Resumen de Provenance investigation of two marble artefacts from ancient Stymphalos, Greece

Y. Maniatis, D. Tambakopoulos, Mary C. Sturgeon

• Ancient Stymphalos is an archaeological site in the mountains of the northeast Peloponnese, Greece. Provenance investigation was carried out on two fragmentary marble sculptures found in the "cella" of a small temple on the Stymphalos Acropolis, which has remains from the 6th through to 2nd century BC. These are a Late Archaic Kore and a 4th-century "Temple Boy" housed in the storerooms of the Archaeological Museum in Ancient Corinth. The techniques used are: 1) measurements of Maximum Grain Size (MGS), 2) Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR), and 3) Stable Isotope Analysis (IRMS). The use of the three techniques and the statistical treatment of the results, gave the following assignments for the provenance of the two statues: the Kore is most likely made of marble from Paros, with Hymettos and Penteli less likely candidates, and the "Temple Boy" is made of Parian Lychnites marble. Exposure to fire and subsequent weathering made assignment of origin for the Kore Fairly complicated, but the open Parian quarries seem the most likely origin