The alabaster quarries of Hierapolis

The paper presents a detailed description of the numerous alabaster quarries located close to Hierapolis, from which the marmor hierapolitanum mentioned in roman and byzantine literary sources was extracted. the important Gölemezli quarries, nowadays almost completely destroyed, are also considered. A preliminary archaeometric characterisation of this stone, comparing it with other calcite alabasters extracted in Antiquity in the Mediterranean basin, is proposed, on the basis of the data available in the geological literature. Lastly, the use of this stone in the Hierapolis building sites and its export to their regions are discussed.