Resumen de White marbles provenance study of Caesar's head and other major sculptures found in the Rhône River at Arles (France)

Ph. Blanc, Philippe Bromblet, Lise Leroux

• Since 2007, several underwater excavations have been undertaken by diving in the Rhône River at the level of Arles town. Many Roman sculptures have been discovered in the depths of the river. Five of the major marble statues including a portrait of Caesar likely carved during the dictator lifetime and a great statue of Neptune, were studied in order to know the marble provenance. After preliminary macroscopic examination, the identification of the marble material was investigated on samples using different types of analyse: the description of the main petrographical features, cathodoluminescence examination and quantification, carbon and oxygen isotopic study. The results show that the five marbles have not at all the same origin but come from various Greek and Roman quarries.