Misplaced ingenuity? Polychrome marble panelling: its use and reception in Late Roman Italy (c. AD 300 – AD 600)
Creators: name: Harrison, Philip
Publisher: name: The University of Edinburgh
Year: 2024
Subjects: Roman Archaeology
Roman History
Stone Studies
Late Antiquity
Late Roman
Italy

description: This thesis is chiefly concerned with what a close reading of the contemporary literature alongside a comprehensive evaluation of stone use can reveal about marble decoration in Late Roman Italy (c. AD 300-600). As it stands, much of our understanding concerning the use of decorative stone in the Late Roman period is hindered by a restricted analysis which sees architectural elements placed at the heart of the study, consequently neglecting other forms of marble deployment such as panelling and opus sectile.1 Studies that move beyond architectural elements are typically limited to a single region, city, or even a lone building. This thesis looks to partially remedy this by assessing the use of marble panelling and opus sectile from case studies taken from across Late Roman Italy: centring on Lombardy, Rome, and, Apulia. This is achieved through a close reading of the pertinent literature and comprehensive case-by-case analysis of each assemblage. The diverse nature of the sites culminates in a far-reaching assessment: expansive semi-rural villas in Lombardy and Apulia as well as urban domus from Ostia; churches from the major cities of Milan and Rome along with a single church from the comparatively small Canosa (Apulia); and, public baths from Ostia and Milan, as well as one located in the town of Aeclanum (Apulia), are all examined. Part A, (Chapter II) of this thesis, provides a review of modern scholarship and an assessment of the contemporary antique sources which relate to marble. Part B, contains three chapters (Chapter III, Chapter IV, and, Chapter V), with each chapter focusing on a specific building type: domestic settings, bathhouses, and, church buildings. Part C (Chapter VI), features a detailed discussion based upon the data which emerged from the analyses in Part B. This thesis concludes with a short epilogue. In its totality, the multiapproach undertaken goes someway to establishing the character of Late Roman marble use in Italy. This thesis outlines the fact that investment in marble cladding and revetment continued to be widespread across Italy at this time, feeding into the growing scholarly consensus which notes that parts of the Italian peninsula continued to prosper in the Late Roman period. Moreover, we continue to find evidence for continuity between contexts with the assemblages exposing shared trends between public and private buildings. Equally, we can see that the symbolic potency which marble was imbued with since the Late Republic remained. Yet, simultaneously, a fundamental outcome of this study is the evidence for a specific Late Roman approach to marble and, as such, the ideological significance that marble was instilled with took on a Late Roman character. In particular, issues concerning Romanness shaped much of Late Roman attitudes toward marble. A further element of this specific Late character was the appetite for variation. Potentially influenced by developments in the Late Latin literary culture, diversity with respect to lithotypes and application was prevalent and as a consequence saw new trends emerge, this vitality was signalled by the range of seemingly newly imported lithotypes used alongside local marble and re-used elements in Late Roman contexts.