Wrecked Cargoes of marmor luculleum (africano) of Roman Period. An archaeological and archaeometrical study

The article presents the results of new underwater and laboratory investigations carried out on a cargo of columns and blocks of Roman age from a shipwreck sunk off Capo Taormina (Sicily). The archaeometric analyses (powder XRD and OM with thin sections) indicate the use of marmor luculleum (africano) from the ancient Ionian town of Teos for the columns. The authors compare their results with the data obtained from the other two shipwrecks carrying the same marble sunk off the southern coast of France (Dramont I and Chretienne M) together with abrasive materials (pumice and corundite [emery]), applying the relevant archaeometric analyses. A maritime traffic of the prestigious stone from Teos into the Central Mediterranean, combined with pumice (from Lipari?) and Naxian corundite - both used in the working of marble - is here reconstructed for the first time. We also propose a date for the Taormina cargo