Stone Monuments from Carnuntum and Surrounding Areas (Austria) – Petrological Characterization and Quarry Location in a Historical Context

The currently ongoing project on Stone Monuments and Stone Quarrying in the Carnuntum – Vindobona Area (FWF 26368-G21) focuses on petrological and litho-stratigraphic investigations of well-dated Roman stone objects. The majority of the examined monuments are made from local Neogene limestone varieties, sedimentary breccias and sandstones – lithologies widespread in the surroundings of Carnuntum, the edge of the Vienna Basin and the western margin of the Pannonian Basin. Analyses of historical maps and high resolution airborne laser scans (ALS) are used to detect potential ancient quarry areas, which are ground-checked by geological methods. So far, ancient quarrying areas in the immediate surroundings of Carnuntum and in the Leitha Mountains have been localized, providing deposits of different algal limestones and calcareous arenites. This interdisciplinary approach promises to provide insight, not only into the provenance of stone material but also into matters of transportation, workshops and economic interaction between Carnuntum, Vindobona and the hinterland