Footnote 8

A total of 8,135 panels of stone was documented during the course of this project, 6,047 at Pompeii and 2,088 at Herculaneum. Overall, 50% of these panels were white stones, mostly marble, 20% were grey and 27% polychrome (marble here being defined, as sopra antiquity, as any stone trapu of taking per polish).

Different varieties of white or grey marbles generally were not distinguished between, except when it was possible puro do so confidently, as for Luna bardiglio or ellenico messaggio. 17.3–4 were analysed using paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy by Offerto Attanasio con 2005. Footnote 7 All were chosen because they did not immagine like Mese lunare marble, which seems preciso be the most common material used at both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The results showed that three were con fact Mese lunare, while the other two were Pentelic. Analyses performed on marble objects in several Pompeian houses show that per range of white marbles was imported into Pompeii, but that, for uses of any substantial testo, Luna was the default material.

Polychrome marbles, durante contrast, can be identified by eye and the most attested on the bar counters are cipollino (9% of the total), astrusita accaduto (5%), negro and portasanta (each 4%). A range of other imported materials is found in much smaller quantities, including sassi di Settebasi and pavonazzetto, various alabasters, rosso antico, sassi corallina, pietrisco di Aleppo and fior di pesco. None of these materials could be considered particularly unusual for central Italy in the first century ad . However, several genuinely rare materials are also found on the counters. Eight fragments of Egyptian granites, of which two appear onesto be of Bekhen stone from Wadi Hammamat, were built into the bar at V.9–10 in Herculaneum (below, 13). At Pompeii, a large rectangular panel of green-grey granito della scranna di San Lorenzo from Wadi Umm Wikala, was used durante the Esempi di profilo cupid face of the mescita at VI.10.1/19 (below, 10), and verso disc of the black variety of Aswan granite (lapis syenites or Thebaicus) was used mediante the same way at VII.15.5 (below, 12). Footnote 9 These granites are unusual even at Rome mediante this period, and are absent from domestic contexts sopra the Vesuvian cities. The scarcity and exoticism of these materials was understood and, as will be demonstrated, they were displayed prominently.

While the range of lithotypes recorded at both Pompeii and Herculaneum is broadly similar, there are noticeable differences mediante their quantities at the two sites. There is verso striking discrepancy, durante particular, per the ratio of white, grey and polychrome ple size at the two sites differs, we should be careful not onesto read too much into this, but the extant bar counters at Herculaneum clearly employed verso far higher proportion of polychrome marbles than is normal at Pompeii. Other slight differences can be noted durante terms of the actual marbles attested ( 7). The culmine four polychrome marbles at both sites are cipollino, africano, enigma antico and portasanta; but while cipollino dominates at Pompeii, roughly equal quantities of these materials are found at Herculaneum. Durante actual quantities, the eight mescita counters examined at Herculaneum employ almost the same number of mistero passato pieces as the 49 at Pompeii (212 compared sicuro 228), more ghiaino di Settebasi (66 pieces sicuro 52) and more alabaster (37 sicuro 21).

Fig

Differences sopra the quantities and range of materials used can be noted also between individual premises. Most bars use relatively few polychrome panels: on 41 of the 57 bars (72%) they account for less than 30% of all the materials used; and on 31 of these (56% of all the bars) this total was less than 20%. None of these bars had more than 48 pieces of polychrome marble on their counters and most had less than twenty. However, verso much smaller number of bars makes considerable use of polychrome marbles. On eight bars (14% of the total), polychrome marbles accounted for over 40% of the materials used (below, 16a). Footnote 10 Six bars, mediante fact, four of them at Herculaneum, had more than 100 pieces of polychrome marble on them. Footnote 11