A New Archaeometric Analysis of Marble Sculptures and Architectural Elements from Selinunte

Several marble sculptures of the Orientalizing, Archaic, and Classical periods from Selinunte, excavated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and now in the collections of the Archaeological Museum of Palermo “Antonino Salinas,” were submitted to archaeometric analyses (powder-XRD, OM on thin section, SIRA) with the purpose of determining their original provenance. This study is part of a wider project investigating the importation of marble in Greek Sicily, including chronological development, trading routes, and centers of use and production. The results show that, as was the case for the other two important poleis of Syracuse and Agrigento, the marble used far more frequently for architectural elements and statuary in Selinunte was coming from the large open-pit quarries of Lakkoi on the island of Paros. This origin was, in fact, determined for the fragments of an acroterion, two tiles, the fragment of a sima with lion’s-head waterspouts from the roof of Temple A; the bearded head of a statue; a left hand wearing a ring from an acrolithic/pseudoacrolithic statue; the hoof of a horse on a plinth; two statuettes featuring, respectively, an unfinished seated woman and a peplophoros; and, finally, a large votive relief. Although the use of Paros 2 marble appears predominant at Selinunte, our analysis shows how two marble lamps with human protomai from Malophoros were also of Parian origin but carved from the more prized lychnites of the Stephani quarries, the most prestigious marble of antiquity. Our study confirms the near monopoly of Parian marble at Selinunte but also shows the occasional use of other marble, such as the Naxian marble for the horse tail allegedly found west of Malophoros.