Publication Date:
2023-10-13
Description:
Submarine surveys, started in 2008 during the preliminary excavations preceding
the construction of a new pier in the port of Lipari Island (Italy), brought to light the
presence of large submerged remains, dated to the Roman age, in the base of typological
features of the related pottery fragment styles. The archaeological discoveries included
the find of structural elements - interpreted in the literature as part of a monumental
building - located at the wharf terminal. Four of these structural elements, made up of
volcanic rocks, which are now stored at the Lipari Museum, have been examined both
from analytical and architectural points of view. To define the provenance of the rocks,
petrographic and mineralogical investigations have been performed on the collected
samples. The results obtained indicate that the rocks could be traced to the cordierite
lava rocks outcropping at Fuardo Valley, in the SW area of the Lipari Island. The use of
these rocks as building material was already attested for other artefacts found at Lipari
and Messina (Sicily) and at Lamezia (Calabria), but no historical sources refer to any
mining activities. However, the presence of working traces observable at Fuardo Valley
and Pulera districts and the overall collected information suggest that the cordierite-lava
flow was extensively used as stone quarry during historical times. From the stylistic point
of view, the studied structural elements made with the Fuardo stone show architectural
features that allowed defining them as column bases dating to the Roman Imperial age.
Description:
Published
Description:
183-194
Description:
7SR AMBIENTE – Servizi e ricerca per la società
Description:
JCR Journal
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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