The Torre Sgarrata wreck: characterization and provenance of white marbles artefacts in the cargo

This paper concerns an archaeometric ( i.e. mineropetrographic and C-O stable isotopic ) study carried out in order to characterise the white marbles of 31 semifinished artefacts ( sarcophagi and blocks ) from the Torre Sgarrata wreck ( Apulia, South Italy ), and to determine their provenance. The results indicate that these marbles come from the C. Phanari ( Th-1 ) and C. Vathy ( Th-3 ) quarries on the island of Thasos. In the case of the sarcophagi, the use of distinct marble varieties was found to be clearly related to their different typology. More in general, this work offers a new contribution to the history of the exploitation of the Thasian quarries.