Marmora Bizantina

Marmora Bizantina. Identification of the origin of marble and its use in the secular and sacral space in southern Levant of the early Byzantine period (4th-7th century AD)" is financed by the National Science Centre of Poland grant no. UMO-2020/37/B/HS3/00306. The project's principal investigator is Mariusz Gwiazda.

Marmora Bizantina. Identification of the origin of marble and its use in the secular and sacral space in southern Levant of the early Byzantine period (4^th-7^th century AD).

The objective of the project is to determine how marble was used in the early Byzantine (4th-7th c. AD) southern Levant and what trade in this raw material looked like in this region. During this time period the most important quarrying centers were located in western Asia Minor, Greece, North Africa and Egypt, from where marble was exported by sea to other parts of the Mediterranean World. Marble was one of the most expensive building and finishing materials in antiquity, and was used in both public and private buildings. Thus, studying it is an important element of knowledge about the ancient economy and market. So far, the utilisation and trade of this material in southern Levant between the 4th and 7th c. AD has not been the subject of synthetic research. Thus, our knowledge of the entire branch of trade in the early Byzantine period is still sketchy.

Database

The development of the internet database which will fulfil the role of a catalogue of marble finds is supposed to enable other scholars to verify projects’s thesis formulated on the basis of the source material presented therein. Also, the creation of this dataset will allow other scholars to investigate different problems connected with marble.

The database of texts is designed to support the reconstruction of marble trading mechanisms. It includes inscriptions, historical, and hagiographic texts written in Latin, Greek, and Syriac. The database serves as a comprehensive reference tool for archaeologists, historians, art historians, conservators, and specialists in cultural heritage management.

Marbles database

Texts Database

Contact

I do not have the means to continuously update the data. However, I will try to add new materials or make important corrections, basing on your emails (marmorabizantina (at) uw.edu.pl). This database was created thanks to the publications of hundreds of scientists, I hope that they has been recorded fully and correctly. If you are unhappy with the way I used your materials, please contact me via email or contact form below.