Borg, Barbara

Borg, Gregor

Strauss, Harald

Propylaeum-DOK

Originalveroffentlichung in: ASMOSIA 2000. VI. international conference, Venice, June 15-18 2000, Abstract Volume, 
Venedig 2000, S. 25-26 
A COMBINED ISOTOPIC, PETROGRAPHIC, AND 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROVENANCE STUDY OF THE MARBLE 
SOURCES FOR THE APOLLON TEMPLE OF DIDYMA, W-ANATOLIA. 
BARBARA E. BORG1, GREGOR BORG2 HARALD STRAUSS2 
' Archaeologisches Institut der Universitaet Heidelberg, Marstalliiof 4, D-6 9117 
Heidelberg, barbara,borg@ur2,uni-Iieideiberg.de 
2Institut fur Geologische Wissenschaflen, Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, Domstr. 5, D-
06108 Halle, borg(S?geoloeie,imi-halle.de 
3 Geologisch-Palaeontologisches Institut, Wesffaehlische-Wilhelms-Universitat Muster, 
Corrensstr. 24, D48149 Muenster, hstrauss@uni-muenster.de 
When it comes to using scientific methods in archaeology, classicists tend to take 
one of two opposing positions. They either see scientific data as some magic and 
ultimate solution to all their problems, or they are deeply sceptical about any help 
from that side. Fatally, this last position is even supported by the scientists 
themselves who, in their turn, often accept as argument only what can be proven 
beyond doubt by scientific data alone. 
The famous temple of Apollo at Didyma in western Turkey can prove as an 
excellent example for the successful application of a multimethod approach -
including both scientific and historical arguments - for the determination of the 
provenance of white marbles and its usefulness to archaeology. The temple was 
begun ca. 300 BC and was still not finished when pagan cults were prohibited in 
AD 392. Inscriptions from the 2nd c. BC name the quarries around Lake Bafa 
(Bafa Golii), 26 km NE of Didyma, as its marble source. Accordingly, 
archaeologists have taken the Bafa Golii to be the only marble source for the 
temple.1 However, recent isotopic and petrographic analyses of marble samples 
from both .the temple (47 samples) and the quarry area (representative set of 58 
samples) have shown that in fact there are at least three different marble sources: 
the Bafa Golti area, the Aegean island of Thasos, and, most probably, the 
Proconnesos. Concerning the Bafa Golii quarries, even different quarry areas, 
belonging partly to the ancient city of Miletus, owner of the sanctuary, and partly 
to that of Herakleia, can be discriminated by petrographic analysis, e.g. of the 
distinct style of deformation (brittle/ductile transition) of dolomitic and calcitic 
marbles. This has major inferences on the temple and its history: 
1 However, A. Peschiow-Bindokat and K. German, Jahrbuch des Deutschen 
Archaologischen Insituts 96,1981, 212 have already noticed some foreign marble 
in the temple. 
By determining the provenance of the different white marbles, we can prove that 
imported marble has been used from the beginning of the building activity. 
Marble from Thasos was used for the doorframe (but not for the sill which comes 
form the S-shore of Bafa Golii) and for several column drums of the 
Dodekastylos and the inner front colonnade. Thus, Thasian marble was imported 
as a supplement, most probably to speed up the building progress. Proconnesian 
(?) marble was only used in the outer colonnades of the N-, E-, W- and perhaps 
S-sides, indicating that at some time in the imperial period local marble was 
supplemented (and, at a certain phase, even substituted) by cheaper and more 
easily workable marble from the imperial quarries in the sea of Marmara. For the 
inner N- and W-colonnade Bafa Golii marble was used exclusively. Besides, we 
can confirm that in both the Hellenistic and the Imperial periods the local marble 
from Bafa Golii was not only provided by the S-shore quarries which belonged to 
Miletus, owner of the temple as well, but also by the E-shore quarries whose 
marble must have been considerably more expensive both because it was of 
higher quality and because it belonged to an independent city. In addition to this 
information concerning the temple's economics and project planning, the 
mapping of the various marbles in the temple itself gives some important clues as 
to the different building phases during the long time of construction still debated 
amongst archaeologists. Provided that the use of (a) certain marble source(s) 
reflects a particular building phase, we can now determine more precisely which 
parts of the temple were built in one phase. 


A combined isotopic, petrographic, and archaeological provenance study of the marble sources for the Apollon temple of Didyma, W-Anatolia (Abstract)

http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/579/1/Borg_isotopic_provenance_abstract_2000.pdf

A combined isotopic, petrographic, and archaeological provenance study of the marble sources for the Apollon temple of Didyma, W-Anatolia (Abstract)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Propylaeum-DOK