Abstract:

Marble quarries exploited in antiquity of the Denizli and Karacasu Basins (Turkey) were characterized by their petrography, carbon and oxygen isotopes, and cathodoluminescence. This study is an useful contribution for provenance studies of archeological artifacts composed of unknown marble. Marble quarries from the Hierapolis, Laodikeia, and Aphrodisias territories were considered; they constitute a homogeneous group of marble extraction districts. Collectively, they were among the most important sites for marble exploitation throughout antiquity from southwestern Anatolia, where only Afyon and Ephesus, which have already been studied extensively, were more important. In spite of that, the exportation of these marbles in ancient times has not yet been demonstrated. This is partially because their identification has never been fully addressed scientifically.