The excavations of a Villa rustica recently discovered in Pietrasanta (Lucca-Tuscany), at the border of the Luni territory, made it possible to discover portions of a marble grit flooring with scattered polychromes tesserae, dating back to the late republican-early imperial time. The structure of the floor shows a first layer of river pebbles of local provenance 10 cm thick arranged in vertical position according to their main dimension. In the upper part these pebbles are partially included in a ground fired brick mortar few cm thick. This layer is followed by a more or less smoothed upper layer made of a marble grit constituted by irregular angular elements of white and grey marble (Bardiglio) of a probable Versilian provenance (Seravezza valley) with scattered scutulae of a green stone. The petrographic microstructural analysis of the green stone, together with the XRD, made it possible to recognise the material as a serpentinite. We exclude that the green stone is a oficalce, for the absence of calcite (XRD and ESEM-EDS analyses). In the Northern Apennine the ophiolitic outcrops belong to the formations of the Liguride domain and are sited faraway from the Villa rustica of Pietrasanta. Particularly serpentinites of similar composition can be found in near Liguria (Val di Vara and Levanto-Bracco or Val Polcevera), presumably interested by extracting activity in the Roman time. Therefore the establishing of trade routes, also of ornamental stone materials, between Genoan and Luni territories after the conclusion of the Roman-Ligurian wars (155 B.C.) and the construction of the via Aemilia Scauri (109 B.C.), can be assumed. Moreover also some Domus in Luni show the presence of marble grit floorings with polychromes scutulae dating back to the first half of Ist century A.D. testifying a similar cultural background.

First evidence of the use of a serpentine in the floor of a “Villa rustica” near Luni / Bartelletti A.; Cantisani E.; Amorfini A.; Fratini F.; Pecchioni E.; Pandeli E.. - STAMPA. - (2009), pp. 260-260. (Intervento presentato al convegno IX ASMOSIA (Association for the Study of Marbles and Other Stones in Antiquity) International Conference, Tarragona (Spain) tenutosi a Tarragona Spagna nel 8-13 Giugno 2009).

First evidence of the use of a serpentine in the floor of a “Villa rustica” near Luni

PECCHIONI, ELENA;PANDELI, ENRICO
2009

Abstract

The excavations of a Villa rustica recently discovered in Pietrasanta (Lucca-Tuscany), at the border of the Luni territory, made it possible to discover portions of a marble grit flooring with scattered polychromes tesserae, dating back to the late republican-early imperial time. The structure of the floor shows a first layer of river pebbles of local provenance 10 cm thick arranged in vertical position according to their main dimension. In the upper part these pebbles are partially included in a ground fired brick mortar few cm thick. This layer is followed by a more or less smoothed upper layer made of a marble grit constituted by irregular angular elements of white and grey marble (Bardiglio) of a probable Versilian provenance (Seravezza valley) with scattered scutulae of a green stone. The petrographic microstructural analysis of the green stone, together with the XRD, made it possible to recognise the material as a serpentinite. We exclude that the green stone is a oficalce, for the absence of calcite (XRD and ESEM-EDS analyses). In the Northern Apennine the ophiolitic outcrops belong to the formations of the Liguride domain and are sited faraway from the Villa rustica of Pietrasanta. Particularly serpentinites of similar composition can be found in near Liguria (Val di Vara and Levanto-Bracco or Val Polcevera), presumably interested by extracting activity in the Roman time. Therefore the establishing of trade routes, also of ornamental stone materials, between Genoan and Luni territories after the conclusion of the Roman-Ligurian wars (155 B.C.) and the construction of the via Aemilia Scauri (109 B.C.), can be assumed. Moreover also some Domus in Luni show the presence of marble grit floorings with polychromes scutulae dating back to the first half of Ist century A.D. testifying a similar cultural background.
2009
IX ASMOSIA International Conference -Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone
IX ASMOSIA (Association for the Study of Marbles and Other Stones in Antiquity) International Conference, Tarragona (Spain)
Tarragona Spagna
Bartelletti A.; Cantisani E.; Amorfini A.; Fratini F.; Pecchioni E.; Pandeli E.
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/675695
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