williams-Thorpe 1988;Santi et al 2004), providing a good grinding capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The volcanic millstones from the archaeological site of Morgantina (Sicily): provenance and evolution of the milling techniques in the Mediterranean area*

Renzulli

Bell

2014

Archaeometry

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The Morgantina archaeological area, inhabited from the Early Bronze Age, had its widest expansion from the fifth to the first century bc. The volcanic millstones found at Morgantina fall into three different groups on the basis of the milling technique: (i) saddle querns (known from the Middle–Late Bronze Age and Iron Age); (ii) rectangular hopper‐rubbers (Olynthian) millstones, the invention of which dates to the fifth century bc; and finally (iii) Morgantina‐type rotary millstones (starting to be used from the fourth to the third century bc). In order to determine the provenance of the raw materials (lavas) used for all these millstone types, we collected 38 very small rock samples for thin‐section modal mineralogy, petrography and major trace element composition. The results have contributed to classifying different lithotypes and distinguishing between provenance from Etna and the Hyblean Mountains, the two volcanic areas respectively north‐east and south‐east of Morgantina. Saddle querns are made of tholeiitic basaltic andesites from the Hyblean Mountains and transitional basalts, mugearites and hawaiites from Etna. The variety of sources of portable saddle querns, mostly used in households, indicate that there was no general preference for specific quarrying sites. By contrast, the rectangular hopper‐rubber and the Morgantina‐type millstones, which document the period of Morgantina's greatest prosperity, are almost completely made of hawaiites from Etna. The use of a specific lithotype (i.e., Etna hawaiite) for the more efficient rectangular hopper‐rubber and rotary millstones could be linked to the fact that these mills may have been operated in business establishments. It is worth noting that the Gornalunga river was, in antiquity, a waterway joining Morgantina to the final stretch of the Simeto river and then the Ionian coast. The best candidate areas for the millstone hawaiite quarrying sites from Etna are the far south‐western sectors of the volcano, along the Simeto Valley (i.e., the ‘Piano Provenzana’ Formation) or the inner suburb of present‐day Catania (i.e., the ‘Pietracannone’ Formation). The very efficient Morgantina‐type rotary millstones spread during the reign of Hieron II of Syracuse (275–215 bc) in eastern Sicily and met the need for grinding large quantities of cereals during a relatively peaceful time and a period of agricultural development.

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“…The main criterion for the selection of this comparative data is the region in which the millstones in question were found, assuming that "local" volcanic rocks were used preferentially. However, as an import from alternative quarry regions can never be excluded, these millstones are additionally compared to relevant corresponding lavas in the Mediterranean (summarized, for example, in Antonelli and Lazzarini, 2010).…”

Section: Comparison To Alternative Roman Quarry Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical provenance analyses of Roman lava millstones north of the Alps: a study of their distribution and implications for the beginning of Roman lava quarrying in the Eifel region (Germany)

Gluhak¹,

Hofmeister²

2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Mediterranean trade of the most widespread Roman volcanic millstones from Italy and petrochemical markers of their raw materials

Cited by 61 publications

References 40 publications

New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

The volcanic millstones from the archaeological site of Morgantina (Sicily): provenance and evolution of the milling techniques in the Mediterranean area*

Geochemical provenance analyses of Roman lava millstones north of the Alps: a study of their distribution and implications for the beginning of Roman lava quarrying in the Eifel region (Germany)

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