The marble sarcophagi of the necropolises of Hierapolis: new data on the provenance of the marbles in the light of archaeometric analyses

The paper focuses on the results of the archaeometric analyses of the marble sarcophagi from the necropolises of Hierapolis, performed in order to determine the provenance of the marbles. The research concerned (i) the artefacts found near funerary monuments bearing inscriptions that mention the presence - above or near the tombs - of sarcophagi made of dokimeian, Thiounta or generic white marbles, (ii) the garland sarcophagi, both finished and roughed-out, (iii) the columnar sarcophagi and kline lids, and (iv) the fluted sarcophagi. Thanks to the new data, the study highlights the extent and importance of local production and shows the role of imported products, mainly sarcophagi from dokimeion.