Resumen de Three fragments of a Marsyas sarcophagus: multimethod marble analyses
F. Van Keuren, Donato Attanasio, J.J. Herrmann, S. Hipol, J. Cox, L. P. Gromet, D. Abramitis
Multimethod analyses of the three parts of a Roman sarcophagus with the musical contest of Marsyas and Apollo yielded surprising results. Although the three parts of this sarcophagus of "lenos" shape are now located in Rome, Oslo and New York, their matching edges and figures demonstrate they must join and therefore come from the same block. The low intensities of the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) analyses and the gray banding visible on all three parts demonstrate that they are of Proconnesian marble; however, the wide range of oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O) indicates the presence of both Proconnesos-1 (Pro-1) and Proconnesos-2 (Pro-2) marble. Ancient quarry C-5, near Doğu Çamlik on Proconnesos, which contains an abundance of both types of marble, is a plausible source for this sarcophagus. Its case study demonstrates that for Proconnesian marble, a wide range of δ¹⁸O values is possible for different parts of the same sarcophagus, as was also found in an unfinished Corinthian capital from another quarry of Çamlic
