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THE REDISCOVERY OF GREEK ROSSO ANTICO MARBLE AND ITS USE IN BRITAIN IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2012

Peter Warren
Peter Warren*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol
*
pmemdacw@btinternet.com
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Abstract

The metamorphic geology of Greece and the Aegean produced a wide range of coloured stones which were used in antiquity. In the second half of the nineteenth century several of the ancient quarries were rediscovered and reopened by Greek and British companies within the developing economy of the young Greek state. One such stone is the fine maroon marble rosso antico, emplaced at several locations in the Mani. It had first been exploited in the Late Bronze Age and exploitation continued extensively during the Roman Empire. The new quarryings of the nineteenth century resulted in much export to Britain, where the marble was used in churches, notably St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral in London, in commercial and university buildings, in private houses and, as a gift of the Greek government, for the plinth of Byron's statue in Park Lane, London.

Η εκ νέου ανακάλυψη του ελληνικού μαρμάρου rosso antico και η χρήση του στη Βρετανία τον 19ο και 20ο αιώνα

Από τη μεταμορφική γεωλογία της Ελλάδος και του Αιγαίου δημιουργήθηκαν ποικίλες σειρές εγχρώμων πετρωμάτων που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν στην αρχαιότητα. Το δεύτερο μισό του 19ου αιώνα ορισμένα αρχαία λατομεία ανακαλύφθηκαν εκ νέου και ξανανοίχτηκαν από ελληνικές και βρετανικές εταιρείες στο πλαίσιο της αναπτυσσόμενης οικονομίας του νεοσύστατου ελληνικού Κράτους. Ένα τέτοιο πέτρωμα ήταν το ωραίο πορφυροκάστανο μάρμαρο rosso antico, το οποίο επιχωριάζει σε διάφορες θέσεις της Μάνης. Η πρώτη εκμετάλλευση του πετρώματος αυτού άρχισε στην Ύστερη Εποχή του Χαλκού και συνεχίστηκε, σε εκτεταμένη κλίμακα, κατά τη Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία. Οι νέες εξορύξεις του 19ου αιώνα είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα την εξαγωγή αρκετού υλικού στη Βρετανία, που χρησιμοποιήθηκε σε εκκλησίες, ειδικά στους Καθεδρικούς Ναούς του Αγίου Παύλου και του Westminster στο Λονδίνο, σε εμπορικά και πανεπιστημιακά κτίρια, ιδιωτικές οικίες και, ως δώρο της Ελληνικής Κυβέρνησης, στη βάση του αγάλματος του Βύρωνα στο Park Lane του Λονδίνου.

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Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 107 , November 2012 , pp. 341 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2012

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