Re-evaluation of the Marble Provenance of the Esquiline Group Sculptures (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen) Following the Discovery of the Aphrodisian Marble Quarries at Göktepe.

The Esquiline sculptures, preliminarly identified as marbles from Göktepe near Aphrodisias, have been re-examined with the help of new analyses and new samples. Additional work was carried out at Göktepe and led to the discovery near and within the ancient site (district 2, quarry C) of marbles that reproduce closely the properties of the Esquiline samples. The Carrara provenance, reported in the early 1990s on the basis of isotopic data, turns out to be untenable if a wider selection of analyses is used. On this basis the provenance of the Esquiline marbles from the quarries of Göktepe is definitely proven. They could originate from quarry 2C, whose marbles perfectly match the different colours of the sculptures, but also from other undiscovered or disappeared quarries with similar properties that probably exist at Göktepe as shown by the work presented here. The results fully confirm the tendency of the Aphrodisian sculptors to use their homeland marbles and may provide some indication on the controversial chronology of the statues.