This paper presents the first archaeometric study of the marble inventory from the Roman villa rustica near Chatalka (Stara Zagora region, Bulgaria), one of the most extensively excavated rural estates in Roman Thrace. Through a multi-proxy approach combining petrographic, isotopic (delta 18O and delta 13C), and trace element analysis (ICP-MS), we examine the provenance of eleven marble artefacts-including architectural elements, votive reliefs, and statuary-to assess material supply strategies and cultural expression in the context of Roman provincial elite life. Our results indicate the use of both regional and imported marble. One frieze-architrave, decorated with garlands and bull-heads, is identified as Prokonnesian marble and likely originated from Augusta Traiana. In contrast, the remaining marble artefacts-including six votive reliefs, a sculptural head, and a dedicatory inscription-are made of Asenovgrad marble, sourced from the northern slopes of the Rhodope Mountains. The combination of these materials reflects both pragmatic resource use and elite participation in broader cultural and economic networks. The discovery of a sculptural group in alabaster gypsum further underscores the material diversity employed at the site. Situated along the road connecting Augusta Traiana to Philippopolis and proximate to the Via Diagonalis, the villa was strategically embedded in trans-provincial transport routes. The findings contribute to current debates on the regional exploitation of white marble and provide new insights into workshop organisation, distribution systems, and elite representation in Roman Thrace. All analytical data have been integrated into the open-access oeai.METRIX platform to facilitate future comparative studies.

This study presents the results of an archaeometric investigation of white marble votive reliefs from the Roman city of Pautalia (modern Kyustendil, Bulgaria), with the aim of clarifying patterns of material selection, production, and connectivity within the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Although these votive monuments, primarily dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, have long been examined from stylistic, iconographic, and epigraphic perspectives, the provenance of the marble used in their manufacture has remained largely unexplored. A total of 27 votive reliefs from urban and extra-urban sanctuary contexts were analysed using a multi-method approach combining petrographic analysis, stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ18O), and trace element analysis by ICP-MS, and compared against an extensive geological reference database of ancient marble quarries. The results indicate a clear predominance of local and regional marble sources, alongside a limited but meaningful presence of imported material. This distribution pattern supports the existence of local workshops operating in or near Pautalia, which relied primarily on nearby quarry sources while selectively incorporating imported marble, likely through the reuse of pre-existing blocks or workshop offcuts rather than through systematic long-distance supply. These findings underscore Pautalia’s role as a regional production centre and as a nodal point within wider networks connecting the Aegean world and the Balkan hinterland.

As part of a fundamental and comprehensive monitoring and conservation of the tomb of Emperor Otto the Great in the cathedral of Magdeburg, the question of the provenance of the marble cover slab of the sarcophagus was investigated. Within the restoration activities, two samples of the slab were taken for scientific provenance analyses, one sample of the white marble and another of the irregular grey bands. The following investigations were used for this purpose: analysis of the stable isotopes of O and C, and chemical analysis of a large number of trace elements, resulting in a large number of variables. For the simultaneous evaluation of these numerical results, statistical multivariate analysis was used for comparing the results with our database of approximately 7000 samples from ancient marble quarries and the data being referenced in this investigation are published and listed here. The results obtained clearly identify the quarries of Prokonnesos in the Sea of Marmara as the most probable source of the examined slab. This is in perfect agreement with petrographic analyses carried out on these samples.

Magnesite deposits in Brumado, Bahia, Brazil, occur in the Serra das Eguas, a mountain range, where an Archean greenstone belt is exposed within the Gaviao block in the Sao Francisco Craton in Eastern Brazil. A genetic model is designed using the properties and distribution of fluid and solid inclusions in magnesite. These inclusions are analysed with careful petrography, and several technical methods, such as microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, cryo-Raman spectroscopy, and ion chromatography. Equations of state of complex water-gas-salt mixtures are used to establish pressure and temperature conditions of ore formation. Two different mineralization types of coarse-grained sparry magnesite are distinguished. Type 1 consists of a coarse-grained reddish coloured magnesite exposed at the Pedra Preta mine and at the Pedra de Ferro prospect, whereas type 2 is composed of more fine-grained, purely white magnesite currently produced at the Pomba mine and explored at the Piraja prospect. Abundant finely dispersed hematite is found in the reddish coloured magnesite of the type 1 mineralization, and is nearly absent in white magnesite of the type 2 mineralization. Fluid inclusions are exceptionally large (up to 50 mu m) and provide excellent objects for the estimation of properties with all analytical techniques. The fluid inclusion assemblages are homogeneous. A sequence of three types of fluid inclusions is observed in both magnesite deposits, that illustrates various gradual modifications of pore fluids properties during formation of the ore: 1. a decreasing content of CO2, from about 21 mol% to trace amounts; 2. a decrease in volume fraction of the CO2-rich phases; 3. a decrease in density of the CO2 phases; 4. nearly constant salinity of the aqueous phase (approximately 14 eq. mole% NaCl). Cryo-Raman spectroscopy reveals that CaCl2 is the major salt component within fluid inclusions, and the salinity can be expressed in terms of about 7 eq. mole% CaCl2, which correspond to similar chlorinity values. The ionic ratio of Na/K and Na/Li is sensitive to metamorphic conditions, and can be used as paleo-geothermometer yielding about 320 degrees C for the white magnesite and 250 degrees C for the reddish coloured magnesite. However, these values are obtained from bulk analyses and must be regarded as mechanical mixed values of all types of inclusions within a sample. The triple halogen ion content (Cl-Br-I) is not affected by metamorphic processes and reveals the origin of salinity: an Archean bittern, which is the major source of magnesium. This highly saline H2O-CO2 fluids with a high density were trapped under various metamorphic conditions in both types of magnesite of the Brumado deposits. Minimum trapping conditions of the fluid, and therefore of magnesite formation is about 670 degrees C and 371 MPa. The source of CO2 is of metamorphic origin. The consumption of both CO2 and magnesium to produce magnesite is recorded in the observed trends of fluid inclusion properties. The late-stage fluid inclusion assemblages are trapped at about 250 degrees C and 100 MPa.

Archaeometry unfolds at the intersection between natural sciences and archaeology, shedding light on the life cycle of ancient artefacts and structures. The systematic archiving of archaeometric data not only empowers intra-institute research but also allows international scholars to access organised sets of information. This archival approach facilitates collaborative research, encourages data sharing, and promotes a deeper understanding of cultural heritage. The archaeometric collection curated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI) encompasses a diverse array of artefacts and materials spanning multiple periods and regions. This includes thin sections of ceramics, pottery sherds, test briquettes, clay samples, plasters, mortars, glasses, metals, pigments and stones. Notably, the OeAI proudly hosts the most extensive archaeometric collections of Roman marble and pottery from Greece and Asia Minor, further enriching its repository of invaluable historical and scientific resources. Alongside these physical artefacts, the collection is complemented by a wealth of petrographic, geochemical, and mineralogical data. Recognising the significance of these records, encompassing information, materials, data, and documentation, we underscore their pivotal role in safeguarding and comprehending our cultural heritage. These collections will be made available via a web application that provides downloadable open-format data and metadata, as well as Linked Open Data, where a controlled vocabulary is linked with online authority databases. Designed as a long-term sustainable solution, the database is intended to not only present the marble collections for which it was originally designed but to also be adaptable for archaeometric collections of varying types, such as the OeAI ceramics collection.

Through an analysis of the tool marks, imprints on the parent rock, unfinished objects, and the waste left behind, quarries provide a wealth of information about the organisation, manufacturing process, transportation, and the broader stone trade and production they supported. Adopting an intra-cross-craft approach, scholars studying stone craft can gain a deeper understanding of the various stages of production, starting at the primary level of the quarry and the more expansive stages of artefact production. Recent investigations on the island of Tinos have brought to light several quarries that had not previously undergone in-depth exploration. This paper considers such a newly discovered quarry as a case study. Through an interdisciplinary methodology, it aims to present new perspectives on both the ancient and modern marble industries in the Cycladic Islands. This paper seeks to expand our understanding of the marble terrain in each region from a range of topographical, archaeological, geological, and historical perspectives and highlight the use of marble with unique qualities, extraction techniques, and production processes.

In contrast to several types of marbles used in antiquity, where different data collections do exist, similar approaches for provenance analysis are not available for limestones. In general, limestones are characterised visually and by the examination of sedimentological parameters. The usual microscopic investigation of limestones and the characterisation of limestone artefacts are often impossible because of the large samples necessary for these investigations. It is demonstrated in this paper that for the provenance analysis of limestone, the same established methods used for assigning marbles to their origin can also be successfully used in the case of limestone. We investigated a series of Roman quarries (three different quarry regions) in the north of the Haemus Mountain Range in the region of Marcianopolis and Nicopolis ad Istrum with the aim of establishing a first database (isotope analyses and trace element analyses) to correlate limestone artefacts. All in all, 42 quarry samples from the locations Marciana, Samovodene and Koevtsi were investigated. Fifteen artefacts made of limestone were analysed. Two samples from Marcianopolis were assigned to the Marciana quarry, and seven artefacts from Nicopolis ad Istrum originate from the quarries of Samovodene. For six more samples from Nicopolis ad Istrum, no match to one of the sampled and investigated quarries was found; thus, the existence of one or more quarries in the area is presumed. An extension of the database and the investigation of further limestone quarries in the area certainly will compensate for this deficiency.

Archaeometry applies scientific methods to analyse artefacts and structures that shape our cultural heritage. Like field excavations, lab analyses produce substantial material, samples, and data, yet there is limited focus on tracking the full journey of these archaeological objects—from excavation sites to labs and beyond. This gap affects data reproducibility, research quality, and public access to archaeometric findings. This paper details the Austrian Archaeological Institute’s (OeAI) decades-long efforts to archive all relevant data, materials, and documentation from its archaeometric research, treating these elements as extensions of cultural heritage. The OeAI’s collections are particularly notable, featuring one of the most comprehensive archives on Roman marble and pottery from Asia Minor. Key marble datasets, including reference collections by Prof. W. Prochaska, D. Attanasio, and L. Moens, reinforce its foundational role in marble provenance studies. The “Fingerprinting White Marbles” project led to the development of a flexible database designed to store data in a structured format, linking archaeological objects to their analyses and sample data, with controlled vocabulary for consistent, accessible documentation. This platform follows FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) to support sustainable data use across archaeometric fields, allowing new and existing projects to integrate seamlessly. This paper provides an overview of the database, inviting discussion on the evolving needs of both data producers and consumers in archaeometry.

Marble votive reliefs from rural sanctuary contexts have seldom undergone archaeometric investigation, despite their potential to illuminate regional trade and production networks. This study focuses on such reliefs from Philippopolis and its hinterland, with particular emphasis on cult sites in Roman Thrace. Using a stable isotope (δ13C and δ18O) and trace element analysis via ICP-MS, integrated with petrography, the provenance of marble used in these artefacts was determined. The results identify Asenovgrad marble—prevalent in the Rhodope Mountains—as the primary material, with a minority of examples sourced from Prokonnesos and the southeastern Rhodopes. The predominantly fine-to-medium-grained nature of Asenovgrad marble may have facilitated the execution of small, detailed iconography. The consistent use of this local stone across votive types and deities implies centralised production, likely by one or more local workshops. These findings contribute to our understanding of marble selection, workshop localisation, and regional connectivity during the Roman period. They also highlight the importance of combining geochemical and petrographic methods for reliable marble provenance. This research demonstrates that even modest sanctuaries can yield critical data on raw material distribution and artisanal practices within broader economic and cultural frameworks.

This study explores the provenance of white marble architectural elements from Roman Philippopolis, with a particular focus on the Eastern Gate complex. By determining the origin of the marble, we aim to elucidate economic, social, and urban dynamics related to material selection and trade networks. The investigation examines the symbolic significance of prestigious marble in elite representation and highlights the role of quarry exploitation in the region’s economic and technological development. The Eastern Gate, a monumental ensemble integrated into the city’s urban fabric, was primarily constructed with local Rhodope marble, alongside imported materials such as Prokonnesian marble. Analytical methods included petrographic examination, chemical analysis of trace elements (Mn, Mg, Fe, Sr, Y, V, Cd, La, Ce, Yb, and U), and stable isotope analysis (δ18O, δ13C). Statistical evaluations were performed for each sample (37 in total) and compared with a comprehensive database of ancient quarry sources. The results underscore the dominance of local materials while also indicating selective use of imports, potentially linked to symbolic or functional criteria. The findings support the hypothesis of local workshop activity in the Asenovgrad/Philippopolis area and shed light on regional and long-distance marble trade during the Roman Imperial period, reflecting broader economic and cultural interconnections.

The Sn-W ore deposits in the Krupka surroundings are associated with greisens, which occur in the upper parts of Late Variscan granitoid intrusions. Fluid inclusions were studied in samples of quartz, cassiterite, apatite, fluorite, and topaz in greisenized granites, greisens, and hydrothermal veins with Sn-W mineralization. The greisenization process took place at temperatures 370–490 °C and pressures 155–371 bars, and associated fluids had predominantly low salinity and a low gas (CO2, N2 and CH4) content. The post-greisenization stage was connected with the formation of (i) low-salinity (0–8 wt. % NaCl eq.) fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures <120–295 °C and (ii) high-salinity (18 to >35 wt. % NaCl eq.) fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures 140–370 °C, often containing trapped crystals of quartz, topaz, and sulfides, or daughter crystals of salts and carbonates, which were identified by microthermometric measurements, electron microprobe analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. Analyses of fluid inclusion leachates have shown that Na and Ca chlorides predominate in fluids. According to hydrogen stable isotopes, the source of greisenizing and post-greisenizing fluids was not only magmatogenic but also meteoric water or fluids derived from sedimentary rocks.

The data presented in the "Supplementary Material" are intended to supply a databank for future marble provenance analysis of artefacts to be checked against Ephesian marbles. For the sake of comparability, the methods of analysis of a sample to be investigated have to be in strict compliance with the analytical methods that were used for the preparation of this databank. In a first step it is shown that there are several different types of Ephesian marbles due to their different geologic sources. These various types of Ephesian marbles are characterised and it is shown that they can be separated by the use of a combination of different variables analysed thus the isotopic overlap can be largely reduced and an intra-site discrimination is possible. Using this multi method approach it is furthermore possible to largely tell apart the Ephesian marbles from other similar mediumgrained marbles used in Antiquity all over the Roman Empire. Though not considered to be "white marbles", the analytical data for the Ephesian Greco Scritto marble from the area of Hasancavus,lar some 20 km NE of Ephesos are presented in order to enable a future user to discriminate against similar grey mottled marbles from Cap de Garde or from Prokonessos.

A series (thirty) of marble sculptures from the Archaeological Museum of Kavala, in North Greece, coming from Amphipolis and the greater area of East Macedonia, have been examined and analyzed in order to determine the provenance of their marble. A detailed in-situ examination with optical techniques was carried out, followed by sampling and laboratory analyses with the techniques of Stable Isotope Analysis (IRMS) for carbon and oxygen, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR), selective petrography and optical microscopy. In addition, the results from a new quarry near Kavala (Chalkero) that was field-examined and analyzed isotopically are presented for the first time. The results from the sculptures show that the dominant origin of the marble for a lot of them is Thasos, both the dolomitic marble quarries at Vathy and Saliara and the calcitic ones from Aliki or Cape Fanari. A very interesting find was that the source of the marble for several sculptures of the Hellenistic and Roman periods was the Chalkero quarry. Paros marble is used for five sculptures, Penteli and Asia Minor are also represented among the thirty sculptures examined. The marble provenance results have largely contributed to the archaeological/art historical interpretation regarding workshops and sculptors and facilitated the dating of some sculptures.

This multi-disciplinary study examines the historical and technical aspect of the supply of ornamental white marble in Ottoman Algiers between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Our systematic analysis of Ottoman Regency administration archives, specifically the correspondence between provincial chiefs of Algiers and Cherchell dating from 1824 to 1825AD, reveals two distinct supply routes for white ornamental marble to Algiers' building sites. The first identifies Genoa as the sole source of imports, while the second confirms the reuse of remains from the ancient Roman city of Caesarea/Cherchell. To verify these provenances of ornamental white marble, petrographic and geochemical analyses were conducted on fifteen (15) white marble samples collected from the architectural elements of the Ottoman Algiers Citadel. This palatial complex's construction and subsequent completion coincide with the period of the archival data. Experimental results confirm the Italian origin of the majority of samples, primarily from Carrara.

The study of marble trade in antiquity has received a lot of scholarly attention in the last few decades; however, numerous deposits of high-quality white marble in the Thracian interior have only recently become pivotal in Bulgaria. Following the establishment of Thrace as a Roman province, investments into transport infrastructure, urban and rural construction works and monumentalizing architecture in marble have led to an increased demand for stone. Local marble quarries close to urban centres and larger imperial quarries were used for civic buildings, villas and sanctuaries. Provenance analysis of marble quarries and artefacts has established a close link between the place of origin and subsequent place of use. This multi-disciplinary study explores marble sources in the Thracian interior via various approaches such as epigraphy, archaeology, and archaeometry regarding urbanization, trade, and transportation. In this paper, we consider and investigate the Berkovitsa marble, a quarry close to Montana in northwestern Bulgaria, and present a broader framework for the marble trade of the region.

The Sanctuary of Meter, on the north slope of the Panayirdag in Ephesos, Asia Minor, has revealed a rather large number of Meter reliefs which were originally placed in small niches cut into the marble/limestone bedrock of the Panayirdag hill. The objects date from the Late Classical to the Early Hellenistic period (i.e. 4th-3th cent. BC). The marble provenance analysis of a group of these reliefs, now located in the Museum of Selcuk in Turkey, proves that the marble originates from different Ephesian quarries. Using various methods including stable isotope analysis (C13 and O18), and multi-trace element analysis by ICP-MS, in combination with petrography, identifies the provenance of these votive plates, and the workshop for their production in Ephesos. A further investigation of the Meter Relief I 1108 from the Art History Museum in Vienna [Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna (KHM)] showed that this material also originates from the Ephesos II group quarries, linking this object to the Ephesian workshop/production area. Furthermore, recent investigations on Meter reliefs from different re-gions, now in the Art History Museum in Vienna, showed the use of Dokimeion marble already in the Hellenistic era.

"Multi-method-approach" has now been for many years the buzzword in marble provenance analysis. Nevertheless a true combination of the results of different analytical methods is rarely applied in the sense of the combined simultaneous use of a large number of analytically obtained numerical variables. It is demonstrated here that the combination of data from isotope analysis, chemical data, and data from the chemical analysis of inclusion fluids of an artefact and of course in combination with a corresponding database enhances substantially the accuracy of marble provenance analysis. It is explicitly pointed out that the unchallenged collection of data of the chemical composition of marbles from different sources (and different analytical procedures) most probably implies severe differences in their comparability. Exemplarily presented is the nearly perfect discrimination of the most important fine-grained marbles and furthermore the possibility of the intra-site discrimination of the three Carrara districts and the assignment of two portrait heads to the Carrara Torano quarries.

The annexation of the Noricum Kingdom by the Roman Empire in 16 BC brought an increase in the trading relations between the empire and its northern neighbours. A first hub for these relations was the emporium on the Magdalensberg in Noricum Mediterraneum (today southern Carinthia/Austria). During the last decades, archaeological investigations of this settlement in a remote mountainous area revealed, inter alia, different kinds of marble decoration and architecture. Provenance analyses using a combination of different methods, including isotope analysis, trace element analysis and the analysis of inclusion fluids, show that the marbles used on the Magdalensberg are of different origins. Widely used were medium- to coarse-grained Alpine marbles from Roman quarries of the region of Gummern. Prominently used for plates, tiles, profiles, etc. were several types of fine-grained marbles of different origins. One group definitely originated from the quarries of Carrara (Carrara white and Carrara Bardiglio), testifying to the trading relations with northern Italy after the integration of Noricum into the Roman Empire. A database for the Carrara Bardiglio marble is presented and discussed. For the use of these data by further investigators, the numerical data are given as online material.