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MARBLE TRASPORT I THE TIME OF THE SEVERAS: 

A EW AALYSIS OF THE PUTA SCIFO A SHIPWRECK 

AT CROTO, ITALY 

A Dissertation 

by 

DANTE GIULIANO BARTOLI 

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of 

Texas A&M University 

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

August 2008 

Major Subject: Anthropology

Approved by: 

MARBLE TRASPORT I THE TIME OF THE SEVERAS: 

A EW AALYSIS OF THE PUTA SCIFO A SHIPWRECK 

AT CROTO, ITALY 

A Dissertation 

by 

DANTE GIULIANO BARTOLI 

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of 

Texas A&M University 

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

Chair of Committee, Deborah N. Carlson 

Committee Members, Christopher Konrad 

Cemal Pulak 

Shelley Wachsmann 

Head of Department, Donny L. Hamilton 

August 2008 

Major Subject: Anthropology

ABSTRACT 

Marble Tranport in the Time of the Severans: A New Analysis of the Punta Scifo A 

Shipwreck at Croton, Italy. 

(August 2008) 

Dante Giuliano Bartoli, B.A., Università Statale degli Studi di Milano 

Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Deborah N. Carlson 

Five ancient shipwrecks have been found in the sea off Croton, in southern Italy, 

each carrying a marble cargo composed of massive blocks, column shafts, and smaller 

artifacts. Three of them were located while surveying the seafloor with a multibeam 

sonar, and the remaining two with the help of divers, in the summers of 2005 and 2006. 

Two of the marble carriers are located in the bay of Punta Scifo and, therefore, are 

identified as the Punta Scifo A and Punta Scifo B shipwrecks, the remaining three take 

their names from the closest promontories: Punta Cicala, Capo Cimiti, and Capo Bianco. 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck was chosen as the main focus of this work because 

it contains a unique assemblage of marble artifacts; including 13 basins, 15 stands 

decorated with lions’ paws, 16 column shafts, 14 blocks, 6 statue pedestals, and one 

statuette of Eros and Psyche. Moreover, because the original discovery dates back to 

1908, and in 1915 salvors raised 150 tons of marble artifacts, much information was in 

danger of being lost. Consular inscriptions on the Punta Scifo A’s marble blocks and 

iii

column shafts date the shipwreck to the early third century A.D. The merchantman was 

ca. 30 m long and 10 m wide, with a cargo of marble items weighting ca. 200 tons. 

The merchantman was loaded with its marble cargo in Asia Minor: all the items 

carried on board came from the quarries of Proconnesus and Docimium. The most likely 

point of departure was either Epheus or Miletus. While sailing toward the Strait of 

Messina, it is likely that a Grecale or Levante storm broke, and the helmsman was forced 

to look for shelter in the protected bay of Punta Scifo. Due to a change in wind direction 

a southerly Scirocco storm caused the ship to sink. Since the entire coastline south of 

Croton is totally unprotected to the south, there was no way for the crew to save their 

ship. Where the Punta Scifo A merchantman was destined remains unknown, although 

Rome appears to be a likely candidate. 

iv

To Cesare and Gabriella Bartoli, 

for showing me Croton and its sea 

v

ACKOWLEDGMETS 

This research project would not have been possible without the support of many 

passionate people—and a cat. First and foremost, I wish to thank my parents for their 

boundless financial and moral support during my years of graduate study at Texas A&M 

University. Heartfelt thanks also go to my brother Andrea, sisters Giulia and Serena, 

cousin Riccardo, and to Lilia Campana for their help before, during, and after each 

season of field work in Calabria. 

Drs. Annalisa Zarattini and Francesco Prosperetti made possible my two field 

seasons of research in Croton. Without their interest, scientific coordination, and in-field 

supervision it would not have been possible to achieve all the research during those two 

seasons in Italy. It was also a great pleasure having Dr. Roberto Mazzoni in the field, 

both as a dive buddy and as a fellow archaeologist. He made our daily working 

operations efficient and productive. 

I am grateful to the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA), RPM Nautical 

Foundation, and the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation (CMAC) at 

Texas A&M University for covering the project’s expenses and providing much needed 

logistical support. In particular, RPM Nautical Foundation provided its two research 

ships Juno and Hercules, along with the technical skills to interpret the data collected in 

2005. Special thanks go to professors Donny Hamilton, Kevin Crisman, and Filipe Viera 

de Castro for their unwavering support of my research in Italy since its very beginnings 

in 2003. 

vi

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Deborah Carlson for her careful review and 

constructive criticism of each version of my dissertation manuscript. My dissertation and 

I have benefited from this healthy exchange; on more than one occasion, her insightful 

comments have impelled me to modify my point of view or reconsider my theories 

under a new light. Dr. Shelley Wachsmann contributed to substantially improve the style 

and readability of the final version of this manuscript, while Dr. Cemal Pulak provided 

valued suggestions concerning 16 th -century Turkish nautical charts, and Dr. Christoph 

Konrad greatly helped to improve the portion of this work dealing with Roman history. 

Special thanks go to my good friends Dr. Domenico Marino—for his detailed, 

insightful, and always enriching suggestions concerning the maritime history of Croton 

—and Luigi Cantafora—for sharing his memories of the underwater sites south of 

Croton. Dr. Damiano Milone provided on-site support with the loan of his barge to the 

expedition in 2006, and Dr. Giovanni Albini of La Fondiaria Insurance Company 

provided free coverage to all the expedition team members. Mr. Franco Colosimo, INA 

friend and supporter since the time of the Porticello excavation, opened his house in 

Calabria to all the team members, and made us understand what southern Italian 

hospitality means. Thanks also to Prof. Carlo Beltrame (Università Ca’ Foscari in 

Venice), Dr. Ayse Atauz, and Brett Phaneuf (ProMare Foundation), for their enthusiastic 

support of a new research season in Croton. I am hopeful that the work begun in this 

dissertation study will continue, perhaps as early as the summer of 2008. 

Finally, I wish to thank my dear friends and colleagues, Alexis Catsambis, Sam 

Lin, Mark Polzer, and Wendy Van Duivenvoorde for the quality time we spent together 

vii

in the Nautical Archaeological Program and for all their support and companionship. 

And last, but not least, a special thought goes out to Pallino, the sweet house cat who 

kept me company in College Station during the long, hot summer of 2007 when much of 

this dissertation was written. 

viii

Artifacts: 

ABA Attic base 

BLC Block 

COL Column shaft 

OMECLATURE 

HPL High pedestal decorated with lions’ paws 

ICA Ionic capital 

LAB Labrum 

LPL Low pedestal decorated with lions’ paws 

MOB Mobile artifact 

MPL Medium pedestal decorated with lions’ paws 

SLB Slab 

STA Statuette 

STP Statue Pedestal 

The items mentioned in the Catalog of the Artifacts have been recorded using a system 

of three letters explained above, followed by a catalog number. Therefore, “BLC 1” 

identifies the first block located at Croton, “HPL 2” the second high pedestal decorated 

with lions’ paws located at the nautical museum of Capo Colonna, and so on. Every item 

with a catalog number is described and illustrated in Appendix 1. 

ix

TABLE OF COTETS 

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................... iii 

DEDICATION........................................................................................................... v 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... vi 

NOMENCLATURE.................................................................................................. ix 

TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................... x 

Page 

LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... xiii 

LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................... xvii 

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 

The Natural Environment of Croton: Present and Past..................................... 4 

Calabria: Land with a Maritime Vocation?...................................................... 9 

The Two Coastlines and Their Cultural Prominence............................ 9 

The Forgotten Mountains of the Interior.............................................. 15 

Croton and Calabria in Antiquity: Silted Harbors, Sunken Islands, 

Treacherous Shoals.................................................................................. 20 

Historical References............................................................................ 20 

Archaeological Data.............................................................................. 28 

The Coastline in Antiquity: A Possible Reconstruction .................................. 30 

The Scirocco Wind and the Final Moments of the Ships 

(Punta Scifo A, Punta Scifo B, Punta Cicala)................................................... 36 

Conclusions....................................................................................................... 39 

CHAPTER II HISTORY OF THE STUDIES....................................................... 41 

The Punta Scifo A Shipwreck and Its Early Discoverers: Local 

Fishermen and Paolo Orsi’s Reports (1908-1921).................................. 42 

A New Phase of Research: Gianni Roghi and Patrizio Pensabene (1961-1978) 46 

The Cooperative Aquarius and Alice Freschi’s Excavations (1983-1994)...... 48 

The INA Campaigns (2005-2006).................................................................... 49 

The 2005 Mapping Season................................................................... 49 

x

Page 

The 2006 Mapping Season.................................................................... 55 

Results of the Studies........................................................................................ 58 

The Punta Scifo B Shipwreck............................................................... 58 

The Punta Cicala Shipwreck ................................................................ 65 

The Capo Cimiti Shipwreck.................................................................. 67 

The Capo Bianco Shipwreck................................................................ 68 

Conclusions....................................................................................................... 72 

CHAPTER III THE PUNTA SCIFO A (“PAOLO ORSI”) SHIPWRECK.......... 74 

The Underwater Site......................................................................................... 76 

Reconstructing the Cargo of a Roman avis Lapidaria................................... 80 

The Marble Elements from Punta Scifo A: A New Analysis........................... 93 

Architectural Elements.......................................................................... 93 

Column Shafts.................................................................................. 93 

Parallels for the Punta Scifo A Columns.................................. 96 

The Most Diagnostic Column Shaft: COL 1............................ 100 

Inscriptions on Column Shafts Transcribed by Paolo Orsi....... 102 

Marble Blocks.................................................................................. 105 

Parallels from the Quarries (Proconnesus, Docimium, 

and Rome (Fiumicino)................................................................ 107 

Non-Architectural Elements................................................................. 109 

Marble Basins (Labra)..................................................................... 109 

The Most Diagnostic Marble Basins: LAB 2, LAB 3, and 

LAB 4.......................................................................................... 112 

Pedestals Decorated with Lions’ Paws............................................ 114 

Dimensions............................................................................... 115 

Stands Decorated with Lions’ Paws: Possible Functions......... 118 

Statue Pedestals................................................................................ 123 

The Statuette of Eros and Psyche, Slabs, Minor Marble Finds............ 128 

Ceramic, Bronze, and Lead Items......................................................... 131 

Amphoras........................................................................................ 131 

Pitchers (or Jugs), Sigillata Ware.................................................... 134 

Bronze Ladles, Candelabrum, Lead Decoration with Heracles 

and the Hind.................................................................................... 135 

Conclusions....................................................................................................... 137 

xi

Page 

CHAPTER IV THE PUNTA SCIFO A SHIPWRECK IN CONTEXT: 

MARBLE QUARRIES AND SEA TRANSPORT 

IN THE SEVERAN AGE............................................................. 139 

A Historical Outline of Marble Imports to Rome............................................. 141 

The Early, Controversial Adoption of Marble during the Republic..... 141 

The Early Empire: Roman Control over Marble Quarries.................... 146 

The Middle and Late Empire: Peak and Decline of Marble Trade....... 149 

The Severan Age: Cultural Background for the Punta Scifo A 

Shipwreck............................................................................................. 152 

aves Lapidariae of Roman Date: Review of the Evidence............................ 155 

Literary Sources.................................................................................... 155 

Archaeological Evidence...................................................................... 158 

aves Lapidariae in the Mediterranean: Statistical Considerations..... 165 

The Punta Scifo A Shipwreck: Cargo Parallels.................................... 168 

The Marble Shipwrecks off Croton and Quarry Provenience.......................... 169 

The Quarries of Proconnesus (Island of Marmara, Turkey)................. 170 

The Quarries of Docimium (Iscehisar, Turkey).................................... 174 

Land and River Transportation: Two Possible Routes for 

Docimian Marble Exports.............................................................. 176 

CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND FINAL CONCLUSIONS....................... 180 

WORKS CITED........................................................................................................ 184 

APPENDIX 1 CATALOG OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE PUNTA SCIFO A 

SHIPWRECK................................................................................ 203 

APPENDIX 2 TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE ORIGINAL RECORDS IN THE 

ARCHIVES OF THE NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL 

MUSEUM OF REGGIO CALABRIA ......................................... 289 

APPENDIX 3 ANCIENT SOURCES................................................................... 304 

APPENDIX 4 DIOCLETIAN’S EDICT ON MAXIMUM PRICES.................... 332 

APPENDIX 5 ROMAN QUARRY INSCRIPTIONS........................................... 335 

VITA.......................................................................................................................... 338 

xii

LIST OF FIGURES 

Figure 1 Southern Italy was divided into four regions during the time 

of Augustus........................................................................................ 5 

Figure 2 Location of the marble carriers from Croton..................................... 6 

Figure 3 Santa Maria di Leuca, the Gulf of Tarentum, Croton, 

and Capo Colonna.............................................................................. 8 

Figure 4 A solitary Doric column of the Greek Temple of Hera Lacinia 

at Capo Colonna................................................................................. 9 

Figure 5 Minimum and maximum distances, in kilometers, from coast 

to coast and north to south, in Calabria.............................................. 11 

Figure 6 The two sides of the Strait seen from the town of Scilla, in Calabria. 12 

Figure 7 Greek and Roman cities of Calabria, along with the most important 

promontories, the main rivers and the ancient road system............... 14 

Figure 8 Topographical map of Calabria, showing mountains, plains and main 

rivers.................................................................................................. 17 

Figure 9 Detail of Piri Reis’ 1521 nautical chart showing the coastline 

between Capo Colonna and Le Castella. 

(Image after Ökte 1988, 1034). ......................................................... 21 

Figure 10 The city of Croton with its castle, harbor, and islets at the entrance 

as they appear on Piri Reis’ nautical chart. 

(Image after Ökte 1988, 1030)........................................................... 24 

Figure 11 The fortress of Le Castella as it appears today, on a little island 

connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus..................................... 26 

Figure 12 Aerial view of Le Castella, published in 1975. 

(Image after Schmiedt 1975, 57, fig. 23)........................................... 27 

Figure 13 The Athenian expedition to Syracuse, in 415 B.C. 

(Drawing after Morrison, Coates and Rankov 2000, 100)................. 33 

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Page

Page 

Figure 14 Simone Lecavella and Pellegro Maraboto’s return routes 

from Alexandria and Constantinople to Genoa 

(Drawing after Horden and Purcell 2000, 141)................................. 35 

Figure 15 Location of the Punta Scifo A, B, and Punta Cicala shipwrecks ...... 38 

Figure 16 The entrance to the Croton Archaeological Museum is flanked 

by the two largest marble basins from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck, 

LAB 2-3............................................................................................. 43 

Figure 17 Period photograph showing the artifacts raised from Punta Scifo A, 

unloaded on the dock of Croton. 

(Photo after Paoletti 1994, 529, fig. 69)............................................. 44 

Figure 18 Lilia Campana marks the Punta Scifo B shipwreck’s location.......... 47 

Figure 19 The 2005 survey area, extending from the River Neto’s estuary to 

Praialonga.......................................................................................... 50 

Figure 20 The catamaran Juno at work in South Italy....................................... 51 

Figure 21 The R/V Hercules ............................................................................. 52 

Figure 22 Area surveyed south of Croton as of September 24, 2005................ 54 

Figure 23 The launch used to reach the archaeological sites in 2006................ 56 

Figure 24 The tiny dinghy, towed from the shore and filled with tools 

and supplies........................................................................................ 56 

Figure 25 Multibeam image showing the Punta Scifo B shipwreck.................. 59 

Figure 26 Multibeam image of the Punta Scifo A and B marble carriers, 

179 m apart........................................................................................ 59 

Figure 27 The Punta Cicala shipwreck, as it appears in a multibeam image...... 66 

Figure 28 Multibeam image of the seafloor at Punta Scifo A, with BLC 11 

visible in the dataset .......................................................................... 75 

xiv

Page 

Figure 29 Three-dimensional digital rendering of part of the largest 

marble elements from Punta Scifo A................................................ 78 

Figure 30 The marble items from the Punta Scifo A wreck site, reused in the 

monument to Ulysses in Caputi Square in Croton............................. 81 

Figure 31 The façade of the Basilica in the Forum of Pompeii......................... 97 

Figure 32 (a) To the left a labrum with rounded rim, two side-handles, low foot, 

and squared support from the House of Lucretius Fronto 

in Pompeii. (Detail after Cain 1985, Taf. 1,2). 

(b) To the right a different type of labrum, from the House of 

Venus on the Shell in Pompeii. (From Panetta 2004, 310)................ 110 

Figure 33 A Roman labrum with a richly decorated rim, body, and supports. 

(Drawing after Deonna 1938, 54)...................................................... 113 

Figure 34 LAB 3 with part of the inner edge of the rim already rounded.......... 113 

Figure 35 Bronze throne and footstool from Assyria, ca. 888 B.C 

(Image from Litchfield 1899, 3)........................................................ 119 

Figure 36 Table decorated with lions’ paws, Archaic Greek Age 

(Image from Litchfield 1899, 9)........................................................ 119 

Figure 37 Greek relief of sixth or fifth century B.C. of a throne 

decorated with lions’ paws (Image from Litchfield 1899, 10).......... 120 

Figure 38 Statuette of the goddess Fortuna standing on a globe 

from Herculaneum, and a candelabrum from Pompeii. 

(Images from Monaco 1884, figs. 94 and 115).................................. 121 

Figure 39 Candelabrum with Eros holding an oil-lamp, from Herculaneum. 

Tripod from Pompeii (Images from Monaco 1884, figs. 116 

and 121d)........................................................................................... 121 

Figure 40 Hydria in bronze, from Herculaneum (Image from 

Monaco 1884, fig. 143)...................................................................... 122 

Figure 41 Portable stove in bronze, from Pompeii (Image from 

Monaco 1884, fig. 136b).................................................................... 122 

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Figure 42 (a) Statue pedestal in the courtroom of the medieval castle of Baiae 125 

(b) Unfinished side of the pedestal.................................................... 125 

Figure 43 Marks left from a statue’s feet in a pedestal from Baiae................... 126 

Figure 44 Façade of the Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus. 

(Image after Ward-Perkins 1977, p.282, fig. 349)............................. 127 

Figure 45 (a) To the left a statue of Eros and Psyche. 

(Picture from Brenk 1999, 71,1)........................................................ 131 

(b) To the right a statuette of Eros leaning on a torch. 

(Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome)................................................... 131 

Figure 46 Marble tiles from the temple of Hera Lacinia. (Naval Museum, 

Capo Colonna)................................................................................... 144 

Figure 47 Marble shipwrecks in the Mediterranean........................................... 164 

Figure 48 Location of the quarries of white and colored marbles, granites, 

and porphyries mentioned in the text, in the Roman Empire............ 171 

Figure 49 (a) To the left a typical Proconnesian sarcophagus with garlands, 

imported to Rome in a half-finished state; its decoration was never 

completed. (Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome)................................ 173 

(b) To the rigth fragments of a sarcophagus with garlands, 

of probable Proconnesian origin, from the sea of Capo Piccolo........ 173 

Figure 50 White marble quarries in Asia Minor 

(Map after Pensabene 1978, 112)...................................................... 177 

xvi

LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1 Coordinates of the area surveyed in 2005.......................................... 53 

Table 2 Dimensions and tonnage of the marble blocks and slabs 

from the Punta Scifo B wreck site. (INA data merged with data 

from Freschi 1987, 41-3)................................................................... 60 

Table 3 Dimensions and tonnage of six blocks from the Punta Cicala 

shipwreck........................................................................................... 65 

Table 4 Dimensions and tonnage of the column shafts from Capo Cimiti, 

in meters and Roman feet.................................................................. 68 

Table 5 Dimensions and tonnage for the Capo Bianco shipwreck. 

(Data from Freschi 1991, 8-10; 48-9)................................................ 69 

Table 6 Dimensions and tonnage of the Punta Scifo A’s marble items 

still on the seafloor............................................................................. 76 

Table 7 Catalog of marble artifacts from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck......... 83 

Table 8 Diameter, length, and proportion between the column shaft base 

and its height, in meters and Roman feet........................................... 94 

Table 9 Number and lengths of column shafts of Roman Imperial age. 

(After Barresi 2002, 70).................................................................... 98 

Table 10 The Punta Scifo A columns according to Proconnesian size-groups. 

(After Asgari 1992, 74)...................................................................... 99 

Table 11 Dimensions and tonnage of the marble blocks from Punta Scifo A.. 106 

Table 12 Diameter (at the rim and base) and height of the marble basins 

cataloged in 2005-2006, in meters and Roman feet........................... 111 

Table 13 Dimensions of the marble pedestals from Punta Scifo A, 

in meters and Roman feet.................................................................. 116 

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Table 14 Dimensions of the pedestals, arranged to highlight the relation 

between heights and diameters.......................................................... 116 

Table 15 Possible reconstruction of labra and their matching paw-footed 

pedestals,based on their diameters..................................................... 117 

Table 16 Pedestals that do not match any labrum............................................ 117 

Table 17 Dimensions, in meters and Roman feet, of the statue pedestals 

from the Punta Scifo A wreck site..................................................... 123 

Table 18 Marble wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean............................... 160 

Table 19 Percentages of the known quarries of the 18 shipwrecked marble 

cargoes for which the specific origin of the stone is certain............ 165 

Table 20 Percentages of shipwrecked marble carriers discovered in the 

Mediterranean, arranged by country.................................................. 166 

Table 21 Percentage of marble carriers lost at sea, listed in chronological 

order................................................................................................... 167 

Table 22 Tonnage of known marble carriers.................................................... 168 

Table 23 The marbles mentioned in Diocletian’s Edict: ancient and modern 

names, region of provenience, cost in denarii per Roman foot......... 334 

xviii

CHAPTER I 

ITRODUCTIO 

The research that comprises this dissertation began in the summer of 2005, when 

the Archaeological and Regional Superintendents for the Artistic Heritage of Calabria, 

Drs. Annalisa Zarattini and Francesco Prosperetti, granted the Institute of Nautical 

Archaeology (INA) a permit to survey the seafloor south of Croton. The RPM Nautical 

Foundation (RPM) supported the project by making available its two research vessels 

Juno and Hercules, then stationed in Malta, along with crew and technicians to collect, 

process, and interpret multibeam and side-scan sonar data. Dr. Annalisa Zarattini, 

Dr. Jeffrey Royal, and I were co-directors of the research for the Soprintendenza ai Beni 

Archeologici della Calabria (local branch of the Italian Fine Arts Bureau), RPM, and 

INA, respectively. The main goal of the field work was to create an accurate 

archaeological map of the seafloor south of Croton, between 5 and 75 m depth. SCUBA 

divers visually inspected the targets determined by the ships’ surveying equipment up to 

a depth of 40 m, and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was employed to check the 

nature of deeper sites. The first season was so successful, revealing four marble cargoes 

of probable Roman Imperial date, named Punta Scifo A, Punta Scifo B, Punta Cicala, 

and Capo Cimiti, that a second summer of research was planned for the following year. 

____________ 

This dissertation follows the style of the American Journal of Archaeology. 

1

In 2006 a smaller team, composed of the Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici 

della Calabria and INA, continued working in the sea off Croton, locating a fifth marble 

carrier, named the Capo Bianco shipwreck for the nearby promontory and dating to the 

Late Roman period. All of these sites are located in shallow water, at no more than 8 m 

of depth. To date, the five marble carriers lost in such a confined area make Croton the 

location with the highest concentration of ancient naves lapidariae 1 known in the entire 

Mediterranean; only 15.6 km separates the ships sunk off Capo Bianco and Punta Cicala. 

Having spent the winter months after each field season investigating in libraries 

and archives both in the United States and Italy, I learned that all of the sites were 

already known to the Italian Fine Arts Bureau. One of them, Punta Scifo A, had been 

discovered in 1908 and heavily salvaged in 1915, when ca. 150 tons of marble were 

raised from the seafloor. The original reports of the discovery, which are still available 

in the archaeological museum of Reggio Calabria, reveal the history of the site from the 

beginning of the 20 th century, and describe also how many artifacts were brought to the 

surface at that time. 

A search for these recovered items in the territory of Croton and surrounding 

areas revealed that some of the artifacts from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck were located 

at local museums in Croton and Capo Colonna, some had been reused to build a modern 

monument to Ulysses in Croton’s “Antonio Caputi” public square, a small portion was 

moved to the town of Corazzo 30 km north-west of Croton, and one large basin was sent 

1 aves lapidariae and naves marmorum are the expressions Petronius (Sat. 117) and Pliny the Elder (H 

36.1.2-3) use, literally meaning “stone ships,” and “ships of marbles.” See Chapter IV, pp. 155-7 for more 

information. 

2

to Tarentum. After locating these artifacts, I recorded their dimensions, and the data 

have become part of a new, comprehensive catalog presented in Appendix 1. The 

original documents from the archives are transcribed in Appendix 2, and relevant Greek 

and Latin sources in Appendix 3. 

Since the site had already been disturbed and much archaeological evidence was 

in danger of being permanently lost, I chose to focus my research on the Punta Scifo A 

wreck site. I thought it necessary to preserve as much data as possible, reorganize them, 

and try to reconstruct the ship and its cargo as they were at the time of sinking. In doing 

so, I have analyzed the physical settings of Croton in order to understand what kind of 

natural factors might have caused these five ships to be lost along this coastline, and why 

Croton’s harbor represented an important resting point for ancient ships and sailors. A 

general review of the four other marble sites from Croton, the Roman Imperial system of 

organized quarry exploitation, along with the seaborne transportation of heavy elements 

and various parallels are also presented. Appendix 4 is dedicated to Diocletian’s Edict 

on Maximum Prices, which provides the cost of 19 marble varieties in A.D. 301, and 

Appendix 5 describes the inscriptions found on many ancient quarried items. 

Time and funding in 2005 and 2006 allowed only initial, cursory work at Croton. 

It is important, however, to analyze the data collected to develop more informed 

hypotheses and questions to guide further research. Punta Scifo A represents one of the 

most luxurious marble cargoes ever found in the Mediterranean. 

3

The atural Environment of Croton: Present and Past 

Croton is located on the Ionian coast of the region that the Romans called 

Lucania et Bruttii. The Byzantine Greeks, in the middle of the eighth century A.D., 

renamed it Calabria in order to preserve, at least nominally, the right to claim possession 

of southern Apulia (then called Calabria), which they had just lost to Lombard invaders 

(Fig. 1). 2 

Today, Croton is a city with a population of slightly less than 60,000 inhabitants. 3 

The city is home to a few chemical factories, and surrounded by a small plain (240 km 2 ) 

locally known as Il Marchesato. 4 These fields are sowed mostly with grain and typical 

Mediterranean crops such as grapevines, olive, fig, and citrus. The city’s prosperity is 

connected directly to its harbor, the only good natural basin on the route between 

Tarentum and the Strait of Messina, and to the ever-growing number of tourists, 

attracted by the natural beauty of the local Natural Marine Preserve. All of the marble 

shipwrecks that are the object of this study are located inside the Marine Preserve area, 

between the promontories of Capo Colonna, Capo Cimiti, and Capo Rizzuto (Fig. 2). 

2 Brasacchio 1977, 2:113. Pliny the Elder (H 3.11.99) called Calabria the area surrounding the city of 

Brundisium in Apulia. Strabo (6.3.1) describes the region to the north-east of Metapontum as “country of 

the Calabri.” Bruttium, the placename used in modern literature, is actually a Latin neologism which was 

nonexistent in antiquity. See, for instance, Livy, 42.3.1-11 (“in Bruttios”); Livy 27.25.11 (“Locros in 

Bruttiis”); and Plin. H 3.5.71 (“ager Lucanus Bruttiusque”).Even if historically incorrect, it will be used 

in this work because it has become widely accepted in English-speaking countries. Paoletti 1994, 467-71 

offers a thoughtful review concerning the origin of this toponym. 

3 Domenico 2002, 47. The exact number of local residents, according to Domenico’s data, amounts to 

59,638 in the city. Including the 27 communes in the province of Croton raises the number of local 

residents to 117,547. 

4 Literally “Land of the Marquis” since in A.D. 1390 Niccolo’ Ruffo became Marquis of Croton and the 

entire territory surrounding the city formed until the 1950s a huge estate belonging to a handful of local 

aristocratic families. (Severino 1988, 31). 

4

the Peloponnese, which sailors had to pass during their voyages. Sailors coming from the 

East, having reached Santa Maria di Leuca in Apulia (known in antiquity 

as a[kra ∆Iapugiva or Promontorium Iapigium) and crossed the Gulf of Tarentum, 

headed towards Capo Colonna (Fig. 3). On the tip of this cape, isolated on the long 

promontory that stretches into the Ionian Sea, lies the temple of Hera, the main goddess 

of the local pantheon. A solitary Doric column of Hera’s temple still stands on the 

promontory and gives it its present name of Capo Colonna, or “Cape of the Column” 

(Fig. 4). 

A general review of the geographical location of both Croton and the 

surrounding province of Calabria will be useful to better understand the physical setting 

with which ancient seafarers had to cope, what has changed over time, and what natural 

factors caused so many ships to be lost south of Capo Colonna, only 9 km south of the 

well-sheltered harbor of Croton. Petrographic analyses of the marble cargoes suggest 

that the Punta Scifo A and Capo Cimiti shipwrecks came from the East, and the same 

conclusion may be drawn for the Punta Scifo B merchantman. 

If an Eastern origin is correct, then the vessels’ captains must have seen the 

harbor on their starboard side before reaching Capo Colonna. Why, then, would they 

have chosen not to stop in the harbor but instead make the ill-fated decision of looking 

for shelter behind stormy Capo Colonna? In the following pages, I will try to provide an 

answer, starting with a reconstruction of the ancient environment of Croton and modern 

Calabria, which has changed considerably during the last 25 centuries. The natural 

features sailors saw in Roman times differed significantly from the present. 

7

Fig. 4. A solitary Doric column of the Greek Temple of Hera Lacinia at Capo Colonna, 

the only one still standing of the original 48. The opus reticulatum wall in the 

foreground testifies to the restructuring works that probably took place after the sacking 

of the sanctuary by Sextus Pompey in 36 B.C. 5 (D. Bartoli). 

Calabria: Land with a Maritime Vocation? 

The Two Coastlines and Their Cultural Prominence 

Located at the southernmost tip of the boot of Italy, Calabria is a peculiar strip of 

land, forming a long and narrow peninsula closed to the north by the Pollino relief 

(2,271 m high). 6 It is washed by the Ionian Sea on its eastern side and by the Tyrrhenian 

Sea on its western flank, which join their waters in the Strait of Messina. Sicily is only 

half-an-hour away by ferry-boat, and Messina is clearly visible from the seashore of 

Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria). 

5 Plut. Pomp. 24.6; App. B. Civ. 5.14.133. 

6 Gambi 1965, p.2. 

9

Calabria is 240 km long and reaches its maximum width of 100 km between 

Marina di Fuscaldo and Punta Alice, while the minimum width of 34 km is found 

between Pizzo and the railroad station of Montauro (Fig. 5). 7 The distance coast-to-coast 

is so short here that Aristotle and Strabo calculated the Gulfs of Squillace and Lamezia 

were only 160 stadia or half a day’s journey apart. 8 If the region, on one hand, is 

extremely narrow in width, the length of its coastline is, on the other hand, truly 

remarkable. With 742 km of waterfront, Calabria boasts the most developed coastline in 

Italy, corresponding to 16% of the national total – islands excluded. 9 With its elongated 

shape, its north-south direction leading to the Strait, and its west-east protrusion 

extending into the Ionian Sea towards the East, the major role that Calabria played 

throughout its history, as a bridge connecting the two halves of the Mediterranean, 

becomes evident. Sailors coming from the Levant, especially from the regions of modern 

Turkey and Greece, had to circumnavigate its coasts in order to reach the toe of Italy, 

sail past it, and make their course for the Bay of Naples, Sardinia, the metal ores of 

Etruria, southern France or Spain. 10 

7 Principe 1974, p.8. 

8 Arist. Pol.7.1329b; Strabo 6.1.4. See also Gras 1987, 214-5. One Greek stadion is equal to 184.7 m, and 

therefore 160 stadia come close (29.5 km) to the 34 km measured at present. (Southern Maryland Online 

2008, http://bible.somd.com/weights.shtml). An average walker can cover ca. 5 km / hour by foot. 

Therefore, approximately seven hours are needed to go from the Ionian to the Tyrrhenian coast of 

Calabria. 

9 Principe 1974, p.8, n.9. 

10 See Peroni 1994, 832-79 and Marino 1995, 241-52 for the latest discoveries of Mycenaean pottery in 

Calabria. 

10

The dangers seafarers had to endure to survive the stormy Strait are well-attested 

since Homeric times. Scylla and Charybdis, monsters ready to snatch sailors from their 

ships and swallow them in a lethal whirlpool, became mythical representations of this 

treacherous waterway. 11 It is also not a coincidence that the ancient god of the winds, 

Aeolus, was supposed to live in the islands that still bear his name, a few miles to the 

northwest of Rhegium and Messina. 12 Figure 6 shows the two sides of the Strait, marking 

the approximate location of Scylla (which still gives its name to the modern town on the 

Calabrian shore), and Charybdis. 

Fig. 6. The two sides of the Strait seen from the town of Scilla, in Calabria. The two 

arrows mark the narrowest point of the waterway, and the approximate location of the 

mythical monsters of Scylla and Charybdis. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

11 Gianfrotta 2005, 143; Hom. Od. 12, 73-126. 

12 Gianfrotta 2005, 143; Hom. Od. 10, 1-4. 

12

It is, therefore, easy to understand why the earliest known Greek colony founded 

on Calabrian soil was Rhegium (730 B.C.), a necessary stronghold to keep the waterway 

safe and open to traders. The other city-states to follow, Sybaris in 720-710 B.C., Croton 

at almost the same time (720-710 B.C.), Caulonia at the end of the eighth century B.C., 

and Locri Epizephyri between 675-650 B.C., were founded along the Ionian coastline, 

facing East (Fig. 7). 13 The early colonists may have been influenced to settle down and 

make a living with access to good water sources nearby, cultivable farmland, and 

profitable trading routes. The daughter colonies on the Tyrrhenian side came later in 

time and were founded to grant control of the two sides of Calabria to the cities that, 

already well-established on the Ionian coast, were expanding their territorial grasp over 

the rest of the region. Even though the coastal plains represent only 10% of the 

Calabrian territory, their relevance for the history of Calabria is significant. 14 The longest 

rivers flow through them providing the best farmland of the region, and they are located 

close to the sea, whence all Greek colonists originally came. 

The inner part of Calabria was left to the local indigenous inhabitants, Lucanians 

and Bruttians, who, driven away from the seashore, found shelter in the mountains of the 

interior. The Greek settlers were able to keep the native Italic populations at bay for 

three and a half centuries, but they were never able to subjugate them completely. 

13 Foundation dates taken from: Cerchiai, Jannelli, and Longo 2002, 13. For a good review of the ancient 

historical sources regarding the foundation of Croton see Cordano 2000, 56-60. For an analysis of the 

archaeological evidence, see Sabbione 1984, 255-6. 

14 Gioia Tauro (515 km 2 ) is the largest plain, followed by those of Sybaris (450 km 2 ), Croton (240 km 2 ), 

Sant’Eufemia (180 km 2 ), Locri (110 km 2 ) and Scalea (75 km 2 ). Data from Principe 1974, p.16. 

13

The free, rebellious populations of the mountains grew more and more organized over 

time, and from the fourth century B.C. onwards they began conquering one Greek city- 

state after the other. Due to the historical relevance of the Greco-Roman coastal cities, it 

is easily forgotten that the mountains of the interior represented a fundamental backbone 

for their economies, especially during the long months of mare clausum (October to 

April), when ships were forced into the harbors and contacts with the external world 

were less frequent. 15 As rich as it was, and still is, in copper, iron, and a few silver ores, 

timber and pitch, good pastures, and indigenous labor, the interior of Bruttium had a 

remarkable economic influence on the well-being of the coastal settlements. As will be 

clear, knowledge of the history of the territory as a whole is important for understanding 

what happened at sea, and for placing these five shipwrecks in an appropriate context. 

The Forgotten Mountains of the Interior 

High mountains covered with lush vegetation dominate the entire interior of 

Bruttium, which has nothing in common with the dry coastline, especially on the Ionian 

side. The Pollino mountain in the northern region (2,271 m), the Sila relief (1,928 m) 

and the Paola coastal chain at its center (1,541 m), along with the Serre (1,423 m), Poro 

(719 m), and Aspromonte (1,955 m) mountains in the south, give the region its craggy 

appearance and represent, along with lower hills, circa 90% of the entire Calabrian 

15 Casson 1995, 270. Veg. Mil. 4.39 points out that the favorable season started May 27 th and lasted until 

September 14 th , even if it was possible to leave the harbors from March 10 th and protract navigation until 

November 10 th . 

15

territory. These peaks would also have been visible from a great distance at sea, 

providing a landmark by which to navigate (Fig. 8). 16 Timber coming from the Calabrian 

forests represented an enormous reserve of building material for local shipyards. Rivers 

carried logs downstream to harbors and eventually to the sea. Pitch, the pix bruttia so 

famous in Roman times, was particularly useful for waterproofing ships’ hulls, for 

coating amphoras, for medical purposes, and even as a depilatory for men. 17 The 

maritime colonies represented trade terminals for these natural resources, which 

provided an economic backbone of prosperity for the Greek and Roman cities. 

Virgil twice describes the mountains of Sila using the adjectives ingens (vast, 

mighty) and magna (great), to give an idea of their size and extension. 18 Dionysius of 

Halicarnassus describes the forests of Calabria as so rich in fir, black poplar, pine, beech, 

oak, and ash trees that their “densely-intertwined branches keep the mountain in shadow 

throughout the whole day.” 19 He was also well aware of their relevance for the activity of 

ancient shipyards, which were presumably located on the coast. Dionysius indeed wrote 

of the mountains’ timber: 

16 Principe 1974, p.16. The formula for computing theoretical sighting distances at sea is 

D = 2.2 (√h + √H) where D is the distance, and h and H are the respective altitudes of the observer’s 

height and the observed height. From the deck of a ship, at a height of 3 m above water's surface, in theory 

a sailor could see Calabria’s Pollino mountain (2,271 m) from a distance of 108 nautical miles (200 km), 

and the mountains of Sila (1,928 m) from 100 nautical miles (185 km). However, to see these long 

distances from sea level is quite difficult in the Mediterranean due to haze at sea, Saharan dust, and windblown 

dirt held in suspension by steady high pressure systems in summer. Average visibility is typically 

restricted to less than 11 nautical miles, often less, and only rarely is it sufficiently clear to see 30 nautical 

miles. In optimal conditions, then, Calabria’s mountains were visible from no more than 30 nautical miles 

(ca. 55 km) at sea, and often much less (D. Davis, personal communication; Bowditch 2002, 56-7). 

17 Plin. H 14.25.123; 14.25.127; 16.22.53; 24.23.37. 

18 Verg. Aen. 12.715-7; Verg. G. 3.219. 

19 Dion. Hal. Antiquitates Romanae 20.15.1. 

16

that which grows nearest the sea and rivers is felled at the root and taken 

down in full lengths to the nearest harbors, sufficient in quantity to serve 

all of Italy for shipbuilding and the construction of houses. That which 

grows inland from the sea and remote from rivers is cut up into sections 

for the making of oars, poles and all kinds of domestic implements and 

equipment, and is carried out on men’s shoulders. 20 

In another passage, Dionysius lets us know that Calabria was a source of 

the most fragrant and sweetest pitch known to us, the kind called Bruttian, 

from the farming of which the Roman people receive large revenues every 

year. 21 

The importance of pitch production is better understood by considering the 

testimony of Cato the Elder, who described agriculture as “more entertaining than 

profitable,” while his real sources of income were, among others, “pitch factories and 

land with natural pasture and forests, all of which brought him large profits and could 

not, in his own words, be ruined by Jupiter.” 22 It is noteworthy that the very name given 

today to a part of these mountains, Sila, may have either a Greek or Latin origin: xuvla 

meaning “timber / trees”, and silva “thick uncultivated forest.” 23 

20 Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 20.15.2. 

21 Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 20.15.2. 

22 Plut. Vit. Cat. Mai. 21.5. 

23 Scheid 1993, 19. 

18

The relevance of the mountains gained importance after the fall of the Roman 

Empire, when local inhabitants abandoned the coast, which had become increasingly 

unsafe due to the reappearance of piracy, and withdrew to the more easily defensible 

peaks of the interior. The Gothic Wars, during Justinian’s reign (A.D. 527-565), struck a 

mortal blow to the economy of Calabria’s coastal cities, which had been ravaged by 

enemy armies for decades. 24 Significant exceptions were Rhegium and Croton, whose 

harbors were used extensively by the Byzantines to retain communication between the 

two sides of the Empire. The coastal installations of the deserted Greek colonies were 

mostly abandoned and disappeared between the seventh and eighth centuries A.D., when 

Calabria became similar to a fortress isolated from the external world. 25 As Catherine 

Delano Smith notes, harbor installations represent some of the most fragile human 

constructions, especially when they are port-canals or nautical installations built, in the 

absence of a natural bay open to the sea, “at the meeting point of two of the most 

unstable of all the geomorphological environments, the shore and the river channel.” 26 

This was probably the situation for Calabria in Greek and Roman times, before local 

inhabitants fled its coastline and abandoned maritime facilities, which eventually silted 

up and disappeared from view. 

24 De Leo 1992, 118-25. 

25 Brasacchio 1977, 115-7. 

26 Delano Smith 1979, 327. 

19

Croton and Calabria in Antiquity: 

Silted Harbors, Sunken Islands, Treacherous Shoals 

Historical References 

Deepening our analysis of Calabria’s natural features in antiquity, it is safe to say 

that if Pliny the Elder could visit the Ionian coasts of Calabria today, he would want to 

rewrite parts of the third book of his Historia aturalis. In a passage of particular 

importance for the study of the ancient Calabrian landscape, he mentions flumina 

innumera “rivers beyond count,” five of which were amnes navigabiles, “navigable 

waterways.” 27 The word amnis, as opposed to flumen, is interesting in this context, since 

it implies a large and fast-flowing water course. Pliny also describes five islands that in 

the first century A.D. formed a small archipelago off Croton, as well as a promontory 

named Cocynthum, north of the Greek city of Caulonia. Both the islands and the 

promontory are no longer visible. What makes their disappearance even more dramatic 

is that Pliny described the Promontorium Cocynthum (Punta Stilo nowadays represents 

its only surviving portion) as longissimum Italiae, “the longest in Italy,” and each island 

off Croton had its own name and exact location. 28 Ten Roman miles, or circa 15.2 km 

out from the Promontorium Lacinium (modern Capo Colonna) were located Dioscoron 

and Calypsus, and close to them Tyris, Eranusa, and Meloessa. 29 

27 Plin, H 3.10.95-6. 

28 Pliny, H 3.10.96. 

29 Pliny, H 3.10.96. It is not totally certain how long a Roman mile was. Based on the distances measured 

between surviving Roman milestones it appears that 1 Roman mile equals to 1,520 m. Rowlett (2002, 26 

August). 

20

Pseudo-Scylax, an anonymous geographer of the late fourth century B.C. who 

wrote a detailed description of the coasts of southern Italy, noted that 

from Rhegium the cities are the following: Locri, Caulonia, Croton, the 

Lacinium Promontory sacred to Hera, and the island of Calypso, in 

which Odysseus dwelt with Calypso. 30 

Two of these islands are clearly visible, along with the sunken promontory, in the 

detailed nautical charts that Piri Reis, the seafarer and geographer working at the court of 

Suleiman the Magnificent, drew in A.D. 1521-1525 (Fig. 9). 31 

Fig. 9. Detail of Piri Reis’ 1521 nautical chart showing the coastline between Capo 

Colonna and Le Castella. (Image after Ökte 1988, 1034). 

30 Ps. Skyl. 14. See also Peretti 1979, 1-11, 507. 

31 Ökte 1988, 3:1030-4. 

21

Considering that Piri Reis was the nephew of Kemal Reis, a famous Turkish 

seafarer, that he spent many years of his youth sailing the Mediterranean as a corsair, 

and that he later became an admiral of the Ottoman fleet, there is little doubt that the 

nautical charts he made had a practical purpose. 32 The springs along the coastline where 

sailors could get fresh water are carefully marked, along with the landmarks visible from 

the sea, the cities close to the coast, the rivers, the dangerous shoals, and even the harbor 

entrances. The written commentary that accompanies each map provides detailed 

information about the distances from place to place, the local toponyms, and short notes 

and remarks that Piri Reis jotted down while visiting these shores. 

A quick comparison of Figures 2 and 9 gives a good idea of the accuracy of Piri 

Reis' 16 th -century map. The promontories of Capo Colonna, Capo Cimiti, Capo Bianco, 

Capo Rizzuto, and Le Castella are well represented. Two fresh-water springs are visible, 

two rivers, and two columns still standing on the tip of Capo Colonna. Today only one 

Doric column survives; its companion probably collapsed during an earthquake in 

1638. 33 Two islands are clearly visible in front of Le Castella, and in the written 

commentary Piri Reis adds: 

Atop it [the cape] is a castle called Kastalu. There is a cove on either side 

of this castle and these coves are safe havens for small vessels. A mile 

opposite there are two small islets. Ships can pass between the islets and 

32 Afetinan 1975, 9-27. 

33 Galli, Ruga, Scionti, and Spadea 2006, 446, fig. 2. See also Chapter II, p. 42, n. 17. 

22

the castle but the sea around the islets is rocky and for that reason there is 

no shelter. The place is foul. 34 

Piri Reis provides interesting details concerning the shoals of Capo Bianco, where 

two different shipwrecks are located: the marble carrier that takes its name from 

the cape, and a 17 th - or 18 th -century shipwreck, from which an iron cannon is still 

visible along with some more heavily-concreted artifacts. In his description, Piri 

Reis writes: 

The aforementioned Kavu Biyanko is a low, white promontory. Out from 

the cape, a shoal that they call Şaykadi Kavu Biyanko extends for three 

miles or so into the sea. A galley may pass between these shallows and the 

Rumelian shore. 35 

It is noteworthy that the Turkish toponyms are taken literally from Italian: Kastalu 

and Kavu Biyanko do not need any explanation, the word “Şaykadi” is simply 

translated from the Italian “Secca di”, meaning “Shoal of.” The Ottoman seafarer 

must have visited these places, spoken with local guides, and taken detailed notes 

of what they told him. At his time, two of Pliny’s five islands were still visible, 

and the shoals of Capo Bianco probably represented the remains of the other islets. 

Indeed, they are located at a distance of 15 km from Capo Colonna, corresponding 

to the 10 Roman miles Pliny cites. 

34 Ökte 1988, 1033. 

35 Ökte 1988, 1033. 

23

The islands facing Le Castella are still visible in Battista Agnese’s Atlante 

autico, published in Venice in 1553, 36 and are described, for the last time, in a 

Greek portolano written by an anonymous sailor sometime in the 16 th century. 37 

The language uses a combination of Greek and Venetian nautical terms; it is likely 

this unknown writer had visited the coast of Calabria during his trips between the 

former Byzantine lands and Venice: 

Nearby Capo Rizzuto (Kavbon jResou`to), two miles out in the open sea 

(ajlavrgou), there are two shoals (duvo sevkiai~). […] And moving from 

Capo Rizzuto after six miles you can find the fortress called Le Castella 

(thn Kastevli) which is separated from the mainland and comes in and 

out with the sea of Levante as happens in Egripos. And two miles in the 

open sea facing Le Castella there are two rocks (skovgia). 38 

This portolano records both Capo Bianco’s shoals, nearby Capo Rizzuto, and the 

islands facing Le Castella, which are now called skovgia, probably a transliteration of the 

Italian “scogli” meaning “rocks.” Similarly, “secche” has become sevkiai~ (“shoals”), 

and “al largo” ajlavrgou (“in the open sea”). Assuming that this portolano is slightly later 

than Piri Reis’ maps, it is possible to think that a few decades after the Ottoman maps 

were drawn, the small islands had already begun disappearing under water, and they 

were more similar to rocks washed by the waves than to inhabitable land. The fact that 

the fortress of Le Castella “comes in and out” with the easterly wind of Levante as 

36 Riillo, Villirillo, and Berardi 2002, 22. 

37 Delatte 1947, X-XXII, 320-34. 

38 Delatte 1947, 330. 

25

happens in the city of Egripos (modern Petriti in Corfu), 39 can be explained by examining 

a photo of the castle itself (Fig. 11). A thin strip of land on a small isthmus connects it to 

the mainland. Before recent consolidation works, however, the isthmus had disappeared 

below sea level as can be seen in an old aerial picture published by Giulio Schmiedt in 

1975 (Fig. 12). 40 

Fig. 11. The fortress of Le Castella as it appears today, on a little island connected to the 

mainland by a thin isthmus. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

39 The author is grateful to Mr. Alexis Catsambis for his identification of the modern site in Greece. From: 

Tourist Guide for Corfu (2008, http://www.terrakerkyra.gr/per-leykimis/en/leykimi02.html). 

40 Schmiedt 1975, 57, fig. 23. 

26

Fig. 12. Aerial view of Le Castella, published in 1975. The amount of erosion on the 

seafront is evident; recent consolidation efforts may have spared the island its potential 

fate of slipping into the ocean, as was likely only a few decades ago. 

(Image after Schmiedt 1975, 57, fig. 23). 

It is plausible to think that in the late 16 th century the submergence process had already 

started, and that the isthmus appeared and disappeared according to the winds and sea 

conditions. It must be remembered that Corfu is the closest Greek island to Italy, and 

from there ships sailed into the Otranto channel to reach Apulia, Santa Maria di Leuca, 

and Croton. This anonymous Greek captain of the 16 th century, familiar with the sea 

conditions around both Croton and Corfu, drew a comparison between the two places. 

The five Plinian islands, as well as a promontory, appear repeatedly on several 

maps of southern Italy until A.D. 1736, but these cartographic representations should not 

27

e trusted. 41 Their legends explain that they are erudite topographical reconstructions of 

Magna Graecia 42 based on the texts of ancient writers and, therefore, do not represent 

contemporary reality. Thus after the 16 th century, no there are no more known accounts 

or depictions that can be considered reliable. 

Archaeological Data 

Underwater surveys and archaeological excavations have shown that both 

the ancient account of Pliny and popular legends are true. Thanks to the joint 

efforts of a team of Italian and American researchers, a rich set of data is now 

available to reconstruct the natural environment that characterized the Ionian coast 

of Calabria during the Classical Age. 43 Modern nautical charts show a series of 

41 A collection of these maps can be found in Riillo, Villirillo, and Berardi 2002, 22-45. 

42 The expression Magna Graecia identifies that cultural area of southern Italy ideally encompassed 

inside a large triangle with the cities of Cumae, Tarentum, and Rhegium representing its three vertices. 

The Latin expression Magna Graecia, which is probably better known and more widespread than the 

original Greek Mega®lh èElla®v, is commonly translated in English as Great Greece. The form Greater 

Greece, sometimes found in late Roman sources as Maior Graecia (Just. Epit. 20.2.2; Val. Max. 8.7.2; 

Ov. Fast. 4.64), should be rejected as misleading; both of the earlier versions did not have -grammatically 

speaking- a comparative but a positive value. Compared to the word ‘Italiva, which covers the entire 

Italian peninsula including the areas where local indigenous inhabitants lived, Mega®lh èElla®v or Magna 

Graecia refers only to the regions fully colonized by Greeks, which shared the same language, culture, 

and political institutions with the rest of the Greek world (Musti 1994, 85). Consequently, large areas of 

the mountainous inner country where colonies were never founded remained in the hands of the native 

Italic populations, at the fringes of the Mediterranean world. 

It must also be remarked that Sicily was perceived, even though almost entirely Greek 

(Carthaginians were present on the western third of the island) and deeply involved in crucial events of 

Greek history, as a separate region which followed in many ways its own historical path. Along with the 

simple fact that Sicily is an island, both ancient and modern scholars did not include it within Magna 

Graecia’s limits, and, with the exception of a controversial passage from Strabo (6.2), it is common place 

to talk of Great Greece and Sicily. 

43 Joseph Carter, Jonathan Morter, Roberto Spadea, Domenico Marino, and Luigi Cantafora have been 

particularly active in Croton; Maria Teresa Iannelli, Stefano Mariottini, and Jean-Daniel Stanley in 

Caulonia. 

28

four small shoals facing Capo Bianco and Le Castella in the exact same area 

where, according to Pliny and Piri Reis, the ancient islands were located. In 1935 

and 1964, local inhabitants saw the remains of columns in the waters of Caulonia, 

generating sufficient reason to suspect that the historical accounts were true. 44 

The underwater surveys initiated 20 years ago in Caulonia revealed the remains of 

buildings dating to 480-470 B.C. at a depth of 3.5-6 m. 45 Forty column drums, 93 

building blocks, two mooring bitts, two anchor stocks, two sounding weights, iron 

nail concretions, several amphora sherds, and a fragment of a bronze statue have 

been found in the vicinity of the sunken Cocynthum promontory. 46 Moreover, the 

discovery in Le Castella of obsidian, pottery, and a submerged prehistoric 

dwelling some 4-5 m below the surface, as well as ancient Greek quarries, water 

cisterns, dock remains with mooring bitts and stairs at depths of 6-7 m testify to 

significant erosion and tectonic changes that have transformed these two ancient 

terrestrial settlement areas. 47 During the summer of 2006, on a dive ca. 1 km 

offshore of Le Castella, at a depth of 6 m on a shoal close to land, I observed two 

terracotta slabs, probably roof tiles that do not appear to be connected with a 

shipwreck, wedged between rocks. 48 Luigi Cantafora, an experienced diver from 

44 Iannelli, Lena and Mariottini 1993, 1. 

45 An Ionic column drum dates the archaeological complex. Its upper end is indeed decorated with 

palmettes and lotus flowers stylistically similar to a column from the temple of contrada Marasa’ in Locri 

Epizephyri, dated to 480-470 B.C. (Iannelli, Lena and Mariottini 1993, 10). 

46 Medaglia 2002, 163-85. 

47 Marino 1992, 28 n. 30; Marino 1996a, 573; Marino 1996b, 17-38. The blocks and drums still at the 

quarries match the dimensions of the building elements used in the Doric temple of Capo Colonna, whose 

construction dates between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C. (Marino 1996b, 27). 

48 One slab measures 0.69 m in length, 0.062 m in thickness, and lies at a depth of 5.8 m. The second slab 

measures 0.44 x 0.45 m, is 0.06 m thick, and has a rectangular notch on its upper left corner measuring 

0.05 x 0.12 m. It is located at a depth of 6.3 m. 

29

Croton who discovered three of the five marble carriers under discussion here, 

reported seeing some stone walls in the middle of the sea, at a distance of 1.6 km 

from the castle. 49 

Comparing the written sources with the nautical charts and archaeological data, it 

appears that the coastline of Calabria, both in Caulonia and Croton, has changed 

profoundly since antiquity. It is, therefore, likely that in antiquity the coastline extended 

more into the open sea and sharp rocks were closer to the water’s surface than they are 

today, presenting an even greater danger for sailors in the third century A.D, when the 

Punta Scifo A merchantman was lost. 

The Coastline in Antiquity: A Possible Reconstruction 

Based on the evidence presented thus far, it is possible to assume that Greek and 

Roman sailors would have encountered natural settings quite different from those today: 

centuries of wars, depopulation, deforestation, malaria, floods and high sedimentation 

have silted ancient harbors and changed drastically the demographic and morphological 

appearance of the Calabrian shore. There can be little doubt that cities such as Locri 

Epizephyri, Sybaris, and Caulonia had maritime facilities, which at present are covered 

by a thick layer of debris and sediments deposited by local rivers. 

The ancient writers refer repeatedly to the harbors of Locri Epizephyri and 

Sybaris, renamed Thurii in 443 B.C. when Athens led a Panhellenic expedition to 

49 Il Crotonese 8-10 September 1992, 65, 5. 

30

esettle the site, which had been abandoned after Croton conquered it and razed it to the 

ground in 510 B.C. 50 Remains of Hellenistic shipsheds dating to circa 300 B.C. have 

been found in Thurii, 51 while in Locri some harbor structures of Archaic and later date 

have been discovered recently. 52 Aerial photographs seem to locate the site of Locri’s 

silted harbor where the Portigliola River makes a bend before reaching the sea, 53 much 

like the Tiber River in Ostia; presumably, this could be the area of the elusive harbor 

facilities mentioned by Thucydides, Diodorus Siculus, and Livy. 

It must be remembered that the amount of debris and sediment the local rivers 

carried throughout the centuries is massive: the remains of a fourth-century B.C. tomb at 

Sybaris, found under 8 m of alluvium, along with further archaeological remains buried 

at a depth of 12 m, demonstrate this phenomenon. 54 With the exception of the two 

bollards discovered by Iannelli and Mariottini, there is no archaeological evidence for 

naval installations in Caulonia. 55 However, considering the city’s proximity to the sea 

and the references found in Polyaenus, Porphyrius, and Pseudo-Scylax, 56 there can be no 

doubt that Caulonia was equipped with some naval installations. 

Therefore, seafarers who left the bay of Tarentum and headed to Rhegium did 

not encounter the flat, featureless coastline typical of modern Calabria. They could stop 

first at the mouth of the river Crati, where the Greek colonies of Sybaris/Thurii, 

50 Livy 24.1.9; 24.3.15; 27.25.11; 29.7.7; 29.8.9-11; 29.9.8; 42.48.6-7. Diod. Sic. 8.19.1-2; 13.3.3-5; 

16.18.2; 22.8.3. Thuc. 4.1.1; 6.44.2-3; 6.104.2; 7.23.3-6; 7.25.2-3; 8.35.1; 8.91.2. 

51 Zancani Montuoro 1972-73, 75-9. 

52 Barra Bagnasco 1999, 1-20. 

53 Schmiedt 1975, 113-5. 

54 Delano Smith 1979, 330. 

55 Iannelli, Lena, and Mariottini 1993, 10. 

56 Polyaenus, Strat. 6.11; Porph. Pyth. 56; Ps. Skyl. 14. See Appendix 3. 

31

or, thereafter, Roman Copia, flourished for centuries. Metapontum was a possible small 

port-of-call. Following this they would arrive at the port-canal of Sybaris, with docks at 

the estuary of the river Crati. 57 Then came Croton, a good resting place for ships and 

their crews, the Roman cities of Scolacium, Caulonia, and Locri Epizephyri. In this way 

it was possible to divide the 450-km Tarentum to Rhegium route into as many as five or 

six legs (Fig. 13). Additional small and now unknown landing places were probably also 

available, like the landing spot at the mouth of the Hylias River (modern Nicà) between 

Sybaris and Croton, where the Athenian army embarked in 415 B.C. 58 The written 

sources fully support this proposed reconstruction. Thucydides, describing the Athenian 

expedition to Syracuse in 415 B.C. (Fig. 13), recorded in ample detail the route the 

trierarchs chose to direct their warships to Sicily. The main part of the fleet left the 

Piraeus, sailed around the hostile Peloponnesian coast, and reached Corfu, where the 

Athenians decided to stop and build new supply ships and additional triremes. From 

there 

all the ships began together to cross the Ionian sea to Italy; and when they 

reached the Iapygian promontory or Tarentum, or where each happened to 

make landfall, they made their way along the Italian coast, the cities 

refusing them admittance to market or town, but allowing them water and 

beaching facilities, Tarentum and Locri not admitting them even to these, 

until they came to Rhegium, the toe of Italy. 59 (Fig.13). 

57 Schmiedt 1975, 128-33; Zancani Montuoro 1972-73, 75-9. 

58 Thuc. 7.25.1-2. 

59 Thuc. 6.44.2-3. The Iapygian promontory is modern Santa Maria di Leuca. 

32

The Otranto channel is only 105 kilometers wide and it represents the shortest way to 

reach the Italian peninsula for ships coming from the Aegean. The harbors along the 

coast of Calabria provided Greek and Roman seafarers with shelter and materials for the 

ships, water, food supplies, and a safe resting place for the crews. 

At the end of the 14 th century A.D., written accounts record the journeys of 

Simone Lecavella and Pellegro Maraboto, who traveled, respectively, from Alexandria 

and Messembria in the Black Sea to Genoa. 60 With a quick glance at Fig. 14 it is 

apparent that the only real difference between the route they took and that of the 

Athenian fleet in Thucydides’ account is the ability of the ships to skip the Gulf of 

Tarentum, sailing rather in a straight line from Santa Maria di Leuca (the ancient 

Iapygian Promontory) to Capo Colonna with only one stop in Roccella before reaching 

the Strait. Before lateen sails were in use, vessels were more subject to the vicissitudes 

of winds and currents, but the evidence indicates that ancient seafarers followed the 

same route as Lecavella and Maraboto. 

Strategically located where the flat Ionian shoreline is interrupted by a number of 

small, wind-sheltered bays created by the three promontories of Capo Colonna, Capo 

Cimiti, and Capo Rizzuto, the area to the south of Croton was a natural haven for 

seamen in danger. Many of them likely found shelter, but some probably lost their ships, 

if the winds changed unexpectedly. This may be precisely what happened to the five 

ancient naves lapidariae that sank in this area. 

60 Horden and Purcell 2000, 140. 

34

The Scirocco Wind and the Final Moments of the Ships 

(Punta Scifo A, Punta Scifo B, Punta Cicala) 

It is worth describing, in this context, my own experience in 2006, of sailing 

between Capo Colonna and Capo Rizzuto. There is nothing like traveling in a 5 m-long, 

undecked launch to help one understand the real dangers of the sea and the way it 

affected seafarers in antiquity. In 2006 the sea was unusually rough for mid-July in 

southern Italy, and more than once it was impossible to reach the archaeological site by 

boat due to the erratic winds and resulting choppy seas. The mornings typically began 

with a light north-easterly wind, known locally as Grecale, but by midday the stormy 

Ponente or Libeccio would blow in from west and south-west, only to die down 

suddenly by late afternoon (Fig.15). More than once our team was forced to take shelter 

in a protected bay and wait for the wind and sea to subside. This experience taught us 

what the ancient mariners must have been all too familiar with: unpredictable and ever- 

changing winds around Croton. Even though the area offers endangered ships shelter in 

numerous protected bays, the entire coastline is totally exposed to the destructive action 

of the southerly Scirocco. This may explain why so many ships were wrecked along this 

coastline, and why the Punta Scifo A and Punta Scifo B shipwrecks lie with their bows 

oriented to the north, while the marble carrier smashed on the rocks of Punta Cicala is 

oriented along an east-west axis. 61 The captains of these three ships saw the harbor of 

Croton on their starboard side, and would have gladly reached it, if only they could. 

61 See Chapter II, pp. 58-65; Chapter III, pp. 74-5 for additional information. 

36

Coming from the northeast, caught by a storm of Grecale, they could not steer the 

necessary course to reach Croton safely without taking the risk of capsizing their ships 

by exposure to high waves. Unable to reach Croton, their only option was to proceed 

past Capo Colonna, and try to find shelter behind it, in the bay of Punta Scifo (Fig. 15). 

After the ships entered the bay, perhaps the Scirocco blew in suddenly and dashed them 

against the sharp rocks that in antiquity were closer to the surface than they are today. 

The captain of the Punta Cicala wreck passed Capo Colonna and was on his way 

to Punta Scifo, but apparently was not able to keep the ship far enough from the 

surfacing rocks of Punta Cicala: this marble carrier hit them, sinking with its bow 

oriented towards the bay it never reached. Sometimes the sea, not the captain, dictates 

the route. 

37

(Drawing: D. Bartoli).

Conclusions 

Looking at the present-day coastline of Calabria, so uniform and linear, virtually 

without any natural bays that can be used as harbors, without benefit of lagoons or river 

estuaries that can be used as port-canals, it is difficult to understand how the region was 

an active center of maritime activity in Greco-Roman times. The Ionian coastline is 

indeed almost entirely flat and sandy, with the remarkable exception of Croton. For the 

sailor who leaves Tarentum heading to the Strait of Messina, modern Croton offers the 

only natural harbor along the Ionian coastline before reaching Rhegium. 

Having considered the historical, archaeological, and geographical data currently 

available, it is possible to conclude that in the last 20 centuries the rivers’ courses in the 

region have changed. Deforestation seems to have been the main cause of this dramatic 

environmental shift. The presence of tree branches and leaves lessen the impact of heavy 

rain falling on the ground; their roots solidify the soil, limiting the effect of water 

erosion (especially near riverbeds), and the topsoil formed by trees can absorb a great 

quantity of rain. It is impressive to see, on a satellite map of Calabria, that the coastal 

areas close to the ancient settlements are barren and dry, while the forests of the interior 

at higher altitudes and at greater distance from human settlements still appear mostly 

intact. As more trees were cut further and further away from the cities, the faster the soil 

was washed off the flanks of Calabria’s hills and mountains, which, due to their steep 

slope, intensified the negative effect of rainfall and river erosion. In this way, erosion 

debris was carried downstream to the rivers’ estuaries, covering with sediment the 

39

ancient settlements and ports located close to the rivers’ mouths. The harbor of Croton 

represents the exception, since it was built on a raised terrace immune to the effects of 

the river Esaro. Similarly, the entire area south of the city, from Capo Colonna to Le 

Castella, is not affected by heavy sedimentation, since there are no rivers flowing into 

the sea in this area of Calabria. 

In the 1980s and 1990s the Italian government, trying to give a new economic 

stimulus to the region’s economy and to develop tourism, began an ambitious project of 

improving Calabria’s maritime facilities. As a result of this effort, nine small artificial 

harbors have been built along the Ionian coastline. 62 Along the Tyrrhenian coast, from 

south to north, seven more landing-places have been created. 63 Interestingly, both the 

tiny harbors of Sybaris and Gizzeria are port-canals, as was likely the case in antiquity. 

In modern times efforts are under way to return the coastline of Calabria to what it was 

25 centuries ago: a much more hospitable land for sailors and their ships. 

62 These harbors are, from north to south: Laghi di Sibari, Corigliano Calabro, Cariati, Ciro’ Marina, Le 

Castella, Marina di Catanzaro, Badolato, Roccella Jonica, and Saline Joniche. (Bianchi di Castelbianco 

2003, 44-70). The author personally saw the harbor of Badolato Marina almost finished and in use by 

small fishing boats in the summer of 2003. 

63 The names of the harbors are: Scilla, Bagnara, Tropea, Pizzo Calabro, Gizzeria, Cetraro, and Diamante. 

(Bianchi di Castelbianco 2003, 7-38). 

40

CHAPTER II 

HISTORY OF THE STUDIES 

The main purpose of this chapter is to review the history of archaeological work 

carried out on the sunken marble carriers south of Croton between 1908, when a local 

fisherman fortuitously discovered the first site, and 2006, when the last INA campaign 

took place. Although each of the five wrecks had already been located before 2005, 

almost no details about their size, location, or cargo composition had been made 

available to the scientific community. Furthermore, all the sites underwent 

archaeological excavation, but the collected data never left the public library of the 

Archaeological Museum of Croton. Patrizio Pensabene was the only scholar who 

conducted research on the Punta Scifo A and Capo Cimiti sites before the 2005 survey 

began. 

The following pages present the histories of these five sites as known from 

archival documents found in the Archaeological Museums of Reggio Calabria and 

Croton. Proper credit will be given to the original discoverers, who have been almost 

forgotten since the early years of the 20 th century. 

41

The Punta Scifo A Shipwreck and Its Early Discoverers: Local Fishermen and 

Paolo Orsi’s Reports (1908-1921) 

A century ago, in 1908, the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi received information 

concerning a cargo of marble artifacts located off the beach of Punta Scifo. On August 

21 of the same year a local fisherman named Antonio Tricoli had recovered a large 

marble basin, with an internal diameter of 2.10 m, which was promptly confiscated by 

the Coast Guard and sent to the National Museum of Tarentum at the recommendation 

of Prof. Q. Quagliati. 64 The following year Mr. Tricoli’s brothers continued the search 

for marble artifacts in the sea around Punta Scifo, and located, close to the original find 

spot, two additional basins (known as labra, plural of the Latin labrum, meaning “basin, 

tank, pond”) and three column shafts. The brothers were able to raise them to the surface 

and, having “overcome unthinkable difficulties” they carried the artifacts to the harbor of 

Croton, where the three column shafts were unloaded and abandoned. 65 Figure 16 shows 

the two largest basins (LAB 2-3) as they were seen in December 2005 flanking the 

entrance of Croton’s Archaeological Museum. Their size is remarkable: the upper 

external diameters are 2.25 and 2.36 m wide, while their heights reach 1.04 and 1.05 m. 

Antonio Tricoli’s name appears once more in Croton’s chronicles in 1966, when, 

as “an old seaman,” he claimed to have seen 15 m from the beach of Capo Colonna and 

64 Valente 1973, 50 n. 31. According to G. Valente the internal diameter of this basin is 2.11 m, while in 

Paolo Orsi’s 1911 article the same artifact appears to have a diameter of only 2.00 m, and a height of 0.85 

m (Orsi 1911, 119). Patrizio Pensabene in 1978 reanalyzed some of the marble items from Punta Scifo, 

and found that the basin in Tarentum has a maximum upper diameter of 2.10 m, internal upper diameter of 

1.70 m, and height of 0.90 m (Pensabene 1978a, 114). It is evident that Paolo Orsi’s measurements were 

taken quite hastily and ought to be used with caution. 

65 Valente 1973, 50 n. 31. When G. Valente published his book he was still able to see the three column 

shafts near the Stazione Torpediniere of the Old Harbor. No one moved them from 1909 until at least 

1973. 

42

at a depth of 4 m, the massive golden column that Livy and Cicero say existed in the 

temple of Hera. 66 

Fig. 16. The entrance to the Croton Archaeological Museum is flanked by the two 

largest marble basins from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck, LAB 2-3. Notice the 

rectangular bosses under the rim, that would have been eliminated or transformed into 

masks or floral decorations after the arrival of the artifact at its final destination. 

(Photo: D. Bartoli). 

In 1910, Paolo Orsi, then Director for the Archaeological Patrimony of Calabria 

and a veritable pioneer of archaeological studies for the entire region, examined this 

material, and took detailed notes of the basins’ dimensions. He also recorded some 

66 Valente 1973, 30 n.15. Livy, 24.3.6; Cic. Div. 1.48. As Domenico Marino suggested to the author, it is 

possible to imagine that the legend of the golden columns was born after local archaeologists asked Mr. 

Tricoli if the column he saw was “Doric.” In Italian, the adjectives “d’oro” (golden) and “dorico” (Doric) 

have a very similar sound, and probably Mr. Tricoli, misunderstanding the real nature of his find, spread 

false rumors about his discovery. It is true that close to Capo Colonna there are submerged column shafts, 

belonging to the “Punta Cicala” shipwreck, and probably these are the columns to which Mr. Tricoli was 

referring. Due to his persistence in finding ancient submerged sites, Mr. Tricoli should be credited as the 

first diver active in Croton to have shown an interest in underwater archaeology. 

43

Roman inscriptions on two of the three columns referring to the consulates of Lateranus 

and Rufinus (A.D. 197) and Severus and Victorinus (A.D. 200), and published the first 

scholarly report of the discoveries. 67 Additional discoveries were made between April 30 

and May 3, 1915, when the Forcellini Company from Milan dredged the seafloor for 

rocks and boulders. 68 At that time a new dock was under construction in the harbor of 

Croton, and Forcellini Engineering won the bid to supply the building material necessary 

for its foundations. 69 In only a few days, as Paolo Orsi wrote, “the new discoveries 

increased almost tenfold” 70 the number of marble elements raised since 1908, a concise 

description that gives a good idea of the quantity of artifacts the Forcellinis raised from 

the seafloor. The marble items were unloaded at the dock of Croton, as seen in an old 

photograph in which 13 rectangular blocks, ten column shafts, and two pedestals are 

visible. Additional artifacts are presumably hidden beneath the pile (Fig. 17). 

Fig. 17. Period photograph showing the artifacts raised from Punta Scifo A, unloaded on 

the dock of Croton. Marble blocks, column shafts, and statue pedestals are visible. 

(Photo after Paoletti 1994, 529, fig. 69). 

67 Orsi 1911, 118-24. 

68 Orsi 1911, 123. 

69 Severino 1988, 103. 

70 Original report May 15, 1915, 1. (Appendix 2). 

44

Thanks to a second short, yet detailed report Orsi published in 1921, and to the 

original records available for examination in the archives of Reggio Calabria’s 

Archaeological Museum, a good deal of information is available to reconstruct the 

number and types of artifacts raised from the seafloor in 1915. The site was said to be 

located 200 m offshore, estimated to have an area of ca. 50 m x 50 m, at a depth of 6-7 

m. 71 It is also mentioned that 2-3 m of sand still covered the underwater material. 72 

In only four days of work, most of the Punta Scifo A shipwreck’s original 

assemblage was either removed or severely disturbed. Mr. Forcellini calculated that 

about 150 tons of marble were brought to the surface, along with “numerous wooden 

remains pertaining to a vessel” and amphora sherds Paolo Orsi identified as Roman. 73 

Considering that the Isola delle Correnti shipwreck, the largest navis lapidaria found to 

date in the Mediterranean, was carrying approximately 350 tons of marble, the weight of 

the recovered material gives a good idea of the extensive spoliation that took place in 

May 1915. 74 

Comparing the archival documents to Orsi’s publications, it is possible to 

conclude that between 1908 and 1915 no less than 52 marble items were raised and 

deposited in the harbor of Croton: 8 almost finished labra, 10 pedestals each decorated 

with four lions’ paws, 6 statue bases, 15 column shafts, 10 marble blocks, an unspecified 

number of which had lead seals “in the shape of an ansate little plate,” and an intact 

71 Orsi 1921, 493. 

72 Original report May 15, 1915, 1. 

73 Orsi 1921, 493-6. For the marble tonnage, see Orsi 1921, 496 and the original record dated May 15, 

1915. 

74 For Isola delle Correnti, see see Kapitän 1971, 296-8. A dive on Punta Scifo A’s remains during the 

2005 INA expedition revealed that only four marble blocks, one column shaft, two thin slabs, and some 

tiny fragments of white marble are still visible on the seafloor. The 2006-2006 catalog of the items 

recovered makes it possible to estimate that approximately 200 tons of marble were carried aboard. 

Therefore, it is now known that the Forcellinis raised to the surface most of this cargo. 

45

marble table, along with fragments of two more tables. 75 Detailed information is 

available only for the most artistic of them, while little is known about the unfinished 

blocks and column shafts. What little hull remains were raised appear to have vanished. 

Likely deemed of little value to the general public, they were left to air dry and 

disintegrated quickly once brought to the surface. 

A ew Phase of Research: Gianni Roghi and Patrizio Pensabene (1961-1978) 

As is suggested by the disappearance of the artifacts and the disintegration of hull 

remains, interest in the marbles of Punta Scifo waned in the years that followed the 

discoveries of 1915. The shipwrecks were apparently forgotten until 1961, when a series 

of newspaper articles described how it was “absolutely necessary to recover the columns 

of the ancient temple of Hera Lacinia.” 76 Public hearings were brought to the Lower 

House in Rome, prompting the Central Government to send Mr. Gianni Roghi to dive 

close to Punta Scifo. He investigated the area “not less than half a kilometer south of 

Capo Colonna” 77 without finding any trace of archaeological material there, but was able 

to see and map, with the help a local diver, five isolated monolithic marble column 

shafts a few kilometers south of Punta Scifo. These became known as the “Capo Cimiti 

columns” after the nearby promontory. 78 

It is possible that local divers in the 1960s remembered the location of the Punta 

Scifo A shipwreck, and raised more artifacts. Armando Lucifero, a passionate collector 

75 Original report May 15, 1915. 

76 Valente 1973, 67 n.46. 

77 Roghi 1961, 311. 

78 Roghi 1961, 310-15. 

46

of antiquities and owner of the eponymous 17 th -century tower in Punta Scifo (Fig. 18), 79 

added this personal note to his 1976 translation of François Lenormant’s La Grande 

Grèce: “in the same little bay [of Punta Scifo] was raised the little marble group 

representing Eros and Psyche, which I bought and is now in the Civic Museum of 

Croton.” 80 This is a clear indication that the site had been looted sometime between 1915 

and 1976. As the bay is extremely small, the wreck lies in shallow water, and its location 

is easy to remember owing to the retaining walls of a farm facing the site, it was an 

easily accessible target for local seamen and sport divers in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Fig. 18. Lilia Campana marks the Punta Scifo B shipwreck’s location. 

Lucifero Tower, in the background, overlooks the little bay. 


In 1978 Patrizio Pensabene published a detailed review of all the marble pieces that he 

could find since Orsi’s publications. He was able to locate only 27 pieces of the cargo, 

79 A document dating to 1649 mentions the Punta Scifo tower as a “new and strong tower to watch all this 

promontory.” (Valente 1960, 20-1, n.37). 

80 Lenormant 1976, 223 n.29. 

47

and curiously some of the blocks and columns that had been abandoned along the docks 

in Croton were subsequently discovered in a church courtyard in Corazzo, at a distance 

of ca. 30 km from Croton. 81 Pensabene also visually analyzed small samples of the 

marble to identify their provenience and published a catalog with drawings, 

measurements, and records of the visible inscriptions. 82 It is thanks to his studies that the 

sources of the stone have been identified as Docimium and Proconnesus (Turkey) for the 

Punta Scifo A shipwreck, and Carystos (Euboea, Greece) for the Capo Cimiti column 

shafts. Pensabene's and Orsi's articles remain the only published analyses of these two 

sites. 

The Cooperative Aquarius and Alice Freschi’s Excavations (1983-1994) 

A third season of research began in 1983, when Michele Mungari, a diver from 

Croton, relocated the Punta Scifo A shipwreck and gave its exact position to the 

Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Calabria. 83 In the summer of the same year, 

Alice Freschi, director of the private firm Aquarius, an archaeological contract company 

specializing in underwater surveys and archaeological excavations for the Italian Fine 

Arts Bureau, carried out an excavation of the navis lapidaria. 

The same year Luigi Cantafora, arguably the most experienced diver still active 

in Croton, initiated a collaboration with the Calabrian Soprintendenza. He showed all the 

ancient sites he had discovered during his long career as a Navy and sport diver to 

81 Pensabene 1978a, 107. 

82 Pensabene 1978a, 105-18; Pensabene 1978b, 233-4. 

83 Freschi 1987, n.1. 

48

Freschi, who carried out eight seasons of archaeological surveys and excavations during 

the years 1983-1984, 1987-1991, and 1994. The amount of data they collected is truly 

impressive, even though not one of these campaigns lasted more than 12 consecutive 

days, and in many instances considerably less. 

Aquarius’ archaeologists mapped the Punta Cicala shipwreck in 1983 and 1984, 

excavated the Punta Scifo B marble carrier in 1987, made a sketch of the column shafts 

at Capo Cimiti in 1988, and another of the Capo Bianco merchantman in 1991. 84 While 

the Punta Scifo A shipwreck will be the sole focus of Chapter III, the results of 

Aquarius’ work are presented here, alongside the new data collected during the INA 

2005 and 2006 INA campaigns. 

The IA Campaigns (2005-2006) 

The 2005 Mapping Season 

Between August 20 and September 24, 2005 under water investigations by INA 

and RPM Nautical were concentrated on the mouth of the Neto River, 12 km north of 

Croton’s harbor, and the resort at Praialonga, 35 km to the south, (Fig. 19). Two research 

vessels were used simultaneously: the small catamaran Juno (Fig. 20), 8.2 m long, 2.9 m 

wide, and with a draft of only 1 m, proved to be perfect for shallow-water operations, 

and was used to scan the seafloor up to a maximum depth of 25 m. Three Geometrics 

84 Based on Freschi’s reports, the Punta Cicala shipwreck is also known as “Cantafora A,” the Punta Scifo 

B as “Cantafora B, and the Capo Bianco site as “Cantafora C.” In this work I prefer to name the 

shipwrecks after the nearby promontories, even though Mr. Cantafora deserves full credit for his 

discoveries. 

49

Fig. 20. The catamaran Juno at work in South Italy (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

Due to her size and limited draft, Juno was able to survey close to shore, mapping large 

archaeological objects such as semi-worked marble blocks and column shafts with 

remarkable detail. This technology proved to be less accurate and reliable when it came 

to locating smaller artifacts, such as amphoras, in deeper waters, but for the large marble 

blocks at a depth of 7-8 m, it provided excellent results. Once the multibeam data were 

processed and the instruments’ swaths were merged, a three-dimensional map of the 

seafloor was generated, illustrating the wreck sites of the three marble carriers of Punta 

Scifo A, Punta Scifo B, and Punta Cicala. 

The second research vessel, Hercules (Fig. 21), being much longer (37.3 m), 

beamier (6.7 m), and with a draft of 1.5 m, was used to survey depths of 25 to 75 m, with 

her two keel-mounted Kongsberg multibeam sonar units (EM 1002 and EM 3000D) and 

a Benthos side-scan sonar. Theoretically, the multibeam sonar should have been able to 

survey to a depth of 1,000 m and the side-scan sonar to 2,000 m. 

51

Fig. 21. The R/V Hercules. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

In reality, however, in order to get the amount of detail required to locate relatively small 

artifacts, their operative range was limited to no more than 70-75 m. Unfortunately the 

remotely operated vehicle (ROV) available on Hercules malfunctioned after only a few 

dives. As a result, most of the acquired targets in the deep waters of Croton remain 

uninvestigated. 

Considering that the 47 km of coastline from the Neto River to Praialonga 

represents a remarkably large area to investigate in less than a month, we created small 

adjoining navigational grids. Each sector could be covered in eight or nine hours with 

Juno and Hercules, weather permitting. The survey’s swaths were set using PDS 2000 

navigation software. At the end of the campaign, approximately 50% of the designated 

survey area had been covered. The area between the harbor of Croton and Capo Cimiti 

from 5 m to 75 m deep was nearly entirely surveyed. The two research vessels could 

cover only a small fraction of the sea from Capo Cimiti to Le Castella; the seafloor 

between Le Castella and Praialonga remains totally unexplored (Fig. 22). 

52

The rocky spots close to the coastline and in shallow waters often had to be 

avoided because of the rocks rising dangerously close to the surface, even for the 

shallow-drafted Juno. They were visually inspected by snorkeling. It was in this manner 

that we found the column shafts at Capo Cimiti and the marble blocks at Capo Bianco. 

Table 1 records the coordinates of the area covered until the last day of work in 2005. 

Table 1. Coordinates of the surveyed area, 2005. 

Vertex Latitude (N) Longitude (E) 

1 39° 05' 51'' 17° 07' 59'' 

2 39° 06' 25" 17° 10' 43" 

3 39° 01' 24" 17° 13' 05" 

4 38° 57' 28" 17° 12' 26" 

5 38° 53' 18'' 17° 07' 52" 

6 38° 53' 28'' 17° 07' 30" 

7 38° 53' 38" 17° 05' 12" 

8 38° 54' 15" 17° 03' 03" 

9 38° 54' 42" 17° 03' 18" 

10 38° 54' 47" 17° 08' 17" 

11 38° 55' 35" 17° 08' 29" 

12 38° 58' 42" 17° 10' 03" 

13 38° 59' 39" 17° 10' 13" 

14 39° 01' 09" 17° 11' 36" 

15 39° 03' 01" 17° 09' 24" 

In 2005, time permitted only a quick glance at each site. Pictures, videos, and 

basic measurements of some blocks provided further information to supplement the 

images available from the multibeam data, and to mark the exact GPS location of each 

site. 

53

The most important result of this first survey campaign was not only the relocation of 

four marble wrecks, along with two other heavily-looted amphora cargoes, 85 but also the 

reinvestigation of the marble artifacts associated with the Punta Scifo A, B, Capo Cimiti, 

and Punta Cicala shipwrecks, a study that had ended with the last Aquarius campaign 

in 1994. For the second time since Paolo Orsi, a small group of archaeologists could see 

first-hand the situation on the seafloor. 

The 2006 Mapping Season 

The 2006 season saw a much smaller team working in Croton: RPM Nautical 

Foundation did not take part in the second research campaign, but the Center for 

Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University (CMAC) and INA 

provided field support for the author and archaeologist Lilia Campana, for the total 

duration of the research permit (July 15 - August 15). The equipment used was 

extremely simple, but well-tested, reliable, and effective: a small launch powered by a 

10 HP engine (Fig. 23), basic SCUBA gear, a handheld GPS system, two digital cameras 

with underwater housings, PhotoModeler 4.0 mapping software, and, in case of poor 

weather, an inflatable dinghy (Fig. 24) that was anchored over the site and used to hold 

tape measures, miscellaneous tools, and other supplies. 

85 In the resort called “Eurocamping” several sherds of Greco-Italic A amphoras were seen at a depth of 5 

m., and in resort “La Tonnara” a large concentration of Dressel 2-4 amphoras. The former are dated to the 

late fourth-early third century B.C., the latter to the late first century B.C.-mid second century A.D. 

(Peacock and Williams 1986, 84-5; 105-6.) Mr. Luigi Cantafora had already shown these sites to the 

author in 1996, during a summer field school organized by the local Gruppo Archeologico Krotoniate. 

55

Fig. 23. The launch used to reach the archaeological sites in 2006. 


Fig. 24. The tiny dinghy, towed from the shore and filled with tools and supplies. Since 

the wrecks of Punta Scifo A, B, and Capo Cimiti are located in a protected bay no more 

than 200 m offshore, it proved to be easier to reach them from the beach than from the 

sea, in the event of poor weather conditions. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

56

Such basic gear was more than enough to work comfortably on all the marble 

shipwrecks. Their depth is sufficiently shallow (no more than 8 m), and their location so 

close to the coastline, that more expensive equipment was not necessary. Additional 

measurements of the Punta Scifo A and B marble elements were taken. While only a few 

remains of the A site were still in situ, wreck B was much better preserved: the marble 

blocks and slabs of Punta Scifo B still retained their stacking pattern, preserving the 

cargo’s original disposition within the ship’s hull. Unfortunately, it provided impossible 

to make a new map of the shipwrecks using digital photography and PhotoModeler, due 

to the site unfavorable conditions. All the wrecks were too shallow, the areas too large, 

and the focal lengths of the camera lenses too long to allow for the incorporation of more 

than three or four blocks into any single image. As a result, it was not possible to obtain 

a general view of the wrecks and capture sufficient data points in the individual pictures 

for accurate image processing. After having collected information on the Punta Scifo A 

wreck, the INA survey team spent the remaining time documenting the other sites 

located in 2005 with basic measurements, photography, and video. The following pages 

present the new, firsthand information collected on these merchantmen; the Punta Scifo 

A shipwreck is discussed in Chapter III. 

57

Results of the Studies 

The Punta Scifo B Shipwreck 

The Punta Scifo B shipwreck rests in a little bay close to Lucifero Tower, the 

summer residence of the eponymous Marquises from Croton (Fig. 18). The wreck was 

partially excavated by Aquarius between September 16 and September 24, 1987. A 2005 

multibeam image of the Punta Scifo B wreck gives the general features of the site 

(Fig. 25). Thirty marble slabs and 24 blocks are located at a maximum depth of 7 m on a 

sandy seafloor, 179 m away from the nearby Punta Scifo A shipwreck (Fig. 26). 

The site, apparently intact and still retaining the overall shape of a merchantman, 

covers an area of 24 m x 15 m and its orientation follows a southeast-northwest direction 

that presumably reflects the position of the vessel when it sank, with its bow facing the 

shore. The marble objects are still arranged next to one another or superimposed in two 

or three layers (heavier blocks beneath, lighter slabs above) presumably as they were 

placed inside the ship’s hold. The blocks’ total weight approaches 350 tons, and the ship 

that carried them was probably larger and beamier than the ship lost at Punta Scifo A: 

based on the distribution of the artifacts, it is likely that the hull measured ca. 40 m x 12 

m. 86 Based on the type of amphoras carried on board, the ship appears to have sunk in 

the third century A.D. 

86 The third-century A.D. Isola delle Correnti shipwreck is remarkably similar to the Punta Scifo B wreck. 

It carried a cargo of 49 marble blocks for an estimated weight of 350 tons, with a hull of 40-48 m in length 

and 10-11 m in beam. (Kapitän 1971, 296-8). 

58

Table 2 provides the measurements and tonnage of every marble item. The stone 

has not been analyzed yet, but it may have come from Proconnesus, considering its 

bluish-white color, appreciable in the blocks that were well-preserved under the sand. 87 

Using the dimensions of each marble element and the specific gravity of marble as 2,563 

kg/m 3 , it is possible to calculate an estimate of the overall tonnage using the following 

mathematical formulas: 88 

V parallelepiped = Width x Length x Height (for blocks); 

V cylinder = π x r 2 x Height (for columns). 

Table 2. Dimensions and tonnage of the marble blocks and slabs from the Punta Scifo B 

wreck site. (INA data merged with data from Freschi 1987, 41-3). 

Item # Block/Slab Length 

(m) 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Tons 

1 Slab 1.81 2.50 0.36 1.63 3.17 

2 Slab 1.82 1.53 0.26 0.72 1.86 

3 Slab 2.40 4.91 0.34 4.01 10.27 

4 Slab 2.41 2.88 0.29 2.01 5.16 

5 Block 2.06 1.02 0.63 1.32 3.39 

6 Slab 1.77 1.63 0.33 0.95 2.44 

7 Slab 1.84 2.00 0.34 1.25 3.21 

87 See Chapter IV, pp. 171-5 for more information regarding the physical properties of Proconnesian 

marble. 

88 The specific densities of marbles vary. This work uses the generic figure provided by the Specific 

Gravity of General Materials Table (2008, http://www.csgnetwork.com/specificgravmattable. 

html). 

60


(m) 

Table 2 (continued). 

Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Tons 

8 Slab 1.86 2.72 0.32 1.62 4.15 

9 Block 3.28 2.00 0.97 6.36 16.31 

10 Block 2.62 1.80 0.62 2.92 7.49 

11 Block 2.04 3.32 0.88 5.96 15.28 

12 Slab 3.02 2.25 0.28 1.90 4.88 

13 Block 1.26 6.00 0.63 4.76 12.21 

14 Block 4.08 1.42 0.95 5.50 14.11 

15 Slab 2.45 2.50 0.34 2.08 5.34 

16 Slab 2.50 3.15 0.28 2.21 5.65 

17 Block 2.37 3.70 0.97 8.51 21.80 

18 Block 1.40 2.17 1.30 3.95 10.12 

19 Block 1.50 1.20 0.67 1.21 3.09 

20 Block 3.79 1.45 1.03 5.66 14.51 

21 Block 3.24 1.12 0.84 3.05 7.81 

22 Block 3.40 2.00 0.70 4.76 12.20 

23 Slab 2.40 0.60 0.25 0.36 3.23 

24 Block 3.90 2.05 1.05 8.39 21.52 

25 Block 2.45 1.45 1.20 4.26 10.93 

26 Block 1.40 1.75 1.05 2.57 6.59 

61


(m) 


Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Tons 

27 Block 1.35 1.20 0.60 0.97 2.49 

28 Slab 1.80 1.50 0.35 0.95 2.42 

29 Slab 1.80 1.45 0.35 0.91 2.34 

30 Slab 1.80 2.70 0.30 1.46 3.74 

31 Slab 1.80 2.50 0.35 1.58 4.04 

32 Block 2.50 2.05 1.60 8.20 21.02 

33 Block 2.10 1.60 1.00 3.36 8.61 

34 Slab 1.80 1.20 0.35 0.76 1.94 

35 Block 2.60 1.20 1.20 3.74 9.60 

36 Block 2.30 2.75 1.65 10.44 26.75 

37 Slab 1.80 2.55 0.35 1.61 4.12 

38 Slab 1.80 1.40 0.35 0.88 2.26 

39 Slab 1.80 1.65 0.35 1.04 2.66 

40 Slab 1.80 1.20 0.30 0.65 1.66 

41 Slab 1.35 1.50 0.30 0.61 1.56 

42 Slab 1.45 1.85 0.35 0.94 2.41 

43 Slab 1.80 0.97 0.26 0.45 1.16 

44 Slab 1.80 1.15 0.32 0.66 1.70 

45 Slab 1.80 1.15 0.32 0.66 1.70 

46 Slab 1.50 1.85 0.30 0.83 2.13 

62


(m) 


Width 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Tons 

47 Slab 1.20 1.90 0.35 0.80 2.05 

48 Slab 1.20 1.85 0.30 0.67 1.71 

49 Slab 1.90 1.25 0.35 0.83 2.13 

50 Slab 2.00 1.75 0.35 1.23 3.14 

51 Slab 2.75 1.80 0.30 1.49 3.81 

52 Slab 1.00 1.00 0.35 0.35 1.35 

53 Slab 1.20 1.70 0.30 0.61 1.57 

54 Slab 1.95 1.08 0.35 0.74 1.89 

TOTAL 348.63 

Since these architectural elements of the Punta Scifo B shipwreck rest on a sandy 

seafloor, it is possible that wooden hull remains are preserved beneath the heavy blocks. 

During the 1987 Aquarius excavation one of the ship’s planks was found, measuring 

2.70 m long, 8 cm thick, and with two rows of mortises and tenons. 89 Its description 

matches closely the hull fragment found on the nearby Punta Scifo A wreck site. 90 

Half of a wooden anchor stock was also found in 1987, lying beneath a broken 

tile, a bronze ladle, and protected by marble block 8 and a rock. 91 It is 0.865 m long, ca. 

0.110 m wide, and filled with two trapezoidal lead cores, each one measuring 0.28 x 

89 Freschi 1987, 3. 

90 Lattanzi 1984a, 574-5. 

91 Freschi 1987, 47. 

63

0.11 x 0.04 m. 92 This stock represents possibly the only “Haldane II A” anchor type with 

the wood still preserved. 93 Parallels are associated only with shipwrecks ranging from 

the sixth to the mid-second-century B.C. 94 Due to its late date and find spot beneath 

Roman artifacts, it seems unlikely that this anchor stock belonged to the Punta Scifo B 

shipwreck. It is probably not associated with Punta Scifo B, and was lost by another 

merchantman centuries before the Roman marble carrier sank. 

The probable location of the ship’s galley on the southeastern edge of the site is 

indicated by the presence of one intact terracotta tile along with fragments of others, two 

bronze ladles 0.35 m long ending in curved swan’s heads, fragments of Kapitän 2 

amphoras with remains of pitch inside, and sherds of kitchen ware. 95 A fragment of lead 

sheathing perforated with holes and probably intended to protect the outer hull from 

marine borers, square-sectioned copper nails of different lengths, and copper tacks with 

round-sectioned shanks were also uncovered. One of the tacks is 0.65 m long. 96 

The overall impression is that Punta Scifo B was a merchantman with a cargo 

larger and heavier than the nearby Punta Scifo A wreck, but without finished, decorative 

artifacts. No basins, stands, candelabra, statuettes, or other similar items were found on 

board. The blocks and slabs are never decorated, with the partial exception of Block 13, 

the longest of the group, which has simple cornices at each extremity. The Punta Scifo B 

92 Freschi 1987, 3-4, 47-51. 

93 The type “Haldane II A” is characterized by a wooden stock with two lead cores separated by the shank. 

In the “Haldane IIB” type the lead core is a single cast, joined through the shank. (Haldane 1984, 3). 

94 The earliest example of a II A stock comes from the late sixth century B.C. shipwreck at Bon Porté. 

Other shipwrecks which had this type of anchor have been found at Tektaş Burnu (end of fifth century 

B.C.), Porticello (late fifth – early fourth century B.C.); Kyrenia (late fourth century B.C.); Secca di 

Capistello (early third century B.C.). The latest example published until present comes from Isla Pedrosa, 

and it dates to the middle of the second century B.C. (Carlson 2003, 581; Haldane 1984, 6-7; Haldane 

1986, 419). 

95 Freschi 1987, 5. 

96 Freschi 1987, 4. 

64

cargo was probably intended to provide architectonic material to cover walls and floors 

of an unidentified Roman building. 

The Punta Cicala Shipwreck 

A third site with marble blocks was visited during the 2005 campaign, 1.5 km to 

the east of the Punta Scifo B shipwreck (Fig. 27). The ship lies at a depth of 6.5 m 

among the sharp rock outcrops that constitute Punta Cicala; the remains cover an area of 

ca. 15 m x 12 m. Twenty-seven stepped stone blocks and column shafts were counted in 

2005 and 2006, but the dimensions of only six have been taken and are reported along 

with their weight in Table 3. Their sheer size is remarkable: the six blocks alone total 

54.38 metric tons. Because the blocks were not protected by sand, and rest on an uneven 

rocky surface exposed to the destructive weathering forces of the sea, it is highly 

improbable that any hull remains survive beneath them. 

Table 3. Dimensions and tonnage of six blocks from the Punta Cicala shipwreck. 

Block # Length (m) Width (m) Thickness (m) Tons 

1 4.35 1.05 0.65 7.61 

2 6.40 1.05 0.60 10.33 

3 5.65 1.10 0.50 7.96 

4 6.40 1.15 0.40 7.55 

5 4.20 0.72 0.72 5.58 

6 2.87 1.95 1.07 15.35 

Total 54.38 

65

when it hit the rocks of the promontory, with its bow pointed towards the bay of Punta 

Scifo. These data may show that the ship’s captain miscalculated the route while trying 

to pass Punta Cicala, and could not steer the ship, possibly during a storm of easterly 

Grecale winds. Little information is available regarding Freschi’s work on this site in 

1983 and 1984, since it was impossible to find her final excavation report in 2006. 98 

The Capo Cimiti Shipwreck 

The site of Capo Cimiti is composed of four long and one short column shafts, 

resting at a depth of 6 m on a rocky seafloor intermixed with sand. The columns' 

dimensions and tonnage are given in Table 4. They cover an area of ca. 12 m x 10 m and 

are still stacked one next to the other, with the exception of the smallest column shaft, 

which is isolated at a distance of ca. 5 m from the other four. Between August 16 and 

August 27, 1988, the archaeological cooperative Aquarius drew a new site plan of the 

five column shafts at Capo Cimiti. 99 

Compared with the column shafts from Punta Scifo A, the columns visible at 

Capo Cimiti are considerably longer and wider in diameter. Based on the typology 

proposed on pp. 98-9 of Chapter III these items are remarkably large, even if longer 

shafts of 40 R.ft. (11.8 m) and 50 R.ft. (14.8 m) are known in the Roman world. 

According to Pensabene’s analyses, the marble is green cipollino from Euboea, the price 

98 A. Freschi herself mentions the archaeological campaigns that took place at Punta Cicala (Freschi 1987, 

10). There can be no doubt that an excavation report was filed after the 1983 field work season, since 

Pensabene mentions it in his writing. (Pensabene 2002a, 36-7). 

99 Freschi 1988, 77-86. 

67

of which was capped at 100 denarii per Roman foot in Diocletian’s Edict (A.D. 301). 100 

Due to the rocky seafloor, it is unlikely that any remains of the merchantman itself 

survive beneath the column shafts. 

Table 4. Dimensions and tonnage of the column shafts from Capo Cimiti, 

in meters and Roman feet. 

The Capo Bianco Shipwreck 

The Capo Bianco shipwreck probably represents a small navis lapidaria, which 

was carrying marbles of three different colors: white, black, and red. 101 L. Cantafora 

reported the wreck’s existence in 1991, and Aquarius’ subsequent excavation lasted 

from September 6 to September 14 of the same year. 

The site is composed of approximately 65 small column shafts and blocks lying 

at a depth of 3.5 - 6 m., spread across an area of ca. 14 m x 18 m. Aquarius took partial 

measurements of 47 blocks and shafts, which are presented in Table 5. A Late Roman 2 

amphora (Keay LXV) dates the shipwreck to the fifth or sixth century A.D. 102 

100 Pensabene 1978a, 105; Giacchero 1974, 305-6. See Appendix 4 for more information regarding the 

prices of marbles mentioned in Diocletian’s Edict. 

101 Freschi 1991, 8-13, 19-20. 

102 Freschi 1991, 11. 

Column Length Length Diameter Diameter Volume 

# (m) (R.ft.) (m) (R.ft.) (m 3 Tons 

) 

1 8.50 28 ¾ 0.90 3 5.40 13.85 

2 8.90 30 1.00 3 ½ 6.99 17.91 

3 8.60 29 1.03 3 ½ 7.16 18.35 

4 8.80 29 ¾ 1.00 3 ½ 6.91 17.71 

5 2.90 9 ¾ 0.47 1 ½ 0.50 1.29 

Total 69.11 

68

Table 5. Dimensions and tonnage for the Capo Bianco shipwreck. 

(Data from Freschi 1991, 8-10; 48-9). 

Tons 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Thickness 

(m) 

Width/Diam. 

(m) 

Marble Color Length 

(m) 

Item # Block/Slab 

Column shaft 

1 Column shaft Black 1.40 0.40 / 0.18 0.45 

2 Column shaft White/Red 0.80 0.35 / 0.08 0.20 



5 Column shaft White 1.00 0.30 / 0.07 0.18 

6 Block White 1.20 0.60 0.50 0.36 0.92 

7 Slab White N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

8 Block Black 0.80 0.50 0.20 0.08 0.21 


10 Column shaft White 0.80 0.35 / 0.08 0.20 


12 Block Red 0.50 1.40 N/A 0.00 0.00 

13 Slab White 1.20 0.70 0.50 0.42 1.08 

14 Column shaft Red 0.60 0.25 / 0.03 0.08 

15 Block Black 2.70 0.80 0.20 0.43 1.11 

16 Block Black 0.75 0.55 N/A 0.00 0.00 

17 Block Black N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

18 Block White 0.70 1.20 N/A 0.00 0.00 

19 Block White/Red 0.95 0.65 0.40 0.25 0.63 

69

Table 5. (continued). 

Tons 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Thickness 

(m) 

Width/Diam. 

(m) 


(m) 


Column shaft 

20 Slab White/Red N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

21 Block White/Yellow 0.50 0.70 0.25 0.09 0.22 



24 Slab White 0.60 0.25 1.10 0.17 0.42 

25 Block White/Yellow 0.80 0.50 0.50 0.20 0.51 


27 Block White/Red 1.20 0.60 0.50 0.36 0.92 

28 Block Black 2.00 0.70 0.30 0.42 1.08 

29 Block White 1.00 0.90 0.30 0.27 0.69 

30 Block Black 0.35 0.15 0.75 0.04 0.10 




34 Block White 0.60 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

35 Column shaft Black N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

36 Block White 0.50 1.30 N/A 0.00 0.00 

37 Block Black 0.65 2.20 N/A 0.00 0.00 

38 Block White/Black 1.00 0.75 0.40 0.30 0.77 

39 Block White/Black 1.15 0.90 0.40 0.41 1.06 

40 Block White/Black N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 

70


Tons 

Volume 

(m 3 ) 

Thickness 

(m) 

Width/Diam. 

(m) 


(m) 


Column shaft 





45 Column shaft N/A 1.80 0.40 / 0.23 0.58 

46 Column shaft N/A 0.70 0.30 / 0.05 0.13 

47 Slab N/A 0.55 1.25 0.20 0.14 0.35 

Total > 16.59 

71

Based on the available data, the cargo weighs more than 16.59 tons. Since 

complete measurements are available only for 36 elements, it may be assumed that the 

entire cargo weighed closer to 30 tons. 

It appears likely that the ship sank after hitting the shoals, which in the past might 

have been even closer to the surface. One cannon lay nearby, testifying to another tragedy 

of later date. 103 

Conclusions 

Having reviewed the history of the studies carried out on the five naves 

lapidariae in the sea off Croton, two criteria emerge: the importance of this area for the 

study of marble the trade in antiquity, and how little research has been published about 

them. Following the first discoveries and Orsi’s pioneering efforts, only Roghi and 

Pensabene have made new contributions to the study of these marble carriers. The results 

of Freschi’s excavations, if published, would undoubtedly add invaluable data to clarify 

the nature, date, and size of these five Roman marble carriers. 

Of these wrecks, the Punta Scifo A shipwreck is the most endangered. Over the 

100 years that have elapsed since the original discovery, important details regarding 

events between 1908 and 1915 have faded from memory. Many data have already been 

lost, artifacts Orsi mentioned are currently missing, and the underwater site itself has 

almost entirely disappeared. The next two chapters will provide a detailed analysis of the 

Punta Scifo A wreck site, of the artifacts brought to the surface and those still under 

103 The cannon is located at a depth of 5.7 m, it is 2.08 m long, has a diameter at muzzle of 0.29 m, and a 

bore of 0.18 m. 

72

water, of the origin of their stone, and of the historical background to better understand 

the commercial context of this important shipwreck. 

It is noteworthy that all the merchantmen south of Croton sank not only in close 

proximity, which testifies to the treachery of this stretch of coastline for navigation in 

antiquity, but also-in the case of the Punta Scifo A and B shipwrecks-with their 

extremities facing the shoreline. It is possible to deduce that both marble carriers were 

lost in the same way, probably during a Scirocco storm, and that both may have been part 

of a single convoy that left Asia Minor and was headed to an unknown harbor in the 

western Mediterranean. Close comparison of both sites,and new research both in the 

museums of Croton and Reggio Calabria, and on the seafloor of Punta Scifo, may provide 

an answer. 

Too little information is available regarding the ships wrecked at Punta Cicala, 

Capo Cimiti and Capo Bianco to reconstruct their history. The presence of the Capo 

Bianco shipwreck in the waters of Croton illustrates that this sea lane was still active and 

trafficked until the fifth or sixth century A.D. 

73

CHAPTER III 

THE PUTA SCIFO A (“PAOLO ORSI”) SHIPWRECK 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck, also known as the “Paolo Orsi” wreck, is named 

after the archaeologist who first studied its artifacts between 1908 and 1921. 104 The site is 

located at a depth of only 4.5 m, 200 m offshore, covering an area of ca. 12 m x 15 m, on a 

rocky seafloor intermixed with some sandy spots. Figure 28 shows the remains of the 

vessel as they appeared during the 2005 INA-RPM survey. Due to the shallow depth, this 

multibeam image is incomplete: three missing blocks, along with the only column shaft 

seen in 2005 and 2006, have been added, drawn to scale. 

However heavily disturbed the site appears today, with only four blocks and one 

column shaft from the original cargo, a comprehensive analysis of the remains can still 

provide useful information. For example, it is possible to determine the southeast- 

northwest orientation of the vessel when it sank, lying perpendicular to the shore, on the 

basis of the orientation of the extant marble elements. The weight of the items still under 

water, combined with the weight of the artifacts raised to the surface, suggests a marble 

cargo of approximately 200 tons. 

104 See Chapter II, pp. 41-5 for more information regarding Paolo Orsi and the history of the shipwreck 

discovery. 

74

The Underwater Site 

During the 2006 research season it was possible to take measurements of the blocks 

left in situ. Their dimensions and tonnage are given in Table 6. Block 10, however, is 

actually larger than 1.30 m wide and 0.30 m thick; as the survey permit did not allow for 

excavation, it was impossible to dig around the partially-covered block to record its full 

dimensions. 

Table 6. Dimensions and tonnage of the Punta Scifo A’s marble items still on the seafloor. 

Measurements taken in situ, using PhotoModeler. 

Artifact Length 

(m) 

Width/Diam. 

(m) 

Height 

(m) 

Tons 

BLC 10 1.65 >1.30 >0.30 2.90 (est.) 105 

BLC 11 2.28 2.45 0.62 8.87 

BLC 12 2.30 2.20 0.49 6.35 

BLC 13 4.65 1.43 0.62 10.56 

COL 7 4.30 0.58 2.91 

TOTAL ca. 31.59 

According to these calculations, the four blocks and the single column shaft still under 

water weigh ca. 31.59 metric tons. Considering that in 1915 Engineer Forcellini estimated 

to have raised ca. 150 tons of marble from the seafloor, 106 and that in 1983 Aquarius raised 

105 Comparing BLC 10 SF with the other blocks reported in Table 11, p.108, it is possible to estimate that its 

total weight should be at least 75 % more, or ca. 2.90 tons. No block from Punta Scifo A weighs, indeed, less 

that 2.87 tons (BLC 4). 

106 For Eng. Forcellini’s marble tonnage estimate see Orsi 1921, 496 along with the original record dated May 

15, 1915 in Appendix 2. 

76

five more labra, two pedestals, and three squared pedestals, 107 it is possible to postulate 

that this Roman merchantman was carrying ca. 200 tons of marble when it sank at Punta 

Scifo. The ship was wrecked in the early third century A.D., as revealed by the consular 

inscriptions and Kapitän 2 amphoras on board, which provide a terminus post quem to date 

the wreck. 

Using the multibeam image as a basis for reconstructing the site, and adding scaled 

drawings of the blocks and column shaft measured in 2006, as well as all material raised in 

past years, the tentative dimensions of the Roman merchantman can be proposed. 

According to these data, the original ship was ca. 30 m long and 10 m wide. The heaviest 

marble blocks were placed amidships, and beside them, the column shafts. The three 

blocks BLC 11-12-13 and the adjacent column shaft COL 7 are the heaviest items of the 

entire cargo after BLC 14, and it seems unlikely that they have moved from their original 

resting place on the seabed when the ship sank. They provide evidence both that the ship 

was oriented perpendicularly to the shore when it was lost, and that all the column shafts 

were placed along the ship’s longitudinal axis. 108 The cargo had to be placed as close as 

possible to the keel in order to lower the center of gravity of the vessel, and make it more 

stable; lighter elements such marble slabs and basins were probably placed in a second row 

atop the blocks. Figure 29 provides a three-dimensional rendering of the marble elements 

from Punta Scifo A drawn to scale. 

107 Pensabene 2002a, 36-7. 

108 See Table 11, p. 108 for the detailed dimensions of every single block. The shipwrecks from Mahdia, 

Giardini Naxos, Marzamemi 1, and Capo Taormina are a testament to such an arrangement of columns being 

standard procedure in Roman times. Mahdia: see Höckmann 1994, 53-4; Giardini Naxos: see Basile 1988, 

135; Marzamemi 1: see Kapitan 1971, 301-2; Capo Taormina: see Kapitan 1971, 304. 

77

Fig. 29. Three-dimensional digital rendering of part of the largest marble elements from Punta Scifo A. 

Their disposition gives a hull ca. 30 m long and 10 m wide. (Image: D. Bartoli). 

78

A small portion of the bottom of the hull, 3 x 3 m, was found in 1983. 109 The 

remains were described as “exceptionally strong, with 8 cm-thick planking and two rows 

of wedges [tenons] alternating and fixed by wooden pegs.” 110 The two rows of mortise- 

and-tenon joints indicate that the merchantman, in order to carry its marble cargo, was 

heavily built. The two rows of fasteners would have produced a stronger hull, and 

minimized movement and distortion of the hull. The ship might also have been double- 

planked, even if it is impossible to be certain without observing the keel, which should 

have been double-rabbeted in order to fit the two rows of planks. 111 

Without further evidence it is also difficult to say if the Punta Scifo A marble 

carrier was a sailing ship or a large barge that, for safety reasons, was towed behind 

another vessel. It is a safe guess that it was mostly undecked to facilitate the loading and 

unloading of the column shafts and blocks. Small living areas were probably located at the 

bow and at the stern where, according to Freschi’s data, a galley existed. 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck was carrying, according to Pensabene’s and my own 

visual analyses, a mixed cargo of the most expensive and cheapest varieties of marble used 

in the Imperial age: pavonazzetto from Docimium, and Proconnesian from the eponymous 

island in the Sea of Marmara. From Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices, enacted in 

A.D. 301, it is known that pavonazzetto was one of the most expensive marbles of the 

109 Lattanzi 1984a, 574-5. 

110 Lattanzi 1984a, 574; Lattanzi 1984c, 11. 

111 The Madrague de Giens shipwreck, sunk in southern France in the middle of the first century B.C. with ca. 

400 tons of cargo, provides a well-known example of a double-planked hull. See: Steffy 1994, 62-5. Actual 

remains of a marble carrier with a double-planked hull have been found at Mahdia (Höckmann 1994, 61). 

The only other marble carrier of which hull remains are preserved, the Torre Sgarrata shipwreck, had planks 

joined with one single layer of mortise-and-tenon joints. Two small fragments of wood, suspected to be the 

ship's keel, were poorly preserved; there is no enough information available to determine if they were 

double-rabbeted. (Throckmorton 1989, 265; Antonelli 2002, 77). 

79

time, costing 200 denarii per Roman foot, while Proconnesian was only 40 denarii per 

Roman foot. 112 Further study of this material should include isoptopic analysis of the 

marble to corroborate the visual identification. 

Reconstructing the Cargo of a Roman avis Lapidaria 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck, as we have seen, was almost completely salvaged, 

and the five artifacts still under water do not accurately reflect the original size and 

dimensions of the ancient marble carrier. Consequently, any reconstruction of the original 

assemblage can only be attempted after a meticulous review of Orsi’s original reports and 

articles, Pensabene’s analyses and Freschi’s data, along with a comprehensive overview of 

the disparate artifacts, currently scattered throughout Calabria. Some of the marble 

elements are stored in the Archaeological Museum of Croton (Fig. 16), some are housed in 

the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna, some have been used in the modern monument 

representing Ulysses’ ship in Caputi Square in Croton (Fig. 30), a few more are located in 

Corazzo, and one basin is in Tarentum. 

Combining all of the available information, my calculations show that a total of at 

least 69 marble items were carried on board the Punta Scifo A merchantman (Table 7). 

Even this must be considered a conservative estimate; due to the hasty nature of the 

112 In Diocletian’s Edict the lowest-paid worker, a farm laborer, earned 25 denarii per day, while 50 denarii 

were the daily wages of a mason, and 150 denarii of a frescoes painter. The lawyer, who had the highest-paid 

job, received 1,250 denarii for a trial. (Giacchero 1974, 276-9). These data give a general idea of the cost of 

marble in antiquity. For more information regarding the Edict, see Appendix 4. 

80

ecovery efforts at the beginning of the 20 th century, the artifacts in the poorest state of 

preservation were given little or no attention. 

Fig. 30. The marble items from the Punta Scifo A wreck site, reused in the monument to 

Ulysses in Caputi Square in Croton. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

Indeed, in 1911 Orsi mentioned “some other small, broken, extraordinarily corroded 

column shafts” 113 of which the exact number is unknown. In 1915 the discoverers 

described “11 pieces encrusted or corroded, and therefore of undefined shape.” 114 The 

artifacts recovered by Aquarius in 1983 are better documented. Along with the marble 

items mentioned on p. 78, were discovered a few little tablets made of marble and slate 

(MOB 1), three amphora necks (MOB 3-5), some coarse ware plates, lids, and trefoil 

pitchers (MOB 6), two bronze ladles (MOB 7), a bronze sliding stand for an oil lamp 

113 Orsi 1911, 121. 

114 Original report, June 2, 1915, 2. 

81

(MOB 8), and a lead plate representing Heracles holding a hind (MOB 9). According to 

my catalog, the Punta Scifo A shipwreck was carrying no fewer than 16 column shafts, 15 

bases decorated with lions’ paws, 14 blocks, 13 basins, six statue pedestals, four marble 

slabs, and one statuette. Forty-two artifacts were available for study, while 27 others are 

missing at present. Table 7 presents all the marble artifacts from Punta Scifo A arranged 

according to type classification of three letters followed by their catalog number. The 

catalog nomenclature is found on p. ix, and pictures for each item appear alongside in 

Appendix 1. Little is known regarding the five Attic column bases (ABA 1-5) and three 

Ionic column capitals (ICA 1-3) today located at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna, 

and in the “Caputi” public square in Croton. They are not mentioned in Orsi’s reports, and 

while their maritime provenience is clear due to the sea weathering and encrustation still 

visible on their surfaces, it is not known whether they came from the Punta Scifo A 

shipwreck or from another site in the area of Croton. My own impression, however, is that 

both Paolo Orsi and the Forcellini company, who recorded even heavily-eroded artifacts 

like the pedestal MPL 3, would not have omitted such well-preserved bases and capitals 

from their accounts. I suspect therefore that these items come from a different site. 

According to Pensabene, who recorded three bases and three capitals of the total eight in 

1978, their marble comes from Docimium, but it is not pavonazzetto. It is a whiter variety 

of stone, similar to pavonazzetto but without the purple veins, called White Synnadic. For 

this reason they are included in the Catalog in Appendix 1, but are not associated with the 

artifacts from Punta Scifo A. 115 

115 Pensabene 1978a, 108. 

82

Table 7. Catalog of marble artifacts from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck. (1908-2007). 

Current Location Source 

Description 

(Original Reference) 

Artifact Type Discovery 

Year 

LABRA 

LAB 1 1908 Diameter: 2.0 m 

Tarentum Orsi 1911, 119 

Height: 0.85 m 


Entrance of Croton 

Orsi 1911, 119-20 


Archaeological Museum 

Height (base): 0.36 m 


Entrance of Croton 

Orsi 1911, 119-20 


Archaeological Museum 


LAB 4 1983 “Fragments of 1 labrum 1.02 m wide.” Nautical Museum 

Pensabene 2002a, 36-7 

Capo Colonna 

LAB 5 1915 “Labrum, 13 fragments.” Nautical Museum 

Report May 3, 1915, 1 

Capo Colonna 

LAB 6 1915 “Labrum, just the bottom and pedestal.” Nautical Museum 


Capo Colonna 

LAB 7 1915 “Labrum with rims corroded or broken, base Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

extremely well preserved, slightly chopped at 

Croton 

the lower edge.” 

LAB 8 1915 “Labrum, very well preserved.” Unknown Report May 3, 1915, 1 

LAB 9 1915 “Labrum, very well preserved.” Unknown Report May 3, 1915, 1 

LAB 10 1983 “Fragments of 1 labrum 1.02 m wide.” Unknown Pensabene 2002a, 36-7 

83



Description 



Year 




Total 13 

Relocated 7 

HIGH PEDESTALS 

LIONS’ PAWS 

HPL 1 1915 “Small pedestal circular in section, 

Nautical Museum 


fragmentary, having on the lower part the 

Capo Colonna 

inscription “EL.” 

HPL 2 1915 “A pedestal with square base, lions' paws, Nautical Museum 


extremely well preserved.” 

Capo Colonna 

HPL 3 1915 “A pedestal with square base, lions' paws, Nautical Museum 


fairly well preserved.” 

Capo Colonna 

HPL 4 1915 “A pedestal with cyma (?) recta, with lions' Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 3, 1915, 1 

paws, quite well preserved.” 

Croton 

HPL 5 1915 “A pedestal corroded and with encrustations.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 3, 1915, 1 

Croton 

HPL 6 1983 “A pedestal with lions' paws.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Pensabene 2002a, 37 

Croton 

HPL 7 1983 “A pedestal with lions' paws.” Unknown Pensabene 2002a, 37 

84



Description 



Year 

Total 7 


MED. PEDESTALS 

LIONS' PAWS 




Square “Antonio Caputi,” 

Croton 


Croton 


Croton 

MPL 1 1915 “Pedestal with squared section, with lions’ 

paws and circular torus, frustum- of-cone like.” 

MPL 2 1915 “Pedestal with squared section, with lions’ 

paws and circular torus, frustum- of-cone like.” 

MPL 3 1915 “A shapeless artifact, due to its corrosion, 

squared in section.” 

Total 3 


LOW PEDESTALS 

LIONS’ PAWS 

LPL 1 1915 “Pedestal with squared section, with lions’ Nautical Museum 

Report May 2,.1915 

paws and circular torus, frustum- of-cone like.” Capo Colonna 

LPL 2 1915 “Pedestal with squared section and lions' Nautical Museum 

Report May 2,.1915 

paws.” 

Capo Colonna 

LPL 3 1983 “Pedestal with squared section and lions' 

Pensabene 2002a, 37 

paws. Width: 1 m, Height: 0.42.” Unknown 


Unknown Pensabene 2002a, 37 

paws. Width: 1 m, Height: 0.42.” 

85



Description 



Year 

Unknown Pensabene 2002a, 37 


paws. Width: 1 m, Height: 0.42.” 

Total 5 


COLUMN SHAFTS 

Orsi 1911, 121-23 


Capo Colonna 

COL 1 1909 “Length: 4.20 m 

Diameter: 0.58 m 

Protective Ring, Inscription.” 

COL 2 1915 “Column shaft, heavily eroded.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Croton 

COL 3A 1915 “Column shaft, heavily eroded.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Croton 

COL 3B 1915 “Column shaft portion, heavily eroded.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Croton 

COL 3C 1915 “Column shaft portion, heavily eroded.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Croton 

COL 4 1915 “Column shaft, partly eroded” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Croton 

COL 5 2005 Item still on the seafloor. Seafloor Bartoli 2006, 51-2 

COL 6 1915 “Large column with inscription.” Corazzo Report May 2, 1915, 1 

86



Description 



Year 

COL 7 1909 “Heavily eroded, Length: 3.16 m 

Unknown Orsi 1911, 121 

Diameter: 0.57 m, Protective Ring. 

Small lead plate on the lower base 

(72 x 68 mm).” 

COL 8 1909 No description available Unknown Valente 1973, 51 n.31 

COL 9 1915 “Column shaft, heavily eroded.” Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 

COL 10 1915 “Long column with inscription 

Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 

Diameter: 0.64 m.” 

COL 11 1915 “Long column with inscription.” Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 

COL 12 1915 “Column with inscription (?), small.” Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 

COL 13 1915 “Column shaft, partly eroded.” Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 




Total 16 


87



Description 



Year 

BLOCKS 

BLC 1 1915 “Big architectural element.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” Report May 2, 1915, 2 

Croton 


Croton 


Croton 


Croton 


Croton 

BLC 6 1915 “Block (with inscriptions).” Corazzo Report May 3, 1915, 1 

BLC 7 1915 “Block.” Corazzo Report May 3, 1915, 1 

BLC 8 1915 “Big architectural element.” Corazzo Report May 2, 1915, 2 

BLC 9 1915 “Huge Block.” Corazzo Report May 3, 1915, 1 

BLC 10 2005 Still on the seafloor Seafloor Bartoli 2006, 51-2 



88



Description 



Year 


Unknown Orsi 1921, 493 


Report May 15, 1915, 1 

BLC 14 1915 “Huge. Fell in the water [1915], Croton dock. 

(3.95 x 2.5 x 0.84, 22 tons).” 

Total 14 


SLABS 

SLB 1 1915 “Well preserved slab. 2.10 x 1.05 x 0.07 m.” Nautical Museum 

Orsi 1921, 494 

Capo Colonna 


SLB 2 1915 “Poorly preserved marble slab.” Unknown Report May 2, 1915, 1 

SLB 3 1915 “Eight fragments of marble slabs.” Unknown Report May 3, 1915, 1 

SLB 4 1983 “Fragments.” Unknown Pensabene 2002a, 37 

Total 4 


89



Description 



Year 

STATUE 

PEDESTALS 

STP 1 1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal, height 1.55 m.” Nautical Museum 

Orsi 1921, 494 

Capo Colonna 


STP 2 1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal.” Nautical Museum 

Orsi 1921, 494 

Capo Colonna 


STP 3 1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal, height 1.55 m.” Square “Antonio Caputi,” 

Orsi 1921, 494 

Croton 


1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal, height 1.55 m.” Corazzo Orsi 1921, 494 

STP 4 


Pensabene 1978, 116, n.7 

STP 5 1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal, height 1.55 m.” Corazzo Orsi 1921, 494 


STP 6 1915 “Big parallelepiped pedestal, height 1.55 m.” Unknown Orsi 1921, 494 


Total 6 


STATUETTE 

Lenormant 1976, 223, n.29 

Moss 1988, 205-6, figs. 1-2 

Pensabene 1978b, 233-4 

Pensabene 2002a, 37 


Capo Colonna 

STA 1 1968? Statuette 

representing Eros and Psyche 

90



Description 



Year 

TOTAL 69 

RELOCATED 42 

MISSING 27 


Description 


Artifacts 

not mentioned in 

Paolo Orsi’s 

reports 

IONIC CAPITALS 

Pensabene 1978, 116-7 

Pensabene 1978, 108 


ICA 1 Unknown Height 0.267 m, Width 0.485 m Nautical Museum 

Capo Colonna 

ICA 2 Unknown Height 0.295 m, Width 0.52 m Nautical Museum 

Capo Colonna 

ICA 3 Unknown No Measurements Nautical Museum 

Capo Colonna 

Total 3 

ATTIC BASES 



ABA 1 Unknown Height 0.305 m / Base 0.27m x 0.725 m Square “Antonio Caputi,” 

Diam 0.62 m) 

Croton 

ABA 2 Unknown 0.74 m x 0.74 m /Height 0.205 m Square “Antonio Caputi,” 

Croton 

91



Description 


Discovery 

Year 

Artifacts 

not mentioned in 

Paolo Orsi’s 

reports 

ABA 3 Unknown 0.68 m / Diam.0.61 m / Height 0.235 m) Square “Antonio Caputi,” Pensabene 1978, 108 

Croton 

ABA 4 Unknown Height 0.315 m / Base 0.72 m x 0.68 m Square “Antonio Caputi,” 

Unpublished 

Diam 0.565 m) 

Croton 

ABA 5 Unknown (0.73 m x 0.68 m broken / Height 0.23 m 

Capo Colonna Unpublished 

Diam 0.615 m) 

Total 5 

92

Column Shafts 

The Marble Elements from Punta Scifo A: A ew Analysis 

Architectural Elements 

This review of the marbles from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck begins with six 

column shafts that, of the 16 or more elements raised between 1909 and 1915, were the 

only ones still visible in Croton and Corazzo during the 2005 and 2006 field seasons. 

Of the six surviving column shafts, COL 1 and COL 5 are the best preserved. 

COL 2 and COL 3A are on display in “Caputi” square and have been arranged in such a 

way as to prevent accurate archaeological study. They are mounted upright in the ground, 

which precludes measuring their full lengths and determining if a protective collar is 

present at the lower extremity. 116 In the photograph reproduced in Fig. 17, which shows 

part of the Punta Scifo A cargo unloaded at the dock of Croton, one can see nine column 

shafts, seven of which have protective collars. It is likely, therefore, that the lower 

extremities of COL 2 and COL 3A have collars as well. COL 4 is a small, heavily eroded 

fragment that precludes any means of reconstructing the dimensions of the original shaft; 

and COL 6 was broken in three fragments after discovery, with recent fractures devoid of 

any sign of marine encrustation. 

Even with these limitations, the available material provides several clues to better 

116 A collar is a normal feature of column shafts quarried throughout the Empire. The collar is usually left at 

each extremity of the shaft, and its function was primarily to protect the shaft if the column had to be rolled 

for transportation, and to facilitate lifting with ropes. Additionally, the collars provided some leeway for 

lengthening or shortening the column once in place, and a surface for carving the projecting moldings at 

either end of the finished column. 

93

understand the nature of the original cargo. The dimensions of the column shafts visible 

in Croton and Corazzo, described in detail in the Catalog (Appendix 1), are summarized 

in Table 8. Their dimensions have been provided both in meters and in Roman feet 

(1 Roman ft = 0.296 m), to better understand their proportions from the mindset of the 

ancient architect. The sign “>” indicates a broken shaft with an original length longer 

than what has survived. Where possible, a plausible reconstruction of the total length is 

provided in parentheses. The sign “~” implies a certain degree of approximation, due to a 

lack of reliable data. 

Table 8. Diameter, length, and proportion between the column shaft base and its height, 


Artifact Diam. 

(m) 

Diam. 

(R. ft) 

Length 

(m) 

Length 

(R. ft) 

Ratio 

(Diam./Length) 

COL 1 0.57 (collar) 1 ⅞ > 3.14 (4.20) 14 ¼ 1:8 ⅝ 

0.49 (1 st break) 1 ⅝ 1:7 ⅜ 

0.50 (2 nd break) 1 ¾ 1:8 ⅜ 

COL 2 0.65 2 ¼ 4.84 16 ⅜ 1:7 ½ 

COL 3A 0.58 2 5.89 19 ⅞ 1:10 ⅛ 

COL 3B 0.54 1 ⅞ 1:10 ⅞ 

COL 3C 0.54 1 ⅞ 1:10 ⅞ 

COL 4 0.45 1 ½ 1.10 3 ¾ 1:2 ½ 

COL 5 0.58 2 4.300 14 ½ 1:7 ⅜ 

COL 6 0.68 2 ¼ 5.82 >19 ⅝ ~ 1:8 ½ 

The first peculiarity that stands out when observing the lengths of the column shafts in 

Roman feet is that the odd numbers are missing. The shafts appear to grow incrementally 

from 14, to 16, possibly 18, and 20 Roman feet, while intermediate lengths of 15, 17, 19, 

and 21 feet are missing. This is not coincidental. In a systematic review of 82 column 

94

shafts quarried throughout the Roman Empire, Paolo Barresi noted that the vast majority 

have lengths in multiples of even numbers. 117 Column shafts of the following lengths are 

common: 12 R. ft (5 entries), 14 R. ft (4 entries), 16 R.ft (11 entries), 20 R. ft (8 entries), 

24 R. ft (15 entries), 30 R. ft (10 entries), 40 R. ft (8 entries). Less common are heights of 

17 R. ft (2 entries), 23 R. ft (1 entry), 25 R. ft (3), and totally absent lengths of 13, 15, 21, 

and 27 R. ft. The Romans thus found a way to organize in a practical way the demand 

and supply of marble architectural elements. With an established system of 

measurements, architects knew what they were going to get from the quarries, and quarry 

contractors were able to follow well-defined production guidelines. 

A second point is that the ratio between a column’s lower diameter and height 

does not appear to be uniform among the Punta Scifo column shafts. The calculated ratios 

vary from 1:7 to 1:8, 1:9, and even 1:10. Allowing a certain degree of approximation due 

to the artifacts’ poor state of preservation, and keeping in mind that protective collars 

could have been trimmed to make a column fit well in the building, the relation between 

lower diameter and column height varies from the ratio of 1:8 which characterizes the 

majority of monolithic column shafts of Imperial date. 118 

These newly-quarried shafts, increasing gradually in size according to a well- 

defined set of architectural rules, were probably not meant to be used in a small building 

with a single row of columns of identical dimensions (such as the peristyle of a Roman 

villa), but were more likely part of a larger architectural enterprise, possibly 

commissioned by Imperial authority, in which a series of colonnades, possibly 

superimposed, required sets of column shafts of different heights. According to P. Orsi, a 

117 Barresi 2002, 69-72. 

118 Wilson Jones 2000, 148 and 222-3. 

95

large number of these shafts were marked with quarry inscriptions, which are usually 

connected with Imperial ownership and a centralized inventory system, thus 

strengthening this hypothesis. 119 While the 16 column shafts originally found at Punta 

Scifo A were not sufficient to create a monument in itself, they may well have been part 

of a larger consignment shipped from Asia Minor for a building project somewhere 

between Croton and points further west. 120 

Orsi mentioned a rectangular lead seal of 72 x 68 mm, inserted at the end of one 

of the two columns found in 1909, which represents an unusual variation of the Roman 

standard of using circular lead seals to mark the imperial ownership of marble items. 121 It 

is a pity that this seal disappeared in the years following Orsi’s publication, since it could 

have provided precious information regarding the ownership or intended destination of 

the marble cargo. 

Parallels for the Punta Scifo A Columns 

The possibility that these columns were meant for the peristyle of a private villa, 

such as the House of the Colored Capitals in Pompeii, is unlikely. While the House of the 

Colored Capitals has a total of 16 Ionic columns, four on the short and six on the long 

sides, with lower diameters measuring 0.58-0.60 m and shafts 4.38 m high, 122 the Punta 

Scifo columns are markedly different in size. This could mean that they are part of a 

mixed cargo destined for different applications or that the shipment was conceived for a 

single building, whose columns were superimposed. One example of the use of 

119 See Ward-Perkins 1992a, 26. 

120 For a classification of small, medium, and large column shafts, see Tables 9-10, pp. 98-99. 

121 Orsi 1911, 121. See Spagnoli 2002, 492-6 on Roman lead seals. 

122 Sear 2006, 167-70. 

96

superimposed columns is the basilica in the southwest corner of the forum at Pompeii, 

with a total of 16 columns of four different sizes superimposed in two levels (Fig. 31). 123 

The basilica’s columns are both Ionic and Corinthian, and it is possible that, once 

completed with capitals and bases, the shafts from Punta Scifo A would have been 

finished in a similar way. 124 The differences between an Ionic column and a Corinthian 

column are minimal, since “the Corinthian column is essentially an Ionic shaft and base 

lengthened by substituting the low Ionic capital with a tall Corinthian capital.” 125 

Fig. 31. The façade of the Basilica in the forum of Pompeii. Note the mixed Corinthian 

and Ionic columns, of four different sizes, superimposed in two levels. 


123 It must be remarked, however, that the Basilica in Pompeii is much earlier in date (first century A.D.). 

124 According to Wilson Jones, in the third century A.D. it became acceptable to reuse marble elements, 

particularly bases and capitals, in new monuments. (Wilson Jones 2000, 152). This might be a possible 

explanation for the apparent absence of bases and capitals from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck. 

125 Adam 1990, 92. 

97

Further parallels can be used to contextualize the columns from Punta Scifo. Paolo 

Barresi’s study of 82 column shafts dating from the time of the Flavians (A.D. 69-96) 

onwards, summarizes their dimensions: 43.9 % of them have a length less than or equal 

to 20 R. ft, the maximum length found at Punta Scifo, and 56.1% have a length between 

22 to 50 R. ft. Columns twice as long as those of the Punta Scifo A cargo were, therefore, 

not uncommon in Roman Imperial times (Table 9). 

Table 9. Number and lengths of column shafts of Roman imperial age. 

(After Barresi 2002, 70). 

Column shafts Length 

(R.ft) 

Column shafts 

Length (m) 

Column shafts 

# 

12 3.55 5 6.09 

14 4.14 4 4.88 

16 4.74 11 13.41 

17 5.03 2 2.44 

18 5.33 4 4.88 

18 2/3 5.53 2 2.44 

20 5.92 8 9.76 

Total (12-20 R.ft) 36 43.9 

22 6.51 1 1.22 

23 6.81 1 1.22 

24 7.10 15 18.29 

25 7.40 1 1.22 

26 7.70 4 4.88 

28 8.29 1 1.22 

30 8.88 10 12.19 

40 11.84 8 9.76 

50 14.80 5 6.09 

Total (22-50 R.ft) 46 56.1 

Total (12-50 R.ft) 82 100 

N. Asgari created a typology of column shafts abandoned at the Proconnesian quarries in 

Saraylar, cataloging 41 examples and dividing them into five different classes according 

% 

98

to their diameters. 126 As is shown in Table 10, all of the column shafts from Punta Scifo 

A fall into either the small or medium of Asgari’s categories. 

Column 

shafts 

Table 10. The Punta Scifo A columns according to Proconnesian size-groups. 

(After Asgari 1992, 74). 

Very Large (Ø 

≥ 0.90 m; ≥ 3 

R.ft) 

Large 

(Ø 0.90-0.70 

m; 2 1/3 -3R.ft) 

Medium 

(Ø 0.70-0.60 

m; 2-2 1/3 R.ft) 

Small 

(Ø 0.60-0.40 

m; 1 1/3 -2 R.ft) 

Very Small 

(Ø 0.30-0.40 

m; 1-1 1/3 R.ft) 

Total 

Number 

# 1 2 4 18 16 41 

% 2.44 % 4.88 % 9.76 % 43.90 % 39.02 % 100% 

The Roman quarries at Docimium have been seldom studied to date. A thick layer of 

debris covers a large extent of the ancient production area. M. Waelkens noticed several 

column shafts and column drums during his 1982 and 1987 surveys, but their dimensions 

have not been recorded. 127 The column shafts unused and abandoned in Fiumicino canal 

(Rome) do not provide further clues, 128 as only three columns of pavonazzetto are known: 

a fragment 2.70 m long and 0.60 m in diameter, two small, well-preserved column shafts 

and connected by their quarry coat (heights 3.38 m and 1.25 m, diameter 0.45 m), and a 

similar group consisting of four small column shafts joined together in a single marble 

block (height 2.40 m, diameters 0.30-0.35 m.). 129 

126 Asgari 1992, 73-80. 

127 Waelkens 1987, 114-5. 

128 A total of 318 unfinished marble items have been found between 1959 and 1989 at the bottom and along 

the banks of the Fiumicino canal, the waterway that connects the Tiber River to the hexagonal basin of the 

Trajanic harbor. They include unfinished marble blocks, column shafts, drums, slabs, bases, capitals, 

basins, and fragmentary sculptures. (Fant 2001, 168; Pensabene 2002a, 27). 

129 Pensabene 1994, 73. 

99

The Most Diagnostic Column Shaft: COL 1 

COL 1 is the only column shaft from Punta Scifo A that has been carefully 

studied since the time of the shipwreck’s discovery, and it is well-known thanks to the 

1911 and 1978 publications by Orsi and Pensabene, respectively. Currently on public 

display at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna, the column was broken into three 

pieces after its recovery; only two of them are extant. When Paolo Orsi published this 

item in 1911, it was intact and 4.20 m long, indicating that it was subsequently broken 

and more than a meter of the original shaft is now missing. 130 

The item has a protective collar at one extremity, with a diameter of 0.57 m. My 

own measurements indicate that the diameter at the first break is 0.49 m and at the second 

break 0.50 m. It is evident that, once the column was erected in place, the collar removed 

and the flute-channels dressed, its final diameter at the base would have been similar to 

the diameter of the rest of the column, taking into account a small difference along the 

shaft for entasis, or the slight swelling of a column near the middle of its shaft. Therefore, 

if the column shaft was 4.20 m tall (or 14 ¼ R. ft), with a diameter at the base of ca. 0.50 

m (1 ¾ R. ft), the ratio between base and height is 1:8 ⅜ , which is congruent with the 

proportions of the Corinthian or Ionic orders in Imperial times. 131 A Latin inscription, 

carved into the collar, reads as follows: 

130 Degrassi 1952, 56. 

131 Wilson Jones 2000, 148, 222-3. 

LOC II 

B II COM I 

SEVEROEVICTO 

RINO COS OFF 

MODIANA C . 

IVLI .. A 

100

This has been interpreted as: Loc(o) II / B(racchio) II Com(missura?) I / Severo et Victo / 

rino Co(n)s(ulibus) Off(icina) / (Co)modiana C(aesura) / Iuli (G)a(yri). 132 

Locus (Latin for “place, position, location”) indicates the place of extraction 

within the quarry, that is, the exact marble vein; Bracchium (meaning “arm, branch”) is 

the sector of the quarry from which this particular item was quarried. Com(missura?), 

Latin for juncture or intersection, is an abbreviation known only at Punta Scifo A, at the 

quarries of Docimium, 133 and on a block from Caracalla’s Baths in Rome. 134 Its meaning 

is not totally clear. Severus and Victorinus were the consuls in charge of Rome in A.D. 

200; Officina Comodiana (literally Commodus’ workshop) is the workshop that received 

the column shaft from the quarry under the supervision of Commodus; Iulius Gayrus, if 

the reading is correct, is the name of the supervisor responsible for the caesura, the 

process of extracting this piece from the surrounding rock. 135 

Therefore, the inscription provides the column shaft’s biographical sketch, 

recording how it was extracted “in the first intersection of the second branch of the 

second vein, at the time when Severus and Victorinus were consuls. Commodus directed 

the workshop that received this item from the cutting team of Julius Gayrus.” 

132 Transcription and interpretation: Pensabene, 1978a, 115. See Appendix 5 for more specific information 

regarding quarry inscriptions in Roman Imperial time. 

133 Fant 1989b, 66-71. 

134 See Bruzza 1870, 193, n. 279: EPICTETVS AVGVS (ti servus) / PROACTOR PRO (curatoris) / (l)OC 

IIII B SEC COM L ….. / (al) BINO ET AEMILAN(o cos) / (caesura?) AVR DEMETRI B(eneficiarii..) / 

(subcu)RA AVR EPITY(nchani)… / VE CAVRT …. The same inscription has been studied by J. Delaine, 

and she has read it as: EPICTETUS AUGUS[ti lib(ertus) / PROBATOR PRO[bavit] / LOC(o) IIII 

B(racchio) SEC(undo) COM(?) I[?] / al]BINO ET AEMILAN(o) [COS] / [caesura] AUR(elii) DEMETRI 

B[eneficiarii] / [sub cu]RA AUR(elii) EPITY[nchiani] / VEC(tura) AUR(elii) T[hrasonis] 

135 For more parallels and extra information regarding Latin quarry-inscriptions, see Bruzza 1870, 106-204; 

Dodge 1991, 35-6; Ward-Perkins 1992a, 26-30; Pensabene 1998a, 358-362; Pensabene 2001, 44-6; 

Pensabene 2002a, 18-23. 

101

Inscriptions on Column Shafts Transcribed by Paolo Orsi 

Paolo Orsi transcribed and published five more inscriptions that are currently 

unavailable, as the blocks and column shafts on which they were carved are presumed 

lost. 

1) On the lower base of a column shaft (diameter 0.64 m): 136 

……. LBSECOM SEVEROEVI 

CTORINOCOSOFFCOMODIANA 

CAESIVLIGAYRI SVB CVRA 

The inscription reads: (Loco) L B(racchio) Se(cundo) Com(mmissura?) Severo et Vi / 

ctorino Co(n)s(ulibus) Off(icina) Comodiana / Caes(ura) Iuli Gayri Sub Cura. It can be 

translated as: “The fiftieth column shaft quarried from the second branch of the (first?) 

intersection (?) in the year of the consuls Severus and Victorinus (A.D. 200) cut by 

Comodus’ workshop under the supervision of Iulius Gayrus.” 137 

Another on the shaft of the same column: 

….. GRES ….. 

… AVGGER … 

……. TORIVLII 

GAYRI ……… 

…….. OPH … 

… EEPICTET … 

It is difficult to understand the text, as fragmentary as it is. According to Pensabene, it 

may represent a secondary inscription engraved not at the quarries, but at their 

136 Orsi 1921, 495. 

137 After sub cura could also come (procuratoris). See a similar inscription found in a block of cipollino in 

Rome, in Ward-Perkins 1992a, 27: EX M(etallis) N(ovis) Caesaris N(ostri) R(ationi) D(omus) A(ugusti or 

ugustanae) SUB CUR(a) C(laudi?) CERIALIS PR(ocuratoris) SUBSEQ(uente) SERGIO LONGO 7 

(centurionis) LEG(ionis) XXII PRIMIG(eniae) PROB(atore) CRESCENTE LIB(erto) N(umero) VIIII. 

102

administrative center in Synnada, based on similarities with other inscriptions found on 

two pavonazzetto columns from Rome. 138 If this theory is correct, the letters RE in the 

first line could stand for recensitum (Latin for “examined or reviewed”), meaning that the 

column had been examined and accepted for trade. 139 Consequently, it would be possible 

to complete the text as follows: ...G(?) Re(censitum) S(ub cura) / Aug(usti) Lib(erti) 

Procura) / tori(s) Iuli / Gayri Off(icina) …/ et Epictet(o Consulibus). 140 In his translation 

of this inscription, Pensabene assumed that Orsi had misread or misunderstood some 

characters. Pensabene changed Orsi’s “GER” to “LIB” and “OPH” to “OFF” in his 

translation. With these changes, this column shaft was “approved for trade under the 

supervision of the procurator, an Augustan freedman, produced in the workshop of Iulius 

Garyius, in the year of the consuls … and Epictetus.” 

J. Clayton Fant proposed a different interpretation of this text, noting that in the 

lists of consuls from the Early to the Late Empire the name Epictetus never appears. 

Therefore, he proposes to read the last two lines as: Off(icina) [Episcopi et] Epictet(i), in 

which case the complete text may be translated as: “approved for trade under the 

supervision of the procurator Iulius Garyius, freedman of Augustus, in the workshop of 

Episcopus and Epictetus.” 141 

138 Pensabene 1978a, 117. For the inscriptions coming from La Marmorata, see Bruzza 1870, 191, n. 258-9. 

Inscription n. 258: LAELIO / CAESARE N II ET BAL / BINO COS RATIONIS / VRBICAE SVB 

CVRIRENAEI / AVG LIB PROC CAESVRA TVLLI / SATVRNINI LEG XXII PRIM (A.D. 137.) 

Inscription n. 259: AELIO CAESARE N II / ET BALBINO COS RTIONIS / VRBICAE SVB CVR IREN / 

AEI AVG LIB PROC CAESVR / TVLLI SATVRNINI LEG / XXII PRIM (A.D. 137.) 

139 For parallels regarding the use of R or R for recensitum and REP for reprobatum (“rejected”), see Dodge 

1991, 35; Pensabene 1998, 359. 

140 Pensabene 1978a, 117. 

141 Fant 1989b, 71. 

103

2) The following inscription is found on the base of a second column shaft, also currently 

missing: 142 

LOCTBPRI …….. VIC 

(to)RINO E SEVERO COS OFF 

.......... EPISCO. 

This inscription is reconstructed as: Loc(o) T(ertio?) B(racchio) Pri(mo) … Victorino et 

Severo Co(n)s(ulibus) Off(icina) ... (sub cura) Episco(pi). In translation: “A column shaft 

quarried in the third area of the first branch … in the year of the consuls Victorinus and 

Severus (A.D. 197), in the workshop of … under the supervision of Episcopus.” 

3) On the base of a third column shaft, currently missing, is the following: 143 

VECYACIN 

… EGNLO 

….. PH .. 

LOCER 

SEC 

LAERANO 

(ETR)VFINO 

……… 

These last two inscriptions are too incomplete to be interpreted, with the exception of the 

reference to the consuls Lateranus and Rufinus, which dates the inscription to A.D. 200. 

Paolo Orsi mentions “a few more inscriptions” on both column shafts and blocks, which 

he did not attempt to transcribe due to their poor preservation. 144 

142 Orsi 1921, 495. 

143 Orsi 1921, 495. 

144 Orsi 1921, 495. 

104

Marble Blocks 

At the time of its discovery, between 1908 and 1915, the Punta Scifo A shipwreck 

seems to have had on board no fewer than 14 marble blocks (Table 11), from the 

Proconnesian and Docimian quarries in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). At present, four of 

these blocks are still on the seafloor, five can be seen in the roundabout of Caputi Square 

in Croton, and four are located in Corazzo, for a total of 13 blocks. The single missing 

item, BLC 14, was lost in the waters next to the dock while it was being offloaded in 

1915. Presumably, it was never recovered, due to its excessive weight (22 tons according 

to Paolo Orsi) and size (3.95 x 2.5 x 0.84 m), which almost capsized Forcellini’s 

pontoon. 145 In 2006, D. Marino reminded me that there is reportedly one large marble 

block from Punta Scifo A still visible under water among the large boulders of the new 

dock in Croton’s harbor, and it is possible that more ancient material is buried in this 

area. 146 A series of dives inside the harbor basin, at the base of the new dock, could 

resolve this question. Thanks to Orsi’s detailed measurements, it would likely not be 

difficult to determine whether any of the submerged artifacts are included in Orsi’s 

catalog. 

Table 11 provides a synopsis of the length, width, thickness, and tonnage of each 

marble block, both in meters and Roman feet. It is noteworthy that the heaviest members 

are those that were left under water in 1915, and that BLC 13 (20.45 tons) ranks first 

among them, giving some indication of the trouble the Forcellinis experienced in dealing 

145 Orsi 1921, 493. According to my own calculations, the block, given its dimensions, should have 

weighed 21.26 metric tons or 23.43 English tons. This suggests that Paolo Orsi and the Engineer Forcellini 

were using the metric system at the time to calculate weight, and not the Imperial system. 

146 Marino 2006, personal communication. 

105

Table 11. Dimensions and tonnage of the marble blocks from Punta Scifo A. 

Artifact # Length 

(m) 

Length 

(R. ft) 

Width 

(m) 

Width 

(R. ft) 

Thick. 

(m) 

Thick. 

(R. ft) 

Tons 

BLC 1 2.610 8 ¾ 1.220 4 0.760 2 ½ 6.20 

BLC 2 3.070 10 ¼ 1.440 4 ¾ 0.265 1 3.00 

BLC 3 1.900 6 ½ 1.576 5 ¼ 0.660 2 ¼ 5.07 

BLC 4 1.68 5 ¾ 0.890 3 0.750 2 ½ 2.87 

BLC 5 2.10 7 0.74 2 ½ 1.00 3 ½ 3.98 

BLC 6 3.120 10 ½ 1.500 5 0.520 1 ¾ 6.24 

BLC 7 1.970 6 ¾ 1.010 3 ½ 0.800 2 ¾ 4.08 

BLC 8 1.80 6 1.06 3 ½ 0.680 2 ½ 3.33 

BLC 9 1.05 3 ½ 0.90 3 0.40 1 ¼ 0.97 

BLC 10 1.650 5 ½ >1.30 >0.30 >1.65 

BLC 11 2.280 7 ¾ 2.450 8 ¼ 0.620 2 8.88 

BLC 12 2.300 7 ¾ 2.200 7 ½ 0.490 1 ¾ 6.35 

BLC 13 4.650 15 ¾ 1.430 4 ¾ 0.620 2 10.57 

BLC 14 3.80 12 ¾ 2.50 8 ½ 0.84 2 ¾ 20.45 

Weight (total) 

>83.64 

with its gigantic size. For comparison, it should be noted that there are only three cargoes 

in the entire Mediterranean known to contain a heavier marble block: Marzamemi 1 

(third century A.D., 40 tons), Isola delle Correnti (third century A.D., 28.5 tons), and 

Porto Novo (early first century A.D., 23.3 tons). 147 

The conversion to Roman feet does not provide particularly useful information: 

the lengths fall between 5 ½ and 15 ¾ R. ft, the widths between 3 ½ and 8 ½ R. ft, and 

the thicknesses between 1 and 2 ¾ R. ft. It does not look like the masons followed a set of 

fixed, gradually increasing proportions as with the column shafts. The blocks were 

probably quarried in the most efficient way, following the natural veins in order to avoid 

waste and possible imperfections in the stone. It is worth noting that the blocks in 

147 Marzamemi 1: see Kapitän 1971, 298-303; Isola delle Correnti: Kapitän 1971, 296-8; Porto Novo: 

Bernard, Bessac, Mardikian and Feugère 1996, 53-81. 

106

pavonazzetto have squared or rectangular “steps” cut into their surface, while those from 

Proconnesus are uniformly more rectangular. 

Parallels from the Quarries (Proconnesus, Docimium), and Rome (Fiumicino) 

The quarries of Proconnesus have revealed only 13, and not very large, marble 

blocks, a low number considering the widespread use of this particular type of stone 

throughout antiquity. Probably most of the evidence for Greek and Roman times does not 

exist anymore, considering that the quarries stayed open into the Byzantine period and 

are active even today. 148 The lengths of these surviving quarried blocks range between 

0.75 and 1.85 m, their widths between 0.47 and 0.87 m, and thicknesses between 0.47 

and 0.87 m. 149 Similar to BLC 4, BLC 5, and BLC 7, the items still at the quarry do not 

have a stepped surface. According to Asgari and Pensabene this is evidence that the 

marble blocks quarried there, the least expensive in Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum 

Prices, were going to be used as building blocks without undergoing further 

modifications in shape, and were exported ready for use. 150 Pensabene notes that in all the 

shipwrecks in which Proconnesian marble blocks are found, they are of large size and 

regular shape. 151 This is indeed true for the three known cargoes of Proconnesian blocks 

at Capo Granitola, Isola delle Correnti, and, mixed with green porphyry from Larissa, 

Marzamemi 2. 152 The Kızılburun shipwreck, however, represents the exception, since it 

148 Asgari 1978, 469. 

149 Asgari 1990, 110. 

150 Asgari 1990, 110; Pensabene 2002a, 29. 


152 Capo Granitola: see Purpura 1996, 328-336; Isola delle Correnti: see Kapitän 1971, 296-8; Marzamemi 

2: see Kapitän 1969, 122-33; Van Doorninck 1972, 136-7; Kapitän 1980, 71-136. 

107

had on board also a mortarium, two louteria, and an uninscribed grave stone made of 

Proconnesian marble. 153 

While the number of blocks still visible in the quarries of Docimium is unknown 

and has yet to be cataloged, 154 20 blocks of pavonazzetto from the Fiumicino canal are 

quite similar, both in shape and dimensions, to those from the Punta Scifo A 

shipwreck. 155 The first feature shared by the pavonazzetto blocks from Fiumicino and 

Punta Scifo A is their stepped surface. Because the Docimium quarries were located 

approximately 400 km from the sea, and transport over land affected considerably the 

final cost of the exports, it was necessary to reduce the overall weight as much as 

possible. It is likely, therefore, that the Docimian blocks were sawn into slabs of 

revetment for floors and walls, reducing the weight as much as possible during 

transportation. 156 

An unspecified number of “little lead plates with handles” measuring 165 x 42 

mm were also found in “almost all of the marble blocks” recovered from Punta Scifo A in 

1915. 157 These were drawn on a separate sheets of paper filed with the report of June 21, 

1915, but were not visible in 2005-2006. 158 If it were possible to locate the 14 tables that 

accompanied Claudio Riva’s report, of which only the text is available in Appendix 2, 

much more information could be obtained regarding the discoveries that took place in the 

early 20 th century. 

153 Carlson 2006, 7. Identification of the marble: Carlson 2008, personal communication. 

154 Waelkens 1987, 114-5. 

155 Fant 2001, 168; Pensabene 2002a, 27. 

156 Baccini Leotardi 1979, 36-7; Pensabene 1994, 19-22; Pensabene 2002a, 27-9. 

157 Orsi 1921, 494. 

158 Original report, June 21, 1915. (See Appendix 2 for the Italian text and English translation). 

108

Marble Basins (Labra) 

on-Architectural Elements 

The second group of items recovered from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck consists 

of 13 marble basins (Latin labra), of which only seven were visible in 2005-2006. 

Fortunately, the dimensions of four of the six missing labra are known. 

Labrum (plural labra) is the shortened form of the Latin word lavabrum or 

lavacrum, coming from the verb lavo meaning “to wash.” Usually of rounded shape, 

sometimes with handles on the sides and marble pedestals, labra could be made of a 

variety of materials: marble, porphyry, terracotta, or metal. They were used as decorative 

fountains, vats for personal cleaning at home, adornments of upper-class villas or for 

ritual ablutions in sacred places. 

According to Annarena Ambrogi, it was at the time of Augustus that decorative 

fountains became fashionable in the gardens of Roman houses. In Pompeii and 

Herculaneum, for instance, after the Serinus aqueduct reached the cities and a new 

system of lead pipes was completed, fountains and marble basins began to appear with 

frequency. The House of the Vettii in Pompeii has in its peristyle four labra, the largest 

number ever found in a Roman private building. 159 However, it is known from historical 

accounts that many more labra were in use in public buildings of the Late Empire: the 

Byzantine historian Olympiodorus saw in the thermae of Diocletian 3,200 small marble 

basins, and many more were present in Caracalla’s public baths. 160 

159 Ambrogi 2005, 49. 

160 Ambrogi 2005, 53. 

109

Labra could also be used in public squares, streets, crossroads, close to 

sanctuaries and in the forum to provide public access to drinking water from decorative 

fountains. Water reached the labrum through a small lead pipe in the pedestal, which 

terminated in a small opening at the center of the basin, allowing the water to flow 

gracefully over the rounded, splayed rim. 161 On wall paintings in Pompeii and 

Herculaneum, two different types of labra are seen: one with a gently outward curving 

rim (Fig. 32a), and the other with flat rims curving slightly inward providing a surface for 

birds to rest on (Fig. 32b). The marble basins from Punta Scifo A are reminiscent of the 

first type. 

Fig. 32. (a) To the left a labrum with rounded rim, two side-handles, low foot, and 

squared support from the House of Lucretius Fronto in Pompeii. (Detail after Cain 1985, 

Taf. 1,2) (b) To the right a different type of labrum, from the House of Venus on the 

Shell in Pompeii. Its foot is much taller, slimmer, and decorated with a vegetal motif. The 

rim is flat and slightly turned inward, in order to allow birds to stand and drink. 

(From Panetta 2004, 310). 

161 Ambrogi 2005, 69. 

110

Table 12 shows the dimensions, both in meters and Roman feet, of all the extant labra 

from Punta Scifo A in Croton and Tarentum. Wherever possible, the original dimensions 

of an incomplete or broken basin have been reconstructed on the basis of comparanda. It 

is likely, for instance, that the external diameters of LAB 5 and LAB 6, now measuring 

1.50 m, were originally closer to 2.10 m or 7 R. ft wide, considering that their feet, 

preserved height, and body curvature are similar to those of LAB 1. Pensabene mentions 

four basins with a diameter of 3 ½ R. ft, and although their present location is unknown, 

it is possible to conclude that the original assemblage was composed of at least 13 basins, 

of which five were small (external diameter of 3 ½ R. ft), five large (7 and 7 ½ R. ft), and 

one of eight Roman feet in diameter. Two additional labra, which Paolo Orsi saw in the 

early 20 th century, could not be located in Croton in 2005-2006; their dimensions 

therefore remain unknown. It is plausible, however, that the ship A wrecked at Punta 

Scifo was carrying two main groups of labra: those 3 ½ R. ft wide, and others twice as 

large. A large, isolated basin of 8 R.ft was on board as well. 

Table 12. Diameter (at the rim and base) and height of the marble basins cataloged in 

2005-2006, in meters and Roman feet. Six extra basins are currently missing. 

Artifact # 

Diam. 

Ext. 

(m) 

Diam. 

Ext. 

(R. ft) 

Diam. 

Base 

(m) 

Diam. 

Base 

(R. ft) 

Height 

(m) 

LAB 1 2.10 7 0.55 1 ¾ 0.90 3 

Height 

(R. ft) 

LAB 2 2.25 7 ½ 0.60 2 1.05 3 ½ 

LAB 3 2.36 8 0.58 2 1.04 3 ½ 

LAB 4 1.02 3 ½ 0.26 1 0.49 1 ¾ 

LAB 5 > 1.50 

(2.10?) 

7 (?) 0.45 1 ½ N/A N/A 

LAB 6 > 1.50 

(2.10?) 

7 (?) 0.47 1 ½ N/A N/A 

LAB 7 > 1.70 

> 0.78 

(2.25?) 7 ½ (?) 0.67 2 ¼ 

(0.90?) 3 

111

The Most Diagnostic Marble Basins: LAB 2, LAB 3, and LAB 4 

Since a complete description of all basins appears in the artifact catalog at the end 

of this study, only the three best-preserved and most diagnostic labra will be discussed 

here. LAB 2 and LAB 3, currently located on either side of the entrance to Croton’s 

Archaeological Museum, were raised in 1909 and are described in P. Orsi’s 1911 

article. 162 

Their dimensions are similar (7 ½ and 8 R. ft in diameter, 3 ½ R. ft high), both are 

made of pavonazzetto marble, and have eight rectangular bosses beneath a flat, projecting 

rim. The bosses were probably left in place to reinforce the rim during transportat and 

also to facilitate loading and unloading. Ultimately, these bosses would have been 

removed or worked into decorative shapes, as in a complete example from Delos 

(Fig. 33). 

A close examination of LAB 2 and LAB 3 reveals that their rims were destined to 

be rounded outward as was done for the smaller LAB 4. A small section of each rim had 

been partially rounded off at the quarry, probably to provide a guide for the workshop to 

follow upon delivery (Fig. 34). LAB 4 is the smallest labrum among those found at Punta 

Scifo A, only 3 ½ R. ft in diameter and 1 ¾ R. ft tall. It is also the most-polished and 

complete in the group. The rim is finished, with only six bosses preserved beneath it: two 

of the original eight are missing due to breakage of part of the basin’s bowl. Perhaps this 

small labrum was intended to serve as a template for finishing the remaining items. The 

same may be true for those pedestals with lions’ paws; only one of these is completely 

finished (HPL 3), while the others are roughly-worked. 

162 Orsi 1911, 118-24. 

112

Pedestals Decorated with Lions’ Paws 

The 11 marble pedestals decorated with lions’ paws are the most intriguing, and at 

the same time the most difficult objects to contextualize from the Punta Scifo A 

shipwreck. Although furniture with animal legs was widespread not only in the Roman 

world but throughout antiquity in general, it has been nearly impossible to find exact 

parallels for the footed stands from Punta Scifo. It seems these are currently the only 

known examples of marble pedestals decorated with lions’ paws at their extremities. 163 

They can be divided into three separate sets, based on difference in shape, diameter, 

height, and probably, final function. In the Catalog they are referred to as High, Medium, 

and Low Pedestals with Lions’ paws, shortened as HPL, MPL, LPL, and followed by the 

catalog number. 

While all are made of pavonazzetto marble, and all are decorated with lions’ paws 

at their corners, the stages of completion are different. Most examples have a thick 

protective ring where the lions’ paws meet the base, probably there to protect the corners 

during transport (HPL 1, HPL 2, MPL 1, MPL 2, LPL 1, LPL 2). On HPL 3, however, 

the protective ring has been completely removed, the corners squared and polished, and 

the lions’ toes finished. It is possible to see the nails on all four paws. 

The surfaces of all the upper discs are rough. The lack of polishing, and the 

presence of inscriptions, suggest that their surfaces were not meant to be visible as they 

were, but were to be polished when finished in a workshop. Three of these discs bear 

Greek letters or short inscriptions: “EL” (HPL 1), “SATOR” (LPL 1), “H” (LPL 2). It is 

163 Even Patrizio Pensabene (Università La Sapienza, Rome) and Fabrizio Slavazzi (Università Statale, 

Milan), two scholars actively involved in the study of marble in the Roman world, were not aware of any 

close parallels, when I contacted them personally in 2007. 

114

possible that “EL” represents the Greek number 35, H the number 8, and “SATOP” is the 

abbreviation for the name Sator[ninos], one of the workers or supervisors at the quarry. 

At the time of C. Moss’ 1988 study of 800 marble furniture pieces found in Italy, only 

four carried Greek lettering. 164 If, before the discovery of Punta Scifo A, the evidence for 

imports of marble furniture from the East was scanty, this shipwreck testifies that 

consignments of finished and almost finished artifacts were shipped to Italy. 

Dimensions 

In Table 13 are compared, both in meters and Roman feet, the measurements of 

each pedestal, the diameter of the upper disc, height, width, and length at the base. 

Looking at the artifacts’ dimensions in Roman feet alone, one notes that the increase in 

height is inversely related to a decrease in diameter, in increments of one quarter of a 

Roman foot (Table 14). As with the column shafts, it is clear that these items too were 

quarried using a well-defined system of proportions. 

Even if the pedestals are stylistically similar, there is a marked difference in size, 

height, and diameter. The highest pedestals are the most slender, with upper diameters 

between 0.40-0.50 m (1 ¼ - 1 ¾ R. ft); the pedestals of medium height have diameters of 

circa 0.60 m (2 R. ft), and the lowest have basins that are 0.68 m in diameter (2 ¼ R. ft). 

These are large pedestals, when compared with similar artifacts of Roman date. F. 

Slavazzi, for instance, studied 38 Roman cylindrical supports dating from the first 

century B.C. and first century A.D from northern Italy. Slavazzi noticed that their 

164 Moss 1988, 197-8. 

115

Table 13. Dimensions of the marble pedestals from Punta Scifo A, 


Artifact # Diam. 

(m) 

Diam. 

(R. ft) 

Height 

(m) 

Height 

(R. ft) 

Width 

(m) 

Width 

(R. ft) 

Length 

(m) 

Length 

(R. ft) 

HPL 1 0.410 1 ½ 0.590 2 0.664 2 ¼ 0.664 2 ¼ 

HPL 2 0.490 1 ¾ 0.510 1 ¾ 0.765 2 ½ 0.765 2 ½ 

HPL 3 0.445 1 ½ 0.600 2 0.766 2 ½ 0.766 2 ½ 

HPL 4 0.400 1 ¼ 0.650 2 ¼ 0.600 2 0.590 2 

HPL 5 N/A N/A 0.555 2 0.600 2 0.670 2 ¼ 

HPL 6 N/A N/A 0.550 1 ¾ 0.510 1 ¾ 0.450 1 ½ 

MPL 1 0.610 2 0.395 1 ¼ 0.950 3 ¼ 0.950 3 ¼ 

MPL 2 0.590 2 0.418 1 ½ 0.900 3 0.900 3 

MPL 3 N/A N/A 0.420 1 ½ 0.980 3 ¼ 0.950 3 ¼ 

LPL 1 0.682 2 ¼ 0.380 1 ¼ 1.180 4 1.170 4 

LPL 2 0.680 2 ¼ 0.380 1 ¼ 1.150 4 1.150 4 

Table 14. Dimensions of the pedestals, arranged to highlight the relation 

between heights and diameters. 

Artifact # Diam 

(R. ft) 

Height 

(R. ft) 

Width 

(R. ft) 

HPL 4 1 ¼ 2 ¼ 2 2 

Length 

(R. ft) 

HPL 1 1 ½ 2 2 ¼ 2 ¼ 

HPL 3 1 ½ 2 2 ½ 2 ½ 

HPL 2 1 ¾ 1 ¾ 2 ½ 2 ½ 

HPL 5 N/A 2 2 2 ¼ 

HPL 6 N/A N/A N/A N/A 

MPL 2 2 1 ½ 3 3 

MPL 1 2 1 ¼ 3 ¼ 3 ¼ 

MPL 3 N/A N/A 3 ¼ 3 ¼ 

LPL 2 2 ¼ 1 ¼ 4 4 

LPL 1 2 ¼ 1 ¼ 4 4 

116

upper diameters never exceed 0.28 m, for a height of 0.19-0.27 m. 165 Their widths would 

have supported, in theory, even small and medium-sized column shafts, based on 

Asgari’s classification (see Table 10). It is likely, but not certain, that these stands served 

as supports for the basins coming from the same shipwreck. While Table 15 summarizes 

the matching elements, Table 16 itemizes the stands that do not match any of the 

surviving basins. It needs to be stressed that, however, only 7 out of 13 basins and 11 out 

of 15 pedestals are preserved; so it is likely that some matching elements are missing. 

Table 15. Possible reconstruction of labra and their matching paw-footed pedestals, 

based on their diameters. 

Labrum # 

Diam. 

Base 

(m) 

Diam. 

Base 

(R. ft) 

Matching Pedestal? 

Diam. 

Base (m) Diam. Base 

(R. ft) 

LAB 1 0.55 1 ¾ MPL 2 0.590 2 

LAB 2 0.60 2 MPL 1 0.610 2 

LAB 3 0.58 2 MPL 2 0.590 2 

LAB 4 0.26 1 None / / 

LAB 5 0.45 1 ½ HPL 3 0.445 1 ½ 

LAB 6 0.47 1 ½ HPL 2 0.490 1 ¾ 

LAB 7 0.67 2 1/4 

165 Slavazzi 2001, 94-8. 

LPL 1-2 0.68 2 1/4 

Table 16. Pedestals that do not match any labrum. 

Unmatched Pedestal Diam. 

(m) 

Diam. 

(R. ft) 

HPL 1 0.410 1 ½ 

HPL 4 0.400 1 ¼ 

HPL 5 N/A N/A 

HPL 6 N/A N/A 

MPL 3 N/A N/A 

117

Stands Decorated with Lions’ Paws: Possible Functions 

The presence of lions’ paws on the pedestals found at Punta Scifo A raises 

another interesting parallel. The most numerous and best-preserved examples come from 

richly-decorated villas in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The best comparanda are used in 

the decoration of interior spaces. As Stephan Mols points out in his study of the wooden 

furniture from Herculaneum, objects of daily life decorated with lions’ and dogs’ paws 

are extremely common, and besides them “we encounter the legs of panthers, cattle, 

horses, deer and antelope. They could be in marble or bronze, as well as in wood. We 

find animal legs, especially lion legs, in other types of furniture and in everyday 

objects.” 166 

In Tutankhamun’s Egypt (1336-1327 B.C.) lions’ paws were used to decorate 

wooden furniture, 167 and to the reign of Ashurnasirpal (884-859 B.C.) is dated a bronze 

throne decorated with lion’s paws (Fig. 35). 168 In the Archaic and Classical periods 

(sixth-fifth centuries B.C.) lions’ paws were used on objects such as small tables 

(Fig. 36), and thrones (Fig. 37). In Hellenistic times lions’ paws were a ubiquitous 

decoration for marble theater seats, as at Miletus, Priene, Oropos, 169 and Athens. 170 A 

marble tripod, also from Miletus, is decorated in the same way. 171 

166 Mols 1999, 45-6. 

167 Reeves 1990, 184-6. 

168 Litchfield 1899, 3. 

169 Krauss 1973, figs. 90-6. 

170 Richter 1966, figs. 139-51. 

171 Knackfuss 1908, table 19. 

118

Fig. 35. Bronze throne and footstool from Assyria, ca. 888 B.C. 

(Image from Litchfield 1899, 3). 

Fig. 36. Table decorated with lions’ paws, Archaic Greek Age. 

(Image from Litchfield 1899, 9). 

119

Fig. 37. Greek relief of the sixth or fifth centuries B.C. of a throne decorated with lions’ 

paws (Image from Litchfield 1899, 10). 

A bronze cylindrical casket made at Palestrina in Latium about 300 B.C., the so-called 

“Ficoroni cista,” made to contain a lady’s toiletries, is one of the earliest examples of 

lions’ paws in association with a finely-executed object to be used in everyday life. 172 

From Pompeii and Herculaneum the number of items decorated with lions’ paws is 

remarkable and varied: a statuette of the Goddess Fortuna on a globe (Fig. 38), two 

candelabra one with four oil lamps (Fig. 38), and the other which represents Eros holding 

in his hand an oil lamp in the shape of a theatrical mask (Fig. 39), a tripod (Fig. 39), a 

hydria (Fig. 40), and even a small portable stove (Fig. 41). Pedestals, furthermore, were 

not the only artifacts from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck to feature lions’ paws: the bronze 

stand for an oil lamp (MOB 8) has three feet decorated with lions’ paws. 

172 Burn 1991, 172, fig. 146. 

120

These items from Punta Scifo A represent, currently, the only archaeological evidence of 

paw-footed marble bases that may have been destined to comprise part of the furnishings 

of a Roman building. The four “anchoring pegs,” small rectangular protrusions usually 

located under the four corners to fix the object in the soil, are missing. 173 This evidence 

further strengthens the likelihood that these basins were not made to be placed outdoors 

in the open ground. 

Statue Pedestals 

The last class of large marble artifacts to be analyzed are the statue pedestals, all 

of which appear to be Proconnesian in origin. Originally six in number at the time of 

discovery, only five are extant in Croton and Corazzo. Table 17 provides the dimensions 

of each pedestal, including the heights of STP 6 as recorded by P. Orsi. Its width and 

length are tentatively reconstructed based on a similarity in height with STP 1. 

Table 17. Dimensions, in meters and Roman feet, of the statue pedestals from the Punta 

Scifo A wreck site. Figures in italics are tentative. 

Statue Pedestal # 

Height 

(m) 

Height 

(R.ft) 

Width 

base 

(m) 

Width 

base 

(R. ft) 

Length 

base 

(m) 

STP 1 1.550 5 ¼ 0.775 2 ½ 0.860 3 

Length base 

(R. ft) 

STP 2 1.300 4 ½ 0.821 2 ¾ 0.735 2 ½ 

STP 3 1.420 4 ¾ 0.740 2 ½ 0.860 3 

STP 4 1.460 5 0.820 2 ¾ 0.870 3 

STP 5 1.30 4 ½ 0.68 2 ¼ 0.73 2 ½ 

STP 6 1.55 5 ¼ 0.775 2 ½ 0.860 3 

173 Slavazzi 2007, personal communication. For pictures of pedestals with “anchoring feet” under their 

bases see Slavazzi 2001 93-111, and Slavazzi 2005, 169-77. 

123

Statue Pedestal # 


Width 

Body 

(m) 

Width 

Body 

(R. ft) 

Length 

Body 

(m) 

Length 

Body 

(R. ft) 

STP 1 0.670 2 ¼ 0.630 2 ¼ 

STP 2 0.655 2 ¼ 0.625 2 

STP 3 0.700 2 ¼ 0.580 2 

STP 4 0.630 2 ¼ 0.650 2 ¼ 

STP 5 0.58 2 0.59 2 

STP 6 0.670 2 ¼ 0.630 2 ¼ 

There can be little doubt that these items were produced in the same workshop, by 

the same craftsmen, using the same sculptural techniques. The overall dimensions do not 

vary much from one item to another and the surface is always roughly-finished with a 

pointed chisel (see the details of STP 2 in the Catalog). Another feature of all five items 

is the horizontal, smooth, and slightly projecting band clearly visible on STP 2, always 

present at one extremity, and never at the other. 

Examples from the town of Baiae in the Bay of Naples, such as the 11 pedestals 

that supported statues of the emperors, gods, and augustales or priests of the Imperial cult 

(Fig. 42), provide useful parallels for the material from Punta Scifo A. Inscriptions carved 

on these pedestals suggest that some date to the time of Nerva and Trajan (A.D. 96-117), 

and others to the age of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (A.D. 161-169). 174 

The base of the pedestal in Fig. 42a ends in a smooth band from which project a 

series of mouldings. The top of the band is decorated with a cornice that protrudes gently 

outward. This same decoration is seen on the artifacts from Baiae, suggesting that the 

174 Miniero 2003, 53. 

124

ands that appear at Punta Scifo were intentionally carved to designate the beginning of 

the bases’ decoration and to demarcate an area for the inscription. 

One of the four sides of the pedestal shown in Fig. 42b was left unfinished, 

suggesting that it was meant to be placed against a wall. Figure 42b shows that the 

working of the stone closely resembles the technique used at Punta Scifo. The marble’s 

surface is rough-hewn with a pointed chisel, and some deep cavities still bearing the 

impressions of “footsteps” prove unquestionably that the pedestal functioned as the base 

for a piece of statuary (Fig. 43). 

Fig. 42. (a) Statue pedestal in the courtroom of the medieval castle of Baiae. The arrow 

shows the moulding of the pedestal. (b) Unfinished side of the pedestal. 


125

Fig. 43. Marks left from a statue’s feet in a pedestal from Baiae. (Photo: D. Bartoli). 

Additional parallels can be found in Olaf Dräger’s Religionem Significare, a thoughtful 

review of Roman marble altars and bases. Dräger’s group I D (“Arae with squared 

section”) includes specimens from Rome, Aquileia, Capri, London, and Newby Hall; 

their shape is identical to that of the items from Baiae and Punta Scifo. 175 Three other 

statue pedestals of Proconnesian marble were found on board the Capo Granitola 

shipwreck (third-fifth century A.D.). 176 

A picture of the Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus published in Ward-Perkins’ 1977 

Roman Architecture shows the temple façade composed of four Corinthian columns 

sustaining an architrave and a central arch. Each column has a statue pedestal placed just 

in front (Fig. 44). 

175 Dräger 1994, 37-8, table 1.3. 

176 Purpura 1996, 328-9. 

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The Statuette of Eros and Psyche, Slabs, Minor Marble Finds 

Alongside the larger architectural elements, the Punta Scifo A ship was also 

carrying a few small items: four marble slabs of which only one survived intact (SLB 1), 

a statuette of Eros and Psyche embracing each other (STA 1), at least six tiny tablets of 

marble and slate (MOB 1), and a mortar made of granite (MOB 2). 

SLB 1, a thin (0.07 m) but large (2.10 x 1.05 m) marble slab was discovered 

during Orsi’s investigations along with a few more fragmentary slabs, the number of 

which remains unknown. 177 The other artifacts were discovered later: the statuette in 

1968, when some local fishermen raised it in the bay of Punta Scifo, 178 and the tablets and 

mortar in 1983 during the Aquarius excavation. 179 Armando Lucifero in his 1976 

translation of François Lenormant’s La Grande Grèce, recounts how, after buying the 

little sculpture from local fishermen, he donated it to the museum of Croton. 180 This is the 

only piece of evidence indicating that between 1915 and 1983 there was at least one 

additional find, and one cannot help but wonder if more items disappeared in the years 

before the Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Calabria decided to excavate the 

site. 

There is a discrepancy between P. Pensabene and C. Moss regarding the ultimate 

nature of the Eros and Psyche group. While Pensabene considers it an unfinished 

sculpture in pavonazzetto typical of the Docimian workshops, which were skilled in 

producing small votive and decorative sculptures for export, Moss sees the group as a 

177 P. Orsi describes, at p. 494 of his 1921 article, “an intact marble table of 2.10 x 1.05 x 0.07 m and 

fragments of several others” without specifying their exact number. 

178 Moss 1988, 386. 


180 Lucifero in Lenormant 1976, 223, n. 29. 

128

trapezophoros, a vertical support for a marble table. 181 Pensabene thinks that “the plinth 

evidently lacks the final finishing which would have rendered the mouldings extremely 

fragile during the transport of the sculpture. For the same reason, work on the hair and the 

himation of Psyche is not deep and the legs of Eros have been left very thick: otherwise 

they would have broken easily.” 182 Moss does not agree: “the figures are rather 

superficially executed, and their shallow modeling creates a distinctly soft effect. Despite 

this, the surfaces are well-finished, with portions of the Eros and the base tending toward 

the polished.” 183 According to Moss, the real explanation for the cursory treatment of the 

surface has to be sought in the function of the object itself, which, being a supporting 

pillar of a trapezophoros, did not have to be highly finished. 184 

Having examined the statuette, I am inclined to support Pensabene’s 

interpretation. I did not notice, indeed, any trace of the little squared support for a table 

top that should appear above and between the figures’ heads, as seen in a trapezophoros 

representing Attis presently in Reggio Calabria, 185 or on four other trapezophoroi from 

Ostia and Pompeii. 186 The total height, of 1.30 m, makes the Eros and Psyche group too 

tall to support a table: the average height of the other trapezophoroi cited here is 

0.75-0.80 m. Therefore, the statuette from Punta Scifo A should likely be considered a 

small, unfinished, ornamental sculpture: the four rectangular feet placed under the base 

were used to secure the artifact into the ground, suggesting an outside destination, such as 

181 Pensabene 1978b, 233; Pensabene 2002a, 37; Moss 1988, 386-7. 

182 Pensabene 1978b, 233. 

183 Moss 1988, 387. 

184 Moss 1988, 387. 

185 Andronico in De Nuccio, Ungaro 2002, 373, n. 74; 

186 Mastroroberto 2002a, 373-5, n. 75; Valeri in De Nuccio, Ungaro 2002, 375, n. 76; Mastroroberto 2002b, 

375-6, n. 77; Borghini 2001, 245, fig. 92b. 

129

a garden. 187 Comparison with a similar group dating to the second century A.D., found in 

the Domus of Valerii in Rome and now located at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, shows 

how the finished statuette might have looked (Fig. 45a). 188 

The myth of Eros and Psyche, seen as a philosophical symbol of the union of the 

human soul with divine love, became extremely popular in the Roman world after 

Apuleius wrote his Metamorphoses in the middle of the second century A.D., and was a 

popular subject for sarcophagi produced from the second to fourth centuries A.D. 189 The 

only statuette with Eros and Psyche dated to the third century A.D. I have been able to 

find comes from Ostia. It is set on a tall pedestal which shows how the sculpture from 

Punta Scifo might have functioned in its final context. 190 There are other, earlier parallels, 

like a sarcophagus with Cupids dated to ca. A.D. 160-170 and currently located at the 

Richmond Museum of Fine Arts, 191 an Eros sleeping on a torch, also from the middle of 

the second century A.D., on exhibit at the Museo Nazionale Romano (Fig. 45b), three 

statuettes representing Cupids from Florence’s Palazzo Pitti, 192 and two more in Leiden 193 

and Thessaloniki. 194 

Four tablets made of marble and slate (MOB 1), are so-called coticulae, or 

“touchstones” supposedly used to test coins and precious metals. According to Carlo 

Beltrame, however, it is more likely that they were used as palettes to cut, grind, and mix 

the ingredients of ointments, drugs, and eyewash. .195 

187 Slavazzi 2001, 93. 

188 Brenk 1999, 70, fig. 1. 

189 Guerrieri 2007, 56-7. 

190 Boëthius and Ward-Perkins 1970, pl. 176; Calza 1947, 9,28. 

191 Moss 1988, 205; Waelkens 1982, 53-4, table 15. 

192 Saladino in Capecchi, Baldini, and Agostiniani 2003, 520-1, figs. 46-8 

193 Herrmann 1992, 100, fig. 5. 

194 Herrmann 1995, 78, fig. 14. 

195 Similar tools are found in surgeons’ graves. (Beltrame 2002, 41). 

130

Fig. 45. (a) To the left a statue of Eros and Psyche. (Picture from Brenk 1999, 71,1). 

(b) To the right a statuette of Eros leaning on a torch. (Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome). 


Not much can be said of the remaining items. A granite mortar (MOB 2) probably 

belonged to the ship’s equipment. A close parallel comes from Giardini Naxos, where a 

marble carrier sank carrying on board a mortar of volcanic stone that was found broken in 

half under a column shaft. 196 

Amphoras 

Ceramic, Bronze, and Lead Items 

There were at least three amphoras carried on board the Punta Scifo A shipwreck, 

of which only the necks, handles, and parts of the shoulders survive, while their bodies 

and toes have been lost. Now on display at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna, two 

196 Basile 1987, 383-5, fig.9a; Basile 1988, 136, fig. 6. 

131

of them (MOB 3 and MOB 4) can be identified as of Aegean origin (Kapitän 2/Augst 54/ 

Keay 12/Peacock & Williams 47/Niederbieber 77/Berenice MRA 7/ Robinson 

M237/Ostia 6). The third one (MOB 5), even if its bulging neck is reminiscent of eastern 

Mediterranean shapes, belongs to a less well-documented type. 

Amphoras MOB 3 and MOB 4 represent an easily recognizable type, widespread 

throughout almost all the provinces of the Roman empire, manufactured from the second 

to the fifth centuries A.D. The first discovery of this type occurred in 1914, at the frontier 

of the empire: Niederbieber on the Rhine, Germany. 197 Excavations at the Athenian 

Agora and at the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore in Corinth have revealed several more 

examples, in stratigraphic contexts ranging from the early third to the early fifth century 

A.D. 198 The texture of the fabric is reminiscent of amphoras produced at Kos, and 

according to S. J. Keay it is likely that these containers were manufactured there. 199 

Traces of pitch may suggest that this type was used for the transportation of wine. 200 

Gerhard Kapitän was the first to document the type aboard Roman Imperial 

merchantmen. In 1971 he published two necks from the Marzamemi 1 marble carrier 

(broadly dated to the third century A.D.), and in 1972 a few more identical containers 

were recorded from the third-century A.D. Ognina wreck. 201 The discovery, in the same 

wreck, of a group of four Severan coins withdrawn from circulation in the years 210-215 

A.D. provided a useful terminus post quem to date this cargo. 202 

197 Keay 1984, 136. 

198 Athens: see Robinson 1959, 69, plate 15, K 113; 77, plate 16, L 33; 106, plate 28, M 237; 110, plate 29, 

M 274; 112, plate 31, M 303; Corinth: see Warner Slane 1990, 108-17, fig. 254, plate 15, n. 254. 

199 Keay 1984, 137. 

200 Panella 1973, 599; Freschi 1987, 5. 

201 Kapitän 1971, 303, figs. 6-10; Kapitän 1972, 246, fig. 4. 

202 Price 1974, 151-3. 

132

In Sicily, A. J. Parker and D. M. Squire documented two more fragments of the 

Kapitän 2 amphora type in the Terrauzza shipwreck, dated to the late second century 

A.D., 203 G. Purpura found one Kapitän 2 neck aboard the third-century A.D. marble 

carrier off Capo Granitola, and B. Basile found another similar neck in the marble carrier 

that sank at Giardini Naxos. 204 The Bagaud Island wreck, in southern France, provides 

similar fragments, but its entire assemblage must be carefully examined because it is a 

heavily-disturbed site, “a sea cemetery” in F. Benoît’s own words. 205 The Punta Scifo B 

shipwreck had two Kapitän 2 amphoras as well. 206 Along with two bronze ladles 

decorated with swans’ heads found at both Punta Scifo A and B, these amphoras create a 

possible connection between the two adjacent naves lapidariae. 

The above considerations lead to three conclusions. First, the Severan coins from 

Ognina provide a date extremely close to the consular inscriptions of A.D. 197-200 

found on the marble items from Punta Scifo A. Secondly, only a few Kapitän 2 amphoras 

were found in each wreck, mixed among the main cargo. In Marzamemi 1 a “scarce 

number” of sherds of this type were discovered. 207 At Ognina 90% of the amphoras were 

“Africano piccolo” types, 208 two at Terrauzza and two in Punta Scifo A, and a few 

fragments at Capo Granitola. 209 It is possible that these Kapitän 2 amphoras do not 

represent the main cargo, but rather possessions of the ship itself, carried in limited 

quantity for the personal use of the crew. 

203 Parker and Squire 1974, 27-34, fig. 3.4. 

204 Purpura 1977, 58-9, fig. 4; Basile 1987, 375. 

205 Parker and Squire 1974, 31. 

206 Freschi 1987, 5, n. 8. 

207 Kapitän 1971, 303. 

208 Kapitän 1974, 150. 

209 Purpura 1977, 58-9, fig. 4. 

133

Not much is known about the third amphora neck from Punta Scifo A, which has 

no diagnostic features preserved. The only possible parallel is a similar amphora found 

during the excavation of the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore in Corinth, stratigraphically 

dated to the first quarter of the third century A.D. 210 

Pitchers (or Jugs), Sigillata Ware 

Five fragments of trefoil-mouth containers, from the Punta Scifo A wreck site, are 

also on display at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna. The bodies are not preserved, 

and during an exhibition in 2006 it was not possible to take measurements of their neck 

heights and mouth openings. 

Their necks are short and straight, the rims curve outwards and have a thick, 

raised band at the lower extremity. The most significant feature is the single vertical 

handle rising above the rim and decorated with two vertical grooves, found on jugs and 

pitchers from Corinth, Athens, and Ostia. 211 If these parallels are viable, they could 

suggest a date range from the middle of the second century to the third century A.D. 

Their production center has been tentatively assigned to the eastern Aegean or the Black 

Sea. 212 Few conclusions can be drawn regarding the fragments of one terra sigillata plate 

and two lids that are exhibited in Capo Colonna (MOB 6), except to say that these 

fragments may testify to the presence of a galley on board the ship. 

210 The amphora neck is similar to the type “Warner Slane 249.” (Warner Slane 1990, 116, fig. 249). 

211 Corinth: see Warner Slane 1990, 100, n. 215-6; Athens: see Robinson 1959, 92, M 101, plates 23, 73; 

Ostia: see Panella 1973, 203, 430, fig. 342. 

212 Warner Slane 1990, 100, n. 14-5. 

134

Bronze Ladles, Candelabrum, Lead Decoration with Heracles and the Hind 

The last group of artifacts found in 1983 during the Aquarius excavation and now 

on display in Capo Colonna includes two bronze ladles (MOB 7), one tall bronze 

candelabrum (MOB 8), and a decorative lead statuette representing Heracles holding the 

Ceryneian hind by the horns (MOB 9). These items have numerous parallels throughout 

the Roman world, with some for the ladles dating back as far as the fifth century B.C. 213 It 

is difficult to propose a date without having had the opportunity to study and measure the 

items closely. 

Each of the two ladles has a long handle, rectangular in section, that curves 

upward, tapers, and ends in a curved swan’s head. The purpose was not only decorative, 

but to provide a suspension loop for hanging: the curved beaks provide hooks for the 

handles. This type of animal decoration is extremely common in Roman times, and 

appears both in a wall-painting from Pompeii representing Roman silverware and as a 

hook to hang up oil lamps. 214 Two similar bronze handles ending in a swan’s head were 

found on the nearby Punta Scifo B shipwreck. 215 

The bronze candelabrum is noteworthy not only because its base is decorated with 

lions’ paws but because it represents an expensive article typically owned by wealthy 

individuals in ancient Rome. Bronze oil lamps were meant to be exhibited in the best 

rooms of the house and represented, “due to the elegance of their decoration, real status 

213 See catalog entry MOB 7. The fifth-century B.C. ship sunk at Alonnesos (Greece) had onboard a bronze 

ladle. (Hadjidaki 1996, 587). 

214 For the fresco in Pompeii, see: Coarelli 2002, 390; Dunbabin 1993, 119, fig. 3. For the oil-lamp, 

currently at the Museo azionale Romano, see: De’ Spagnolis and De Carolis 1983, 63, 22.1. 

215 Freschi 1987, 5. 

135

symbols for the homeowner.” 216 

If the simple bronze oil lamps found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, without 

vertical stands, were “uncommon objects, expensive, rarely belonging to not well-off 

individuals […] sometimes conserved in a strongbox,” 217 it is easy to appreciate the value 

of the tall, vertical stand from Punta Scifo A. In Fabius Rufus’s residence, one of the 

richest houses in Pompeii, six bronze oil lamps were discovered – the highest number 

ever found in one single locale. 218 It is impossible to know if more oil lamp stands were 

carried on board the Punta Scifo A ship, and were looted in the years following the 

discovery, but this possibility must be considered: on the Mahdia shipwreck there were at 

least five bronze candelabra aboard. 219 

Finally, a small lead statuette represents the myth of Heracles capturing the hind 

(MOB 9). The three-dimensional group is arranged on a flat base with one bronze nail in 

place and a hole for a second, indicating that it was meant to be nailed to some wooden 

surface. A thin lead strip connecting Heracles’ back to the pedestal keeps the statuette 

upright, and a cavity inside the hind’s body is probably for a protruding piece of wood 

that had to fit there. It follows that this group was made to be seen only from the front, 

and the nails were hammered into a piece of wood. The use of lead, which is extremely 

resistant to marine corrosion, suggests that this artifact may have decorated a part of the 

ship. 

216 De’ Spagnolis and De Carolis 1997, 91. 



219 Baratte 1994, 607. 

136

Conclusions 

Like all ancient shipwrecks, that at Punta Scifo A is a complex assemblage of 

artifacts, which poses more questions than answers. The current state of the site, the 

amount of time that has passed since it was first discovered, and the asystematic recovery 

of artifacts make a comprehensive study difficult. The present research was conducted a 

century after the original discovery, and many of the artifacts mentioned at that time are 

no longer in evidence. Even heavy items, including column shafts, have disappeared. In 

addition, the site itself is in poor shape. The Forcellinis raised 150 tons of marble, nearly 

obliterating the shipwreck. It is difficult to reconstruct the site as it appeared at the time 

of its discovery, much less to imagine what the ship must have looked like before it sank. 

What was the ultimate destination of this marble shipment? Was it intended to be 

divided among several buyers, or did it represent a single consignment meant to fulfill a 

specific order? Punta Scifo A’s point of departure was probably located along the western 

coast of Asia Minor -possibly Ephesus or Miletus- but the vessel’s final destination, 

somewhere in the western Mediterranean, remains enigmatic. Because the column shafts 

and blocks carry inscriptions and notches for lead seals usually connected with Imperial 

ownership of marble items, it is possible that the cargo was commissioned by the 

emperor and was headed to Rome. The quality of the material, the number and scale of 

artifacts, their relative cost, and the apparent unity of the cargo make it reasonable to 

hypothesize that the whole cargo was meant to fulfill a single order. It may be possible, 

however difficult to prove, that the 16 columns were destined to decorate a two-level 

137

façade, the six statue pedestals made to be placed in front of them, and 13 marble basins 

and highly decorated stands to embellish the building itself. 

The column shafts follow a well-defined set of lengths; the basins appear to fall 

into two distinct size groups of 3 ½ and 7 Roman feet, and lone examples of a completed 

basin and a finished pedestal with lions’ paws serve as templates for finishing similar 

items. These clues all suggest a clear pattern of standardization in production and for 

facilitation of completion after reception. All of the evidence hints at a cargo destined to 

adorn a richly-decorated building, commissioned with a particular design in mind. Even 

the blocks of pavonazzetto are, in a certain sense, close to completion, and may have been 

earmarked to cover the walls and floors of the building for which the other pavonazzetto 

items had been designed. 

138

CHAPTER IV 

THE PUTA SCIFO A SHIPWRECK I COTEXT: 

MARBLE QUARRIES AD SEA TRASPORT I THE SEVERA AGE 

When the citizens of Chios showed Cicero their city walls made of the beautiful 

pinkish-white marble quarried on the island, he wittily remarked: “I would be much more 

amazed if you had made them of travertine.” 220 Cicero noticed that there was nothing 

139 

special in building walls with a particular stone quarried only 2 km away, however fine and 

spectacular it might be. Rome, on the other hand, had already demonstrated its capacity to 

import white and colored marbles from every corner of the Mediterranean. 

In the last two centuries of the Republic some members of the senatorial class, 

following the “ancestors’ way,” tried without success to oppose the introduction of marble, 

which was seen as a symbol of useless luxury. Yet, while Cicero was alive Caesar traveled 

from camp to camp carrying with him mobile mosaic floors, 221 and shortly afterwards 

Augustus boasted to “have found [Rome] a city of bricks and left [it] one of marble.” 222 

Thus between the end of the Republic and beginning of the Empire there appeared a 

remarkable shift in cultural attitudes toward the use of exotic building stone. 

In the first century A.D. the amount of marble Rome consumed was so impressive 

that Pliny the Elder dedicated almost an entire book of his Historia aturalis to 

220 Plin. H 36.5.46. 

221 Suet. Iul. 46. 

222 Suet. Aug. 28.

complaining about the corruption of his age, in which nature was violated and its eternal 

laws subverted for the sake of fine marbles: 

Headlands are laid open to the sea and nature is flattened. We remove the 

barriers created to serve as the boundaries of nations, and ships are built 

especially for marble. And so, over the waves of the sea, nature’s wildest 

element, mountain ranges are transported hither and thither. 223 

During the second and third centuries A.D. the marble trade continued to expand, 

spreading from the capital to the provinces. Fashionable eastern stone became a widely- 

adopted building material that not only the rich, but also the upper middle class could 

afford. 224 This was one of many administrative successes of the Empire at the peak of its 

140 

power: organizing the production, transportation, and distribution of quarried marbles in an 

efficient way, and making them accessible on a scale never seen before. Rome, in other 

words, laid the foundations of a well-integrated Mediterranean economy, whose quarries, 

shipwrecks, and deposits of unused raw materials still testify to the scale of the entire 

system. 

The relatively low cost of water transportation, along with the safety of trade 

guaranteed by the pax romana within the Mediterranean made the marble trade sustainable 

for more than three centuries. In spite of the previous resistance to its adoption, marble 

became a popular building material, which contributed greatly to the embellishment of the 

223 Plin. H 36.1.2-3. 

224 Between the second and third centuries A.D. various Roman provinces, especially North Africa, began 

importing marble for their public and private buildings, a sign that more marble was available on the market, 

and its cost was more affordable than in the past. For specific case-studies, see Ward-Perkins 1951, 89-104; 

Dodge 1988, 215-30; Pensabene 1990, 250-3.

Empire’s most prominent cities. This marble had to be imported from remote locations, 

and “the improbably economic phenomenon” 225 of a trade in stone did take place. 

141 

In order to better understand the shipwreck under consideration here it is necessary 

to gain a broader perspective of the entire system at work. In the first century B.C. Cicero 

was already proud of it, and improvements would continue during the two centuries that 

followed. This chapter provides a brief summary of the introduction of this building 

material in Rome at the end of the Republic, its widespread use under the Empire, and will 

review in detail what is known regarding the production of the Proconnesian, Docimian, 

and Carystian quarries –all marble types carried by the five ships that sank to the south of 

Croton. 226 

A Historical Outline of Marble Imports to Rome 

The Early, Controversial Adoption of Marble during the Republic 

Once Rome conquered the East in the second century B.C., the Roman ruling class 

became the natural successors of the Hellenistic monarchs, and they began adopting the 

former dynasts’ court rituals and symbols of power. The battle of Magnesia ad Sypilum 

(189 B.C.) is traditionally considered a crucial landmark between Roman involvement in 

eastern affairs and the real conquest. Pliny saw this event as a cultural watershed: after the 

225 As J. C. Fant writes (1993, 71), “stone is heavy, dense and expensive to transport. In the ancient world 

people looked for building stone close at hand, and stone from local quarries was rarely carried very far from 

its source.” The Romans were able to overcome the limits imposed by the cost of transportation, making 

marble available on a large scale. 

226 The Punta Scifo A shipwreck was carrying pavonazzetto and Proconnesian marble; the Capo Cimiti 

merchantman five cipollino column shafts. The other three cargoes have not been analyzed yet.

victory in Asia, he says, the statues of the gods, previously made of terracotta and wood, 

came to be replaced with new images of marble and bronze. 227 

Only a few decades later further events granted Rome unrestricted access to the 

widest range of white and colored marbles known in the entire Mediterranean. The 

definitive conquest of Carthage (146 B.C.) opened up the renowned quarries of giallo 

antico located in Tunisian Simitthus (modern Chemtou). These quarries provided a 

wonderful yellow marble that was widely appreciated in antiquity; Diocletian’s Edict on 

142 

Maximum Prices relates that it was worth 200 denarii per Roman foot in A.D. 310. 228 In the 

same year that Carthage was conquered, Corinth fell to the army of L. Mummius. With 

Greece pacified and increasingly integrated into the Roman provincial system, the famous 

sources of Pentelic, Hymettian, Parian, Naxian, and Thasian marbles also became part of 

Rome’s new economic system. The kingdom of Pergamon was bequeathed to Rome in 133 

B.C., and with it came the Docimium production centers in Phrygia, where most of the 

artifacts from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck were quarried. After the battle of Actium in 31 

B.C., Egypt was integrated into the emperor’s personal patrimony, unlocking the 

porphyries and granites that had been the symbol of autocratic, divine power since 

Pharaonic times. 

However, while these acquisitions were being finalized, autocratic power and 

oriental ceremonies were still seen contrary to the long-established Roman traditions of 

Republican frugality. How could Roman senators reconcile their appetite for decadent 

227 Plin. H 35, 34. 

228 For more information regarding giallo antico see Lazzarini 2002, 243-4; for its price in Diocletian’s Edict 

see Giacchero 1974, 210.

Eastern materials with the modesty typical of their forefathers? The Roman upper classes 

had conquered a world which, in turn, threatened to conquer them. 229 The only way to 

preserve Roman tradition was to mount a fierce resistance, and the battle against luxury 

began as soon as the first eastern marble items entered the city. 

It is quite curious that the first recorded import of marble items to Rome did not 

come from the East, nor from North Africa or Greece, but, unexpectedly, from Croton 

itself. According to Livy, the Roman censor Quintus Fulvius Flaccus attempted to reuse 

half of the marble roof tiles from the temple of Hera Lacinia to erect his own temple to 

Fortuna Equestris in Rome. 230 It was the year 173 B.C., only a decade and a half after the 

battle of Magnesia had been fought. Ships were used to carry the tiles from Croton to 

143 

Rome. 231 When Roman citizens noticed these unusual artifacts and started asking questions 

about their provenience, Flaccus’ robbery could not be concealed. He was summoned and 

entered the senate house, accused of destroying one of the most venerable shrines of 

Magna Graecia. The Senate gave the order to make expiatory sacrifices to Hera and to 

return the tiles to her temple in Capo Colonna. Apparently the tiles were abandoned at the 

temple because there were no craftsmen who remembered the techniques required to 

replace them. Some of these artifacts, made of Parian and Pentelic marbles, were found 

buried close to the sanctuary at the end of the 19 th century (Fig. 46). 232 

229 Horace 2.1.156. 

230 Livy, 42.3.1-11. 

231 Livy, 42.3.3. 

232 The Marquis Berlingieri discovered the tiles during the construction of his summer residence in Capo 

Colonna, and they were all crushed to make new mosaic floors in his palace in Croton. The Marquis 

Lucifero was able to retrieve some tiles though, and offered them to the Archaeological Museum of the city, 

where they are still visible at present. (Lenormant 1976, 222, n. 25; Ruga 1996, 100-1).

Fig. 46. Marble tiles from the temple of Hera Lacinia. (Naval Museum, Capo Colonna). 


The account of Livy is interesting for two reasons. First of all, it is direct evidence that in 

the first quarter of the second century B.C. it was not unusual to ship marble by sea, 

avoiding the costs and difficulties of land transportation even for small, portable artifacts 

144 

like roof tiles. Secondly, the import of marble tiles impressed the public so much, probably 

because it represented an oriental novelty deemed pretentious and extravagant for the 

Roman modesty, that the Senate was convened in a rush and decreed to send the tiles back 

immediately to the temple of Hera Lacinia. Religious concerns for the offense rendered to 

the immortal gods, taken alone, do not fully explain the Senate’s quick response in sending 

Flaccus’ tiles back to Croton - almost with the first ship available. It is equally likely that 

the senators did not want to upset their Italic allies by desecrating an ancient shrine of 

Magna Graecia, or to set the dangerous precedent of luxuria (decadent, extravagant luxury) 

taking place in Rome. Q. Fulvius Flaccus had to be prevented from becoming too popular 

and, therefore, a dangerously powerful political rival. The Republic and the supremacy of

its ruling families could be preserved, but a few ambitious individuals had to be kept at 

bay. 

In late Republican Rome, ancient urbanization meant that it was not possible to 

substantially enlarge existing buildings, and so the social status of prominent families 

could be conveyed in only two ways: by the external appearance of their residence, or by 

the public monuments they offered to the entire city. 233 Perhaps this is the real reason 

behind the vehement attacks against luxuria: to preserve the status quo of the Republic 

(and consequently the ruling families’ own influence) against some rich, leading 

145 

individuals who sought to exploit Rome’s conquests for their personal advancement. It was 

dangerous for the safety of the Republic to let a few people publicize their power with the 

use of bronze or marble. It is no coincidence that both Caesar and Augustus loved marble: 

it was an instrument that made their power and prestige tangible to the public, with all the 

deep political consequences this implied. 234 

Consequently, the first temple of marble was not erected in Rome until 146 B.C., 

when Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus invited the Greek architect Hermodorus of Salamis 

to build the little, hexastyle temple of Jupiter Stator using Pentelic marble. 235 At the end of 

the second century B.C. marble was used more and more, in public and private 

233 As suggested by Pensabene 1998a, 334. 

234 There is also a third consideration that can be made. According to Q. Fulvius Flaccus’ calculations, half of 

the roof tiles from a fifth-century B.C. hexastyle Doric temple would suffice to cover what was meant to be 

the largest (ne… amplius) and the most splendid (aut … magnificentius) sacred building of Rome at the time. 

(Livy, 42.3.2). Apparently, the city that had defeated Carthage twice, conquered the Western shores of the 

Mediterranean, and humiliated Hellenistic kings such as Philip the Fifth of Macedonia and Antiochus the 

Fourth of Syria, did not have in 173 B.C. a temple large enough to compete with a three-hundred year old 

sanctuary from Magna Graecia. Further research in the field is needed, however, to prove or disprove Livy’s 

account. 

235 Bianchi Bandinelli 1995, 146.

applications, even if on a limited basis and not without some criticism from 

146 

contemporaries. Lucius Crassus for instance, consul in 95 B.C., did something so eccentric 

and effeminate for a Roman of his time, installing in his house on the Palatine Hill six 

small columns of Hymettian marble, each 12 Roman feet (3.55 m) tall, that Marcus Brutus 

immediately nicknamed him Palatine Venus. 236 In 78 B.C., Marcus Lepidus went even 

further, using Numidian marble “in the most sordid manner” (vilissimo uso): 237 to cover the 

door sills of his house. Lepidus’ contemporary Lucius Lucullus was so passionate for 

marble from Teos as to name it after himself, Luculleum. 238 When Marcus Scaurus, aedile 

in 58 B.C., used 360 columns, each 38 Roman feet tall (11.25 m) to embellish the three- 

level stage of a theater otherwise made of wood, it was a clear signal that the age of 

Republican frugality was coming to an end. 239 In 44 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar imposed a 

tax on every single column shaft imported to Rome, 240 testifying to the remarkable 

economic impact of the marble trade: a new era had begun. 

The Early Empire: Roman Control over Marble Quarries 

When Augustus emerged as emperor following the civil wars against Antony, he 

236 Plin. H 36.2.7. 

237 Plin. H 36.8.49. Numidian marble is known as giallo antico, yellow in color, and comes from modern 

Tunisia. (Pensabene 1998a, 334). 

238 Plin. H 36.8.49-50. Tean or Luculleum marble, also known as africano, is of a dark-greenish color and 

comes from the quarries of Teos, close to modern Izmir in Turkey. (Ward-Perkins 1992f, 55). 

239 Plin. H 36.24.114-5. Compared with the 70 column shafts from the Mahdia shipwreck, sunk off Tunisia 

between 90 and 60 B.C., Scaurus’ 11.25 m-tall columns are, on average, three times taller. It is possible that 

Pliny emphasized their size and number to impress the reader with this Late Republican example of 

extravagance. Indeed, it is difficult to believe that wooden theaters with 360 columns in the façade ever 

existed. 

240 Cic. Att. 13.6.1.

concentrated his efforts on the effective control of the Roman State, including the 

administration of marble quarries. In the case of Docimium imperial administration is 

certain: Strabo mentions an expanded productivity in Augustan times and implies a 

reorganization of the quarries administered by the procurators in Synnada. 241 New beds 

dating to this time have also been found at the quarries themselves. 242 In Italy, the quarries 

of Luna (modern Carrara) received particular attention. Located in Tuscany, they were the 

only source of white marble that rivaled the most notorious and expensive Greek varieties 

in color and texture. Augustus initiated the exploitation of these quarries on a systematic 

basis, using Carrara marble for the largest Roman monuments. 243 In the first century A.D., 

Luna marble was exported on a large scale also outside of Italy, reaching southern France, 

Mauritania, and Crete. 244 It may be possible, however thin the connection is, that with the 

help of his son-in-law Agrippa the emperor Augustus gained control of the quarries of 

giallo antico in Tunisia. An inscription found at Chemtou mentions an Officina Agrippae, 

147 

but it is dated to A.D. 150. Thus, Agrippa may have been remembered more than a century 

after his death for his ownership or for having improved the quarries’ production, but this 

is far from certain. 245 

Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) appears to have proceeded a step further. According to 

241 Strabo 12.8.14. 

242 Fant 1993, 75-6. 

243 A Corinthian capital with the inscription “N XX […] / CAES A […] was used in the Forum of Augustus. 

A block of Luna marble bearing the name of an imperial freedman working at the quarries is still visible in 

the temple of Apollo Sosianus, completed between 32 and 20 B.C. The first consular date on marble from 

Luna dates to A.D. 27, in line with the information Suetonius (Tib. 49.2) provides. (Pensabene 2002a, 15). 

For the Ara Pacis, built between 13 and 9 B.C., Luna marble was used extensively. (Amadori, Lazzarini, 

Mariottini, Pecoraro, and Pensabene 1998, 48). 

244 Amadori, Lazzarini, Mariottini, Pecoraro and Pensabene 1998, 51. 

245 Fant 1993, 75, n. 80.

Suetonius, it was Tiberius who “took away from many cities and private citizens ancient 

tax exemptions and the rights to exploit mines and quarries and to collect land rents.” 246 It 

seems possible that, following a trend initiated by Augustus and Agrippa, Tiberius 

148 

continued working towards the creation of a centralized internal imperial system to control 

quarry production across the Empire. 

Under Claudius (A.D. 41-54) the exploitation of a large portion of the Egyptian 

quarries began: the “Mons Claudianus,” a name given to the production center of granite in 

Gebel Fatireh, seems to reflect the direct involvement of Rome’s fourth emperor in its 

reorganization process. 247 Nero (A.D. 54-68) used green porphyry from the Peloponnese in 

his Domus Transitoria and villa at Sublacquea, and Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) had the 

Templum Pacis built with red granite from Aswan. 248 

The fact that no large eastern marble blocks or semi-worked column shafts have 

been found at either Pompeii or Herculaneum, suggests that until A.D. 79 the flow of fine 

marbles from Greece, Africa, and Asia Minor was directed mostly towards Rome. 249 J. B. 

Ward-Perkins noticed at Pompeii a large variety of fine imported marbles, but these are 

laid in floors, or cut in thin, little slabs. The only marble used for door sills and other large 

architectural elements at Pompeii and Herculaneum came from Luna in Tuscany. 250 

Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. Romans 

were rebuilding their city as the new capital of the Mediterranean. This face-lift required 

246 Suet. Tib. 49.2. 

247 Pensabene 1982, 22. 

248 Dodge 1991, 35, n. 64-5. 

249 Fant 1990, 95. 

250 Ward-Perkins 1951, 98.

vast quantities of marble, and Rome was absorbing almost the entire production of the 

eastern quarries. It is not coincidental that wall paintings in the Vesuvian cities tried to 

imitate, with their multicolored frescoes, those fancy marbles that must have been hard to 

find outside of the capital, at least in large quantities. 

The Middle and Late Empire: Peak and Decline of Marble Trade 

149 

At the beginning of the second century A.D. a radical change took place in Roman 

quarry organization. Under Trajan (A.D. 98-117) the first complex quarry inscriptions 

appear on blocks and column shafts, testifying to a new, reorganized method of extraction 

and inventory. 251 This coincides with a Roman architectural revival; it will suffice to 

mention that the Forum and Markets of Trajan were considered a true wonder in antiquity. 

These buildings were covered with paintings, stuccoes, sculptures, and such an astonishing 

quantity of marble that they surprised the emperor Constantius the Second during his visit 

in A.D. 356, and remained until Late Antiquity one of the greatest marvels of Rome. 252 The 

brick walls visible today, stripped in medieval times of their marble veneering, represent 

nothing but the skeletons of those once luxurious buildings esteemed so highly by ancient 

authors. 

Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), the Antonines (A.D. 138-192), and the Severan Dynasty 

(A.D. 193-235) provided new direction to the marble trade; during their reigns marble was 

imported in massive quantities not only to Rome but to the outlying provinces. Septimius 

251 The earliest recorded date is A.D. 107. (Ward-Perkins 1951, 97). 

252 Amm. Marc. 16.10.15; Bianchi Bandinelli 1995, 238.

Severus for instance, rebuilt his North African hometown of Lepcis Magna using 

Proconnesian, Pentelic, and Docimian marble. 253 In imitation of the monuments of the 

150 

capital, and showcasing the prosperity of their own cities and an acceptance of the Imperial 

ideology, affluent individuals in the provinces commissioned projects at sites like Baalbek, 

Damascus, and Palmyra. 254 

After the death of Severus Alexander (A.D. 235), another radical change seems to 

have taken place: all of the inscriptions on items coming from the imperial quarries 

suddenly disappear. One block of pavonazzetto found at Iscehisar (Docimium) was marked 

in the year 236, and it represents the latest known example of such an inscription. 255 The 50 

years that followed the death of Severus Alexander constituted a period of instability and 

turmoil which ended only under Diocletian’s reign (A.D. 284-305), though it is certain that 

the imperial quarry system did not collapse. The exploitation of some quarries even 

increased (notably Proconnesus and Docimium), while at others it almost ended. At Luna, 

for example, the Roman quarry system seems to have collapsed and Luna marble was 

replaced quite often by Proconnesian. 256 

The year 301 saw the enactment of Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices, reported 

in Appendix 4. With it, Diocletian tried to stop the inflation that was afflicting the Empire 

by fixing a maximum price for all sorts of wages and merchandise including 19 marble 

varieties. His efforts to fix prices, however, seem to have been limited at best; in A.D. 363 

the cost of marbles had reached such an exorbitant level that Julian allowed private citizens 

253 Ward Perkins 1951, 89-93. 

254 Dodge 1988, 227. 

255 Fant 1987, 129. 

256 Pensabene 2001, 45.

to open new quarries, hoping the increased production would lower prices. 257 The new 

quarries quickly became so active and prosperous that in A.D. 393 a second imperial 

decree forced them to close; presumably, the prices had dropped so dramatically that no 

one was buying from the state-owned production centers anymore. 258 

151 

The fourth century saw a drastic drop of marble imports to Rome, after Constantine 

moved the imperial residence to Byzantium (A.D. 330). At this time the reuse of marble 

stripped from old monuments became common: a famous example is the Arch of 

Constantine, in which reliefs and sculptures were appropriated from earlier monuments of 

Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. 259 These events in the West likely resulted from two 

causes: the emperors’ presence in the East caused imports to shift from Rome to 

Constantinople, and the new capital city’s proximity to Proconnesus and Docimium 

attracted most of their production. It does not seem accidental that at the end of the fourth 

century A.D. tax breaks were given to everyone except marble contractors located near 

Constantinople: apparently, they were doing well enough not to need them. 260 

In the Byzantine age the production of the eastern quarries did not stop, but the 

exports were directed mostly towards Constantinople, northern Africa, and the strongholds 

of the Byzantine empire in the West, particularly Ravenna. In the reign of Justinian (A.D. 

527-565) the well-known “basilica shipwreck” sank at Marzamemi, Sicily, carrying a 

complete set of marble architectural elements to decorate a new church. Its cargo of 28 

columns, bases, and capitals in Proconnesian marble, along with a pulpit in verde antico 

257 Cod. Theod. 10.19.2. 

258 Cod. Theod. 10.19.13. 

259 Bianchi Bandinelli 1971, 83. 

260 Fant 1993, 77.

from Thessaly represents the last bit of archaeological evidence testifying to the existence 

of trade between east and west in the mid-sixth century A.D. 261 

The Severan Age: Cultural Background for the Punta Scifo A Shipwreck 

Septimius Severus (A.D. 193-211), founder of the Severan Dynasty, was the first 

Roman emperor to come from North Africa. His native town, Lepcis Magna, underwent a 

massive renovation program under his rule. Syria was the homeland of his wife Julia 

Domna, and it was in Syria that the future emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (A.D. 

218-222) and Severus Alexander (A.D. 222-235) were born. These two provinces were 

particularly privileged during the rule of the Severans, and Syria enjoyed special 

prominence in the Roman cultural and religious environment of the time. Eastern esoteric 

cults became so widespread under Septimius Severus, Caracalla (A.D. 211-217), and 

especially Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, that the latter emperor was also a priest of the sun- 

god Elah-Gabal at Emesa, and became known as Elagabalus. 262 

152 

The architecture of the Severan Age has been defined as one of “consolidation and 

achievement rather than of important new experiment” 263 because these emperors restored 

existing buildings rather than erecting new ones. Rome, nevertheless, saw at least five new 

monuments commissioned by the Severan emperors: the Septizodium, the Arch of 

Septimius Severus, Caracalla’s Temple of Serapis, Elagabalus’s Temple of Ba’al on the 

261 Van Doorninck 1972, 136-7; Kapitän 1969, 122-33; Kapitän 1971, 296-309; Kapitän 1980, 71-136. 

262 Cary and Scullard, 1984, 497; Bianchi Bandinelli 1971, 19. The fact that the lion was deeply associated 

with the eastern cult of the Phrygian goddess Cybele and was also a symbol of Africa, it might be connected 

with the lions’ paws that appear on the marble stands from Punta Scifo A. 

263 Boëthius and Ward Perkins 1970, 270.

Palatine, and the Thermae Antoninianae. 

153 

Septimius Severus dedicated the so-called Septizodium in A.D. 203, a monumental 

façade erected to conceal some buildings behind it; its remains were torn down in 

1588-89. 264 From a drawing Martin van Heemskerk made before its destruction it is known 

that the building had three rows of superimposed Corinthian columns. Various nymphaea 

built in Asia Minor in the first and second centuries A.D. provide the Septizodium’s closest 

parallels, further strengthening the cultural connections between the Severans and the 

East. 265 The connection with the Orient is explicit in Caracalla’s Temple of Serapis, in 

which Ward-Perkins noticed a strong “Asiatic” character, and in Elagabalus’s Temple of 

Ba’al on the Palatine. 266 

In A.D. 203 an arch commemorating Septimius Severus’ victories over the 

Parthians was erected at the northeast corner of the Roman Forum. 267 Proconnesian marble 

was used for the columns, whose shafts are 24 Roman feet tall (7.10 m), while the 

remaining structural parts were made of Pentelic marble from Attica. 268 The use of Luna 

marble is uncertain: it appears to have been utilized only for the relief panels. 269 

The Thermae Antoninianae, started in A.D. 212 and dedicated four years later, were 

the most well-known and esteemed Severan building complex in antiquity, due to their 

magnitude, lavishness, and perfectly-structured system of heating, water-supply, and 

drainage. 270 This complex could host 1,600 bathers, and remained in use until the middle of 

264 Nash 1962, 302-5. 

265 Ward Perkins 1981, 132. 

266 Nash 1962, 376-83; Ward Perkins 1981, 132-4. 

267 Brilliant 1967, 29. 

268 Brilliant 1967, 51. 

269 Brilliant 1967, 55. 

270 Grant 1996, 71.

the sixth century A.D. when the aqueducts that supplied them were destroyed. 271 The main 

structural elements of the baths have survived, along with portions of mosaic pavements, 

countless fragments of marble veneer, and underground service corridors. 

What connects these thermae to the Punta Scifo A shipwreck is the presence of 

Docimian marble in the baths, used for some of the column shafts and as veneer. 272 The 

preserved column shafts, however, are longer than those found in the Punta Scifo A 

154 

shipwreck: they measure 36, 30, and 24 Roman feet (10.65, 8.88, and 7.10 m respectively), 

while similar elements from the Punta Scifo A shipwreck are never taller than 20 Roman 

feet (5.92 m). 

Another conspicuous parallel is a block of white Docimian marble found in the 

Baths of Caracalla which bears a consular date of A.D. 206 and is the only item known 

-outside of the Docimian quarries- to carry the three letters “COM”, which appear on the 

blocks and column shafts from Punta Scifo A. 273 Additionally, the numerous marble basins 

from the wreck (LAB 1-7) may well have been designed for use in a thermal complex. 274 

The lead seals Orsi saw on the blocks and column shafts are now lost, but recessed notches 

for them are still visible on some of the marble artifacts in Capo Colonna and Corazzo 

(COL 1, BLC 8). These seals are known to designate quarried items belonging to the 

emperors, 275 and may suggest a further connection with an imperially-sponsored building 

project. 

271 Nash 1962, 434-41. 

272 DeLaine 1997, 32, 70. 

273 DeLaine 1997, 96, n. 57. See Chapter III, p. 101 n. 135 for a full transcription of the epigraph. 

274 As seen in Chapter III, p, 109, the Byzantine historian Olympiodorus saw in the thermae of Diocletian 

3,200 small marble basins, and many more were present in Caracalla’s public baths. 

275 Spagnoli 2002, 496.

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck adds interesting details to the general picture of 

marble trade in Roman times. Its cargo provides evidence to hypothetically connect 

quarried marbles to their possible use at a specific destination, and it exemplifies every 

major step in the process of supply, transportation, and final use of quarried material. 

In order to fully implement the data from Croton, other wrecked marble carriers will be 

examined. 

aves Lapidariae of Roman Date: Review of the Evidence 

Literary Sources 

“Quid vos” inquit “iumentum me putatis esse aut lapidariam navem?” 

“What’s wrong with you?’ he asked. ‘Do you think I am 

a beast of burden or a ship carrying stone?” 276 

So complained the slave Corax in Petronius’ Satyricon, overwhelmed by the 

155 

excessive weight of Eumolpus’ litter. The scene, curiously enough, was set in the streets of 

Croton in the mid-first century A.D. Direct written references to naves lapidariae or naves 

marmorum appear only four times in Greek and Latin literature, 277 but Corax’s words 

suggest that they were ships with distinctive features. Ancient writers apparently recorded 

only the most unusual and extraordinary of these vessels, such as the famous ships of 

Augustus and Caligula, which will be reviewed here. 

276 Petron. Sat. 117. Trans: D. Bartoli. 

277 In addition to the quoted passage of Petronius, the only other references known are Plin. H 36.1.2-3 

(naves marmorum), and IG I 2 , 336, 1.8 (nau`~ liqagwgoiv); FD III, 5,19, 1.47 

(Onasivmwoi liqagwgoiv kata; qavlassan, from Martin 1965, 165). A papyrus from Panopolis mentions 

“ten state ships” (ploivwn dhmosivwn devka) sent to Aswan, in Egypt, to transport column shafts to Alexandria, 

without adding further details. (P Panopolis 2, 43-50).

Pliny the Elder says that ships are built due to the explosion of the marble trade in 

Early Imperial times (navesque marmorum causa fiunt), implying that without ships, no 

marble would have reached Rome. Even though Pliny does not describe their particular 

construction features, he relates how the largest among them were put on permanent 

exhibit in the forerunners of nautical museums. 278 

Augustus and Caligula each ordered a ship to be built to carry an obelisk from 

Egypt to Rome. The one Augustus had built was so large and impressive that it was 

displayed in permanent docks in the harbor of Puteoli. In Pliny’s point of view this ship 

156 

was “more extraordinary than all things seen at sea.” 279 Augustus’ ship was later destroyed 

by fire, and Claudius converted Caligula’s vessel into a caisson filled with hydraulic 

concrete; once sunk in Ostia, it created an artificial base for the mole of the Claudian 

harbor. 280 Recent archaeological investigations of the left mole have yielded impressions in 

the concrete which may have been made by ship’s frames. 281 If the impressions are indeed 

those of Caligula’s ship, then we can estimate that the original vessel was 104 m long, 

20.3 m wide, and 12.5 m high, for a total displacement of 1,300 tons: a true giant of the 

sea, even for centuries to come. 282 

Constantine, too, commissioned the construction of a gigantic ship to carry an 

obelisk from Alexandria to Rome, which Ammianus Marcellinus describes as “a ship of 

never-before-seen dimensions, moved by 300 oarsmen.” 283 The sheer size of these vessels 

278 Plin. H 36.1.2. 

279 Plin. H 36.14.70. 

280 Plin. H 36.14.70. 

281 Testaguzza 1970, 91, 114-5. 

282 Testaguzza 1970, 114-5; Casson 1995, 188-9. 

283 Amm. Marc. 17.4.13.

157 

made them white elephants; too large and difficult to maneuver for practical purposes. It is 

indeed meaningful that both Augustus’ and Caligula’s barges, having reached Italy, never 

saw the open sea again. These ships did not represent normal marble carriers, which had to 

be, with all probability, easy to handle, sturdily-built, and extremely stable, since a 

minimum shift in the cargo’s position aboard would have had dire consequences. 

Two additional references are useful for reconstructing what ancient marble carriers 

may have looked like. The first is an inscription from the Temple of Apollo at Didyma that 

mentions the existence of nhè~ liqagwgoiv(literally “ships carrying stone”). 284 The second, 

another inscription from Didyma, is the only evidence we have regarding the general shape 

of these vessels. They are called a;mfipruvmnou~ (“with a double stern”), meaning that 

their bow and stern were probably similar in shape, in order to facilitate the docking of the 

ship, along with the loading and unloading operations, and to distribute the heavy cargo 

equidistant from the center of the ship. 285 

Finally, there is a papyrus from Panopolis (Egypt), in which Aurelius Isidorus, one 

of Diocletian’s procurators, mentions “ten state ships” (ploivwn dhmosivwn devka) sent to 

Aswan, Egypt, to transport columns from the quarries to Alexandria. 286 Even if this 

document does not explicitly mention naves lapidariae, it shows that state-owned boats 

were used to carry marble columns on the Nile River. Aurelius Isidorus, however, does not 

specify whether these ships were specially designed for the task, even if, given the nature 

of the cargo, this is a likely possibility. 

284 IG, I 3 336, 1. (In: Martin 1965, 165) 

285 Martin 1965, 165. 

286 P Panopolis 2, 43-50. (Skeat 1964, 62; Ward-Perkins 1992, 73; Wilson Jones 2000, 209-10).

Archaeological Evidence 

The actual remains of several naves lapidariae lost in antiquity are still visible on 

the seafloor, providing important evidence to complete the broad picture outlined by 

158 

ancient writers. As it is summarized in Table 18 and Fig. 47, there are indeed no fewer than 

33 marble cargoes known at present, mostly belonging to the Imperial period, from the first 

century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. It would appear, therefore, that naves lapidariae 

would be among the best-documented ships of the ancient world, given the sheer number 

of examples that have survived. This, however, is not the case. With the exception of the 

information available for Torre Sgarrata, Mahdia, and INA’s current excavation in the Bay 

of Kızılburun (Izmir, Turkey), the full excavation of a Roman marble carrier has never 

been completed. 287 

There is, therefore, a remarkable disparity between the number of known 

shipwrecked marble cargoes and the number of those studied. The lack of data leaves gaps 

in our understanding regarding this type of merchantman, and without the analysis of 

actual hull remains to reveal construction details of the ship itself, any characteristics that 

differentiated a navis lapidaria from other merchantmen remain unknown. The small 

Skerki Bank F shipwreck, for instance, with only six blocks and two column shafts on 

287 While writing these pages, the third excavation season of the Kizilburun shipwreck is complete. The 

Kızılburun marble carrier, thanks to its depth (45 m) and remote location along the barren Turkish coastline, 

represents a navis lapidaria of late Hellenistic period (second or first century B.C.) which sank quickly, as 

the organization of the eight drums suggests – they are indeed still stacked neatly one next to the other. Once 

fully published, and if remains of the hull are preserved, this ship could be the first of its kind to be known in 

its entirety. (Carlson 2006). For more information regarding the Torre Sgarrata shipwreck, see Throckmorton 

1989, 263-274; Antonelli 2002, 63-121.

oard among amphoras, kitchen ceramics, and some organic cargo that did not survive, 

seems to have been just a small mid-first century A.D. merchantman similar to many others 

of its age, suggesting that some ships did not transport stone exclusively. 288 

It must also be considered that the survival rate and discovery process of marble 

carriers make them a peculiar class of ancient shipwreck. Even though marine borers and 

159 

weathering of the sea erode marble, the rate of decay of submerged stone is relatively slow, 

and after two millennia on the seafloor, this kind of material often survives in reasonably 

good condition. One consequence of their preservation, the large size and weight of their 

cargoes, is that this particular type of site is easily located by sport divers. It is not 

coincidental that most of the wrecks reported in Table 18 are located in shallow waters; 

while deeper sites undoubtedly exist – the 60-meter deep Mahdia shipwreck, or the Skerki 

F site, at 765 m of depth, for instance – SCUBA divers are mostly active at depths less than 

50 meters. 

As opposed to amphora carriers, the enormous weight of stone cargoes should help 

preserve these sites from the destructive action of looters, even though smaller, portable 

artifacts are occasionally removed from their original context. It is likely that looters 

visited the Punta Scifo A and B shipwrecks on many occasions, and even if they were 

unable to raise marble blocks and column shafts, they may well have removed artifacts 

they were able to lift to the surface. 289 It is reasonable to assume most of the assemblages in 

shallow waters are incomplete, even though they may not appear so. 

288 McCann and Oleson 2004, 99-101. 

289 The statuette of Eros and Psyche was indeed found by local fishermen.

Table 18. Marble wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean. 

The numbers are shown on the map in Fig. 47. 

Publication 

Tons Ship 

(m) 

Shipwreck Country Date Marble Type Cargo Depth 

(m) 

1. Altınkum Turkey V-VI A.D Unknown 25 column bases 5 Unknown N/A Pulak and Rogers 

15 Corint. capitals 

1994, 19. 

2. Camarina Italy Middle III Limestone 

2 columns, 

3 20 N/A Parker 1976, 25-9. 

A.D. Giallo Antico 10 blocks 

3. Cape Izmetiste Croatia First Half Green granite (1) 10 blocks 12-36 N/A N/A Jurišić 2000, 65, n. 

II A.D. Limestone (9) 

20. 

4. Cape Spitha Greece N/A Egyptian granite 27 column shafts 10 131.5 30-40 L Trockmorton 

(fragments) 

1963, 17-23. 

5. Capo Bianco Italy V-VI A.D. Unknown Ca. 65 blocks and 6 ca. 30 Unknown Freschi 1991, 

column shafts 

8-50. 

6. Capo Cimiti Italy Roman Cipollino 5 columns 5.9 70 Unknown Freschi 1988, 

Imp. age 

77-86. 

7. Capo Granitola 1 Italy III-V A.D. Proconnesian 49 Blocks, 

3 150 30 m L Purpura 1977, 

3 Statue Pedestals 

7-8 m B 55-9; Purpura 

1996, 328-36. 

8. Capo Taormina Italy N/A Africano (Teos) 35 column shafts 21-28 90-100 Unknown Kapitän 1971, 

Cipollino 

2 blocks 

304-6; Basile 

1987, 364, n. 5. 

9. Dramont 1 France I A.D. N/A 3 blocks + hull 33 23 15 m L Joncheray 1997, 

5 m B 165-95. 

10. Euboea Greece Roman Proconnesian? > 17 blocks 5 ca. 160 30 x 10 m? Wachsmann 2005, 

Imp. Age? 

unpublished 

report. 

11. Giardini Naxos Italy III A.D. Cipollino, 

24 columns, 

24 95 23-25 m L Basile 1987, 

Attic 

13 blocks 

6 x 3 m B 361-95;1988, 

133-42. 

160



Tons Ship 

(m) 


(m) 

12. Isola delle Italy III A.D.? Proconnesian 40 Blocks 7-9 350 40-48 m L Kapitän 1971, 

Correnti 

10-11 m B 296-8. 

13. Kızıburun 1 Turkey II-I B.C. Proconnesian 8 column drums 45 75 Carlson 2006, 

1 capital, stelae 

3-10. 

14. Kızıburun 2 Turkey X-XII A.D. Unknown 18 millstones 36 Unknown N/A Pulak and Rogers 

1994, 18. 

15. Mahdia Tunisia 90-60 B.C. Pentelic 70 column shafts, 5 40 300 40.6 m L Ridgway 1995, 

“Chimaera capitals”, 

13.8 m B 340-7. 

20 Attic bases, 20 

Merlin 1956, 

Ionic capitals, few 

59-124. 

Doric capitals 

(limestone), 4 Attic 

votive reliefs (IV 

B.C.), 5 marble 

candelabra, 4 

marble kraters, 

bronze candelabra, 

bronze bed-fittings 

16. Marzamemi 1 Italy III A.D. Attic? 6 columns 

6-7 200 30 x 7-8 m. Kapitän 1971, 

(architraves), 

298-303. 

7 blocks 

17. Marzamemi 2 Italy A.D. Proconnesian 28 columns, 28 5-7.5 200-300 25 x 6 m. Kapitän 1969, 

527-565 Verde Antico bases, 27 capitals 

122-33; Van 

Doorninck 1972, 

136-7; Kapitän 

1980, 71-136. 

161



Tons Ship 

(m) 


(m) 

18. Methone 7 Greece II-III A.D. Lapis Sarcophagus 4 sarcophagi + lids N/A N/A N/A Throckmorton 

1963, 17-23. 

19. Meloria C Italy Roman Luna 11 blocks 

4-5 50 N/A Baragliotti 2002, 

Imperial? 

1 column 

229-32. 

20. Port-de-Bouc France N/A N/A 1 Corint. capital, 13 N/A N/A Benoît 1952, 

2 sarcophagi 

258-9. 

fragments 

21. Porto Novo France A.D. Luna 4 col. shafts 5 10-12 138 25 Bernard 1996, 

27/28 

blocks 

53-81. 

22. Porto Cesareo Italy N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Ward-Perkins and 

Throckmorton 

1965, 203. 

23. Porto Cesareo Italy N/A N/A Sarcophagi N/A N/A N/A Ward-Perkins and 

Throckmorton 

1965, 203. 

24. Porto Cesareo Italy N/A N/A Column shafts N/A N/A N/A Ward-Perkins and 

Throckmorton 

1965, 203. 

25. Punta Cicala Italy III A.D.? N/A > 27 blocks and 6.4 N/A N/A Unpublished 

column shafts 

26. Punta Scifo A Italy III A.D. Pavonazzetto > 69 blocks and 5 200 30 x 10 m Freschi 1987, 1-10 

Proconnesian column shafts 

27. Punta Scifo B Italy III A.D. Proconnesian? 53 8 350 40 x 12 Freschi 1987 

162



Tons Ship 

(m) 


(m) 

5-6 200 N/A Benoît 1952, 

240-4. 

28. Saint Tropez France II A.D.? Luna 8 column-drums, 

3 bases, 1 slab, 

1 architrave 

29. San Pietro Italy III A.D. Aphrodisias? 23 sarcophagi 3-6 N/A N/A Ward-Perkins and 

Throckmorton 

1965, 

201-9. 

30. Şile Turkey I A.D. Green marble Columns-shafts, 6 N/A N/A Mellink 1993, 191. 

orthostats, 

1 sarcophagus lid, 1 

statue 

31. Skerki F Intern. Mid I A.D. North Africa? 6 blocks 

765 60 20 x 6.5 m McCann and 

Waters 

2 column shafts 

Oleson 2004, 

90-117. 

32. Torre Sgarrata Italy Early III White marble, 23 blocks, 

160-170 39 x 9.75 Throckmorton 

A.D. Alabaster 

18 sarcophagi 

1989, 263-74; 

Antonelli 2002, 

39-142. 

33. Tremiti Islands Italy I B.C.-I N/A Marble slabs and N/A N/A N/A Casson 1968, 219. 

A.D. 

blocks 

(UW Site) 

Italy Fifth B.C. Limestone 

93 blocks, 2 column 3.5-6 N/A Site: 250 x Iannelli, Lena, 

Punta Stilo 

(Syracuse) 

bases, 40 columns 

250 m Mariottini 1993, 

1-20. 

163

Naves Lapidariae in the Mediterranean: Statistical Considerations 

Even with the aforementioned limitations, a statistical approach to the data in 

Tables 19-20 yields interesting results. First of all, from an analysis of the relationship 

165 

between the specific quarries of shipwrecked marble cargoes and the countries where those 

shipwrecks are found, a clear pattern emerges. While most of the identifiable marble was 

extracted in Asia Minor (39%) and Greece (33%), the marble cargoes discovered in Italy, 

France, and Croatia represent 73% of the total number of shipwrecked stone carriers. There 

is a clear pattern of stone leaving the East and arriving in the West in massive quantities. 

No western marble carriers carrying, for instance, Luna marble blocks have ever been 

discovered in eastern waters. Therefore, the marble shipwrecks from Croton seem to 

illustrate a trend in which the East (mostly Turkey and Greece) was supplying the West 

with high-quality stone. Italy, with 58% of the total shipments, seems to have attracted 

most of the eastern marble exports, followed by France (12%) and Croatia (3%). 

Table 19. Percentages of known quarries of the 18 shipwrecked marble cargoes for which 

the specific origin of the stone is certain. 

Provenience 

Quarry 

Shipwrecks 

# 

Percentage 

% 

Asia Minor 7 39% 

Greece 6 33% 

Italy 3 17% 

North Africa 2 11% 

Total 18 100%

Table 20. Percentages of shipwrecked marble carriers discovered in the Mediterranean, 

arranged by country. 

Country of 

Discovery 

Shipwrecks 

# 

Percentage 

% 

Italy 19 58% 

France 4 12% 

Turkey 4 12% 

Greece 3 9% 

Croatia 1 3% 

Intern. Waters 1 3% 

Tunisia 1 3% 

Total 33 100% 

Another result of this analysis deals with the chronological confines of marble exports. As 

seen in Table 21, there are no cargoes that predate the first century B.C. (with the possible 

exception of the Kızılburun wreck), and no known cargoes after the sixth century A.D. 

Moreover, the marble carriers lost in the third century A.D. represent 40% of the total. 

When combined with other carriers of the first and second centuries A.D., that number 

jumps to a staggering 70%, suggesting that the maritime marble trade was primarily a 

phenomenon of the Roman Empire. 

166 

It is evident that at the peak of the Roman Empire there was a veritable explosion in 

the trade of marble never before seen on such a scale, and not seen again in the following 

centuries. In the second and third centuries A.D. the Mediterranean basin had become a 

pacified, united Roman lake, and the safety of sea lanes made long-distance trade 

economically feasible. The pax Romana had created a world in which it was cheaper to 

transport grain by sea “from one end of the Mediterranean to the other

Table 21. Percentage of marble carriers lost at sea, listed in chronological order. 

Shipwrecks’ 

Date 

Shipwrecks 

# 

Percentage 

# 

I cent. B.C. 3 15% 

I cent. A.D. 4 20% 

II cent. A.D. 2 10% 

III cent. A.D. 8 40% 

IV-VI cent. A.D. 3 15% 

Total 20 100% 

than to carry it a mere 75 miles by road.” 290 The trade in stone presumably followed a 

167 

similar pattern. It may be that the high number of shipwrecked marble carriers dating to the 

third century A.D. reflect a zenith of long-distance trade in stone. 291 After the Roman 

Empire disintegrated in the fifth century A.D., the system essentially ceased to exist, at 

least in the West. 

Working from the available archaeological evidence it can also be deduced that the 

typical cargo of a navis lapidaria was, on average, lighter than 100 tons (43%), and 

occasionally between 100 and 200 tons (38%). Heavier cargoes like those at Isola delle 

Correnti and Punta Scifo B, are quite uncommon, at least in the archaeological record, 

underscoring the fact that literary testimonia focus on the exceptions and not the rule 

(Table 22). An analysis of the marble cargoes still on the seafloor, suggests that most of the 

hulls were 25 – 35 m long and 8 – 12 m in beam, on average, but this remains a rough 

estimate based on the dispersal of the marble elements that made up the cargoes. 

290 White 1984, 131. 

291 See Table 18 on pp. 161-4 for a list of the known marble carriers, and their estimated dates.

Table 22. Tonnage of known marble carriers. 

Shipwrecks 

Tonnage 

Shipwrecks 

Number 

Percentage 

% 

< 100 9 43% 

≥ 100-200 8 38% 

≥ 200-300 2 10% 

= 350 2 10% 

Total 21 100% 

The Punta Scifo A Shipwreck: Cargo Parallels 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck represents a unique assemblage of newly-quarried 

third-century marble objects, rather different from known shipwrecks of the same period. 

The most common cargoes of similar date are indeed composed of large marble blocks, 

column shafts, and statue pedestals, but never of artifacts such as labra, decorated 

pedestals, statuettes, and candelabra. The only ship that bears some resemblance to the 

cargo of Punta Scifo A is the large navis lapidaria that sank 5 km off the coast of Mahdia, 

Tunisia, between 90 and 60 B.C. Even though the Mahdia shipwreck had on board only 

finished marble items, and is much earlier in date, the two sites share some similarities. 

The Mahdia ship, with an estimated cargo of 300 tons and a hull 40.6 m long and 

13.8 m in beam, was large for its time (early first century B.C.). 292 For overall dimensions, 

168 

it may be compared with the mid-first-century B.C. amphora carrier at Madrague de Giens 

292 Höckmann 1994, 59.

169 

(France). 293 The Punta Scifo A shipwreck had both a lighter cargo (ca. 200 tons of marble), 

and smaller overall dimensions: it was about 30 m long, and 

10 m wide. The Mahdia wreck’s 70 column shafts and 45 capitals and bases of Pentelic 

marble are completely finished, not rough-hewn as at Punta Scifo A. 

The smaller artifacts of the ship's secondary cargo, however, show remarkable 

similarities. The lions’ paws visible at the four corners of the stands from Punta Scifo A 

have close parallels with in the lions’ paws decorating the supports of the candelabra found 

at Mahdia. 294 Furthermore, both ships transported adjustable bronze lamp stands supported 

by a three-footed base with lion’s paws; five candelabra were discovered at Mahdia, and 

one at Punta Scifo A. 295 Finally, the small sculptural group representing Eros and Psyche 

found at Punta Scifo recalls the statuette of a winged Eros from Mahdia. 296 

The Marble Shipwrecks off Croton and Quarry Provenience 

The last topic to review, before concluding this study of the Punta Scifo A wreck 

site, is an analysis of the quarries that produced the marbles artifacts the ship had on board. 

The Roman world knew a large number of marble types, far more than the 19 mentioned in 

Diocletian’s Edict. The most comprehensive study of marble varieties from Roman times 

is G. Borghini’s Marmi Antichi, which enumerates 132 different qualities of white and 

colored stones. The same quarry could provide more than one variety of marble, and along 

293 Pomey 1982, 145-6. 

294 Cain and Dräger 1994, 239-57. 

295 Baratte 1994, 607. 

296 Söldner 1994, 399-429.

with the major state-owned production centers, there were sites that provided second or 

third-class building material, which generally circulated unrestricted among surrounding 

170 

cities. Since the main focus of this chapter is to better contextualize the marble cargo Punta 

Scifo A, only Proconnesus and Docimium will be examined. 

The Quarries of Proconnesus (Island of Marmara, Turkey) 

The white marble from the island of Proconnesus, in the Sea of Marmara, was one 

of the best-known, and the most widely-used marbles in the ancient world from the 

Archaic Age onwards (Fig. 48). Vitruvius writes that in the sixth century B.C. the citizens 

of Ephesus were planning to build a Temple of Artemis using this particular quality of 

marble, but suddenly abandoned the idea when a shepherd named Pixodarus discovered 

local marble quarries. 297 Slabs of Proconnesian marble were also used to adorn king 

Mausolus’ palace in Halicarnassus in the mid-fourth century B.C. 298 The eight drums and 

capital of a monumental Doric column found on the seafloor off Kızılburun (Izmir), 

Turkey are direct evidence of waterborne trade in Proconnesian marble in the late 

Hellenistic period. 299 

297 Vitr. De arch. 10.2.15. 

298 Vitr. De arch. 2.8.10. 

299 Carlson 2006, 3-10.

From Proconnesus came three different varieties of stone, which, according to the 

172 

size of the crystals and color, were used for statuary or architecture. The two varieties used 

primarily for sculpture are intensely white in color, and may have a light bluish hue. Their 

texture is extremely compact, with fine or medium-fine crystals. The third type, with larger 

crystals and a darker blue shade, was used in architecture. 300 

The location of the quarries, situated on the flanks of mountains falling straight into 

the sea, made Proconnesian marble easily accessible and reduced the cost of overland 

transportation. Presumably for this reason, Proconnesian marble was listed as the cheapest 

marble type in Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices. 301 

N. Asgari has done extensive research at the Saraylar quarries, inventorying more 

than 400 artifacts, the majority consisting of Corinthian capitals, column shafts, and 

bases. 302 Other artistic exports from Proconnesus include statue pedestals (at least six from 

the Punta Scifo A shipwreck), grave stelai (Kızılburun), and the “garland sarcophagi” that 

became extremely popular in the second and third centuries A.D. 303 These were shipped in 

a semi-finished state, and after arriving at their destination, a series of specialized 

workshops completed their decoration (Fig. 49a). Similarities with fragments of three 

different sarcophagi found in 1994 on the seafloor of Capo Piccolo, a few kilometers south 

of Capo Rizzuto, are noteworthy (Fig. 49b). 304 Forty-eight similar sarcophagi are still 

visible in the original production center on the island. 305 

300 Borghini 2001, 252. 

301 Giacchero 1974, 210. 

302 Asgari 1978, 467-80; Asgari 1992, 73-80. 

303 For a good introduction to the production and trade of Proconnesian garland sarcophagi see: Ward-Perkins 

1963, 119-24; Ward-Perkins 1992d, 31-7; Ward-Perkins 1992e, 39-54. 

304 Corrado, forthcoming. 

305 Asgari 1978, 470.

One characteristic that sets Proconnesian production apart from other centers like 

Docimium and Carystos is the almost total lack of inscriptions. Only five quarry-marks 

have been recorded, compared with ca. 350 inscriptions found at Docimium. 306 

Fig. 49: (a) To the left a typical Proconnesian sarcophagus with garlands, imported to 

Rome in a half-finished state; its decoration was never completed. (Museo 

Nazionale Romano) (b) To the right fragments of a sarcophagus with garlands, of probable 

Proconnesian origin, from the sea off Capo Piccolo Combined length: 1.95 m; height: 1.18 

m. (Photos: D. Bartoli). 

Considering that only the most expensive, colored marbles (Docimian, africano, giallo 

antico, cipollino, portasanta) and the white marbles of Paros were marked, Pensabene 

suggests that such expensive marbles were inventoried because they represented a fiscal 

reserve of the state, while the others were left unmarked. 307 

173 

According to Dodge’s distribution study, those cities in the western Mediterranean 

where Proconnesian blocks are documented include Rome and Ostia, Carthage, Lepcis 

306 Asgari 1990, 108. 

307 Pensabene 2002a, 19.

Magna, and Cyrene in northern Africa. 308 This information greatly restricts the final 

destination of the Punta Scifo A’s cargo to a few candidate cities. As stated on pp. 155-7, 

the Thermae Antoninianae or a similar thermal complex might represent a possible final 

destination of the cargo shipwrecked at Punta Scifo A. Docimian marble was used in the 

174 

baths, where archaeologists have uncovered a block, dating to A.D. 206 and carry the same 

“COM” inscription that appears at Punta Scifo A. Moreover, the 13 labra are likely to have 

been designed for use in public baths and the lead seals that Orsi saw designate quarried 

items belonging to the emperors. Therefore, the Punta Scifo A shipwreck may represent the 

first archaeological evidence to connect quarried marbles to their destination, a rare 

example of the a very major step in the process of supply, transportation, and final use of 

the quarried material. 

The Quarries of Docimium (Iscehisar, Turkey) 

The ancient quarries of Docimium are located in modern Iscehisar (Turkey), and 

have been surveyed in recent years by M. Waelkens, while in 1987 J.C. Fant studied the 

inscriptions visible on items abandoned there (fig. 48). 309 

Docimian stone is white, with veins that range in color from light purple to almost 

black. The resulting reddish shade gave the marble its name during the Italian Renaissance, 

pavonazzetto meaning purple-red. In antiquity, it was named in different ways: Docimian, 

308 Dodge 1988, 224, fig. 8. 

309 Waelkens 1982, 33-55; Waelkens, De Paepe, Moens 1987, 113-26; Fant 1987, 127-32; Fant 1989a, 

206-18.

175 

Synnadic, or Phrygian, which reflected the quarry’s geographical location. Docimium was 

the nearest village to the marble veins, Synnada the city where the Romans established the 

imperial administration center (modern Subut), and Phrygia the entire surrounding 

region. 310 

Docimian marble was highly valued in Rome, both for architectural uses such as 

column shafts, floors, wall revetments, and for sculptures. The violet shade of the stone 

could be used to imitate stains of blood as in the body of Marsyas hanged in a tree (Rome, 

Palazzo dei Conservatori), or the nuances of a colored drape adorning the bust of a woman 

whose head was skillfully carved from a white portion of the same block (Rome, Palazzo 

dei Conservatori). 311 

Pavonazzetto was not the only marble quarried at Docimium. Another important 

variety is the white Synnadic, “a shining white marble that was largely used for sarcophagi 

of second and third centuries A.D., statues, and copies of the great masterpieces of classical 

art.” 312 The Attic bases and Ionic capitals visible at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna 

and in Square “Antonio Caputi” were carved from this variety of stone. 

A complex series of inscriptions, some long and extremely detailed, were in use at 

the Docimian quarries, but only on the artifacts made of pavonazzetto (for parallels from 

Punta Scifo A, see COL 1, BLC 6, BLC 8). It is possible that the white Synnadic marble 

enjoyed a more commercial use, and the inscriptions reflect the necessity of inventorying 

only the items that belonged to the Imperial patrimony. The large number of sarcophagi 

310 Borghini 2001, 264. 

311 Borghini 2001, 265, fig. 109c. 

312 Pensabene 2002b, 203-7.

and statues indicates that there was a private market for white Synnadic marble, and it is 

possible that the workshops did not deem it necessary to keep track of every single item 

176 

produced. 313 The distribution of pavonazzetto in the West is noticeably broad: imported not 

only to Rome, Ostia, and the major cities along the North African shore, it also reached 

southern Spain and southern England. 314 

Land and River Transportation: Two Possible Routes for Docimian Marble Exports 

A cursory look at a map of Asia Minor is sufficient to appreciate why the burden of 

transportation influenced the price of Docimian marble. Synnada and the nearby quarries 

lay in the heart of Phrygia, hundreds of kilometers away from the sea (Fig. 50). While the 

Meander and Sangarius rivers may have been used to send quarried items downstream to 

the Black Sea or Mediterranean Sea, there was still a long stretch of road to be covered 

before reaching navigable points of departure. 

J.B. Ward Perkins and P. Pensabene have hypothesized about where Docimian 

marble was loaded for transport by sea. Nicomedia, strategically located where the land 

routes of central Asia Minor converge with the sea lanes reaching the Aegean and Black 

Seas, was, according to Ward-Perkins, “to Anatolia what Constantinople was to Europe. 

[…] Any organization engaged in exporting the produce of Bithynia would have been 

almost bound to gravitate to Nicomedia.” 315 Ward-Perkins maintains that, even if the 

313 Pensabene 2002b, 206-7. 

314 Dodge 1988, 222, fig. 7. 

315 Ward-Perkins 1992b, 65.

Sangarius River is at present a little stream that flows up to Gordion, ca. 160 km away 

from Docimium, it is possible that in antiquity it was remarkably larger, with a more 

constant water flow that reached the Sea of Marmara. Therefore, quarried items would 

have been brought by road to the closest loading spot available. Then, they would have 

been floated downstream on rafts and on barges until they reached the Sea of Marmara. 

Ward-Perkins cites a well-known letter from Pliny the Younger to Trajan in A.D. 110, 

asking permission to dig a canal linking Nicomedia to the lake of Sapanca lake in order to 

178 

make it easier to transport by ship “fine stone (marmora), farm products, wood, and timber 

for building.” 316 While in Latin the word marmor does not represent only what we call 

marble today, but rather all high-quality stone, Ward-Perkins believes that Pliny is 

referring here to the production of various types of stone from the Docimian quarries. The 

same letter also implies that using the Sangarius River meant loading and unloading the 

marble items twice: from Docimium to the first loading spot, and from the lake to 

Nicomedia, instead of letting them reach the mouth of the Sangarius in the Black Sea, 

loading them onto a ship, and sailing across the Bosphorus. 

Pensabene, on the other hand, sees the harbors of Ephesus or Miletus a more likely 

alternative. He reaches this conclusion from an inscription found at Dorylaeum (modern 

Iscehisar in Turkey), which mentions a guild of muleteers who transported marble from 

Docimium to the Roman administrative center of Synnada, about 45 km to the south. 

Following this route, it is difficult to imagine that once in Synnada a shipment would have 

been sent back past Docimium to the Sangarius River. 317 Apamea, which was accessible 

316 Plin. Ep. 10.41. 


only by road, was the next most probable destination, and from there heavy stone loads 

would have eventually reached the Meander, having covered nearly 150 km over land. 

Because the marble quarries of Laodicea and Aphrodisias were close to the Meander (Fig. 

50), Ephesus or Miletus could have served as a redistribution hub for products from 

179 

different quarries. 318 Pensabene’s theory is supported by H. Dodge, who notes that an edict 

of the second century A.D. suggests Ephesus as a port of departure for marble items. 319 L. 

Antoninus Balbus, proconsul for Asia, ordered “importers of wood and marble not to leave 

them or saw them up on the wharves.” 320 From a nautical perspective, these cities are also 

much more convenient for points of departure to the West, since they face the Cycladic 

Islands and Greece: departing from one of these harbors would have saved some 500 km of 

navigation through the Dardanelles and along the rocky Turkish coastline. 

Even without knowing for sure what the final collecting hub was, the description 

given so far explains why the cost of Docimian marble was so much higher compared to 

Proconnesian: overland transportation significantly increased its final cost. 321 This might 

help explain why the Punta Scifo A shipwreck's artifacts were exported in a semi-finished 

state. Given the high cost of transportation, it made good economic sense to add value to 

the objects by working them at the quarries, simultaneously lowering the weight of 

material that had to be carried across kilometers of difficult terrain. 

318 Pensabene 1978a, 113. 

319 Dodge 1992, in: Ward-Perkins 1992b, 67, n. 25. 

320 Dodge 1992, in: Ward-Perkins 1992b, 67, n. 25; Robert 1962, 35. 

321 Greene 1986, 39-40.

CHAPTER V 

SUMMARY AD FIAL COCLUSIOS 

180 

The Punta Scifo A shipwreck represents direct evidence of what is arguably one of 

the greatest technological achievements of the Roman Empire at its peak: merchantmen 

that moved enormous quantities of stone from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. 

The use of foreign marbles for architectural purposes was widespread in the ancient world 

centuries before the Romans began importing it to Italy, but one of the most remarkable 

achievements of the Empire was the affordability and accessibility that resulted from the 

safety of sea trade and the unification of the Mediterranean. The relatively low cost of 

moving tons of exotic marble by sea on naves lapidariae similar to the five vessels that 

sank off the shores of Croton made possible the embellishment of numerous public and 

private buildings. 

Punta Scifo A was only one of the five ships wrecked south of Croton, named Punta 

Scifo B, Punta Cicala, Capo Cimiti, and Capo Bianco. The ship itself was ca. 30 m long, 10 

m wide, had a strong hull with two roes of mortise-and-tenon joints, and carried a load of 

ca. 200 tons of newly-quarried objects. It was lost in the sea south of Croton in the early 

third century A.D., at a time when the marble trade reached its apogee under the Empire, as 

suggested in part by the high number of lost merchantmen from this period. Such ships 

brought an unprecedented amount of fine eastern stone to the Italian market, where the 

ruling elite eagerly adopted it in a public show of wealth, power, artistic good taste, and 

social prestige.

The merchantman, loaded with a marble cargo, steered a direct course from Asia 

Minor: all the items carried on board came from the quarries of Proconnesus and 

Docimium. The location of these quarries, near the coastline in the case of Proconnesus or 

far from it in the case of Docimium, may explain the differences in their cost: 40 and 200 

denarii respectively, according to Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices (A.D. 301). The 

181 

most likely point of departure was either Epheus or Miletus - each is close to the estuary of 

the Meander River, which helped reducing the cost and difficulty of transportation. 

While sailing toward the Strait of Messina, it is likely that a Grecale or Levante 

storm broke, making it impossible for the helmsman to steer the ship to safety in the harbor 

of Croton. Instead, he was forced to follow a straight course, past Capo Colonna, and look 

for shelter in the protected bay of Punta Scifo. Perhaps it did not take long, however, for 

the unpredictable winds to change direction and become a destructive Scirocco storm. 

Since the entire coastline is totally unprotected to the south, there was no way for the crew 

to save their ship. In this regard, it is interesting that both the Punta Scifo A and the Punta 

Scifo B ships sank with their ends facing the coastline, as if they were being driven ashore 

when their keels were shattered on the rocks close to the surface. The Punta Cicala wreck 

lies with its bow oriented toward the bay of Punta Scifo; a destination it never reached 

because of the treacherous rocks of Punta Cicala’s promontory. 

Where the Punta Scifo A merchantman was destined remains unknown, although 

Rome appears to be a likely candidate. Lead seals found on several marble artifacts are 

usually associated with Imperial ownership. The high cost of Docimian marble, coupled 

with the fact that the artifacts appear to have been quarried in an effort to fulfill a single

uilding project, lead me to propose that the shipment may have been destined for the 

Baths of Caracalla in Rome, or a similar complex. 

182 

The marble cargo of the Punta Scifo A shipwreck was assembled in a well-planned 

and organized manner. Based on research undertaken on original archival documents as 

well as on items still visible in Croton and Corazzo, it has been possible to demonstrate 

that 16 column shafts were carried on board. All of these had lengths in even multiples of 

Roman feet. The fact that odd numbers are missing and that the column shafts appear to 

increase in length according to a predefined set of dimensions suggests a certain degree of 

standardization in production. Architects and quarry-workers, separated by thousands of 

kilometers, operated according to a simple, 

well-organized, and schematic plan that minimized dimensional misunderstandings 

through standardization of measurements. It is possible that these 16 column shafts may 

have been destined to adorn a two-level façade for a building similar to the Basilica in the 

Forum of Pompeii. A remarkable degree of standardization is also present in the 13 basins 

found on board, 12 of which can be classified into two groups of 3 ½ and 7 Roman feet in 

diameter. They may have been supported by the 15 pedestals decorated with lions’ paws. 

One basin and one pedestal were completely finished, probably intended to serve as models 

for the sculptors at their ultimate destination; the quarry-coat left on the edges of the 

unfinished artifacts helped to protect them during transport. 

Based on similarities with wooden and ivory furniture from villas at Pompeii and 

Herculaneum, it seems likely that both the basins and the pedestals decorated with lions’ 

paws were meant to decorate the inner rooms of a contemporaneous Roman building. The

absence of the four “anchoring feet” used to fix similar artifacts in the soil suggests that 

they were meant to be used on a paved surface. 

Further archaeological investigation may make it possible to demonstrate that the 

183 

Punta Scifo A and B shipwrecks were part of a single convoy. What is known of their hulls 

indicates that each had two rows of mortise-and-tenon-joined planks, and that the bottom 

planking was 8 cm thick. At least two Kapitän 2 amphoras were on board each vessel, 

along with two ladles decorated with swans’ heads. Unfortunately, no analyses have been 

conducted on the marble cargo from the Punta Scifo B site; if it were revealed to be 

Proconnesian, this would provide additional evidence for a common origin for the two 

merchantmen, and a single shipment for a building enterprise on an Imperial scale. 

Overall, the five marble carriers add a new dimension to the maritime history of 

Croton and the Roman marble trade. It is clear that both the city’s harbor and the 

promontories and natural bays to the south represented important ports of call for ships and 

sailors, even at a time when the city itself was in apparent economic decline. While the 

importance of these shipwrecks for the study of the Roman marble trade is obvious, it is 

unfortunate that so little has been published since 1908. This research aims to underscore 

that even 100 years after the original discoveries, future research can illuminate the history 

of Croton, and that of the Roman marble trade itself, of which the five lost naves 

lapidariae form an important chapter.

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LAB 2. Labrum. 

Present location: Archaeological Museum of Croton, on a small flowerbed on the right 

side of the entrance. 

Description: Well preserved, with two breaks in the rim, almost at opposite ends to one 

another. Preserved portion: 100%. 

Marble type: Pavonazzetto. 322 

Diameter (external): 2.25 m 

Diameter (internal): 1.83 m 


Diameter (base): ca. 0.60 m 

Rim thickness: 0.23 m 

Notes: 8 bosses under the rim, opposite each other 

Bibliography: Orsi 1911, 119; Pensabene 1978, 106-7; Pensabene 2002a, 36-7. 

322 Pensabene 1978, 114. 

204


Present location: Archaeological Museum of Croton, on a small flowerbed on the left 

side of the entrance. 

Description: Well preserved, with three breaks along the rim, and two cracks extending 

from the rim almost to the middle of the basin. Preserved portion:100%. 



Diameter (internal): 1.88 m 



Rim thickness: 0.23 m 

Notes: 8 bosses under the rim, opposite each other 

Bibliography: Orsi 1911, 119, Fig. 102; Pensabene 1978, 114; Pensabene 2002a, 36-7; 

Ambrogi 2005, 256-7. 

323 Pensabene 1978, 114. 

205


Present location: Naval Museum, Capo Colonna. 

Description: Part of the basin is broken and missing, and the basin has one minor break in 

the rim. Compared to LAB 2 and 3, this labrum has a higher degree of finish, the surface is 

better polished, the rim has been smoothed and has a gentle outward curvature, rather than 

the flat rim of LAB 2 and LAB 3. There are few encrustations or signs of erosion, and the 

original surface is well preserved. Preserved portion: 85%. 

Marble type: Pavonazzetto. 




Notes: 6 extant bosses under the rim, opposite each other, with two absent in the missing 

section. Eight bosses originally. 

Notes: Discovered in 1983 

Bibliography: Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

206



207 

Description: Only the bottom and pedestal have survived. The labrum when complete was 

probably 2.10 m in diameter. The surface is well polished, and there are few signs of 

marine encrustation. Preserved portion: 40%. 


Diameter (external, surviving): 1.50 m 

Height: Indeterminate 


Notes: Discovered on May 3, 1915? It may be part of the labrum broken in 13 fragments. 

Bibliography: Report 03 May, 1915; Pensabene 2002a, 37.



Description: Only part of the bottom and pedestal survive. It is heavily encrusted and 

shows advanced signs of erosion. It is probable that, when complete, the labrum was 2.10 

m in diameter. Preserved portion: 30%. 



Height: Indeterminate 


Notes: Discovered on May 3, 1915 

Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

208


Present location: Caputi Square, Croton. 

Description: The bottom and pedestal survive in a good state of preservation, with few 

signs of marine encrustation, though the rim is missing. Estimated original diameter is 

2.10 m. Preserved portion: 50%. 



Height: > 0.78 m 

Diameter (base): 0.67 

Notes: Discovered on May 2, 1915 


209

HPL 1. High pedestal stand with lions' paws. 


Description: This stand, possibly a support for a labrum (but other uses can not be 

excluded), is in extremely good state of preservation. Only a few marine encrustations 

appear on its surface. The lions’ paws are not completely finished: a thick ring has been 

left on their upper surface and the toes are not completely carved. 


Width: 0.664 m; Length: 0.664 m (lower level) 

Width: 0.590 m; Length: 0.590 m (upper level) 



Notes: Greek inscription “EΛ” on its upper surface. Discovered on May 2, 1915. 


210

211



Description: This stand, possibly a support for a labrum (but other uses can not be 

excluded), is slightly shorter and larger in diameter than HPL 1 CC. It is in good state of 

preservation, even if the surface seems to be more eroded than that of HPL 1 CC. The 

lions’ paws are not completely finished: a thick ring has been left on their upper surface, 

and the toes are not carved completely. 






Notes: Discovered on May 3, 1915. 

Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Orsi 1921, 494; Pensabene 1978, 114, fig. 5; 

Pensabene 2002a, 37; Ambrogi 2005, 356-7. 

212

213



Description: This stand, possibly a support for a labrum, is similar in dimensions to 

HPL 1. It is in good state of preservation, even if heavily eroded on one side of the lower 

level. The lions’ paws are totally finished: the ring which is present in HPL 1 and HPL 2 

has been removed, and the toes are well-defined. 







Bibliography: Report 3 May, 1915; Orsi 1921, 494; Pensabene 1978, 108; Pensabene 

2002a, 37. 

214

215




HPL 1 and HPL 3. Its state of preservation is mediocre, due to heavy erosion, and marine 

encrustation covering part of its surface. It is difficult to determine if the lions’ paws are 

finished or not. 



Width: 0.55 m; Length: 0.50 (upper level) 

Height (total): 0.65 m 

Height (base): 0.18 m (0.06 + 0.09 + 0.03 m) 




2002a, 37. 

216




HPL 1, HPL 3, and HPL 4. Its state of conservation is poor and the upper projecting disc 

is almost completely missing. 



Width: 0.55 m; Length: Indeterminate (upper level) 


Diameter: Indeterminate 



2002a, 37. 

217



Description: Like HPL 5 SC, this stand is also in a poor state of preservation and is of 

similar dimensions to HPL 1, HPL 3, and HPL 4. 




Diameter: > 0.20 m (the disk is almost completely eroded) 

Notes: Discovered in 1983. 


218

MPL 1. Medium pedestal stand with lions' paws. 


Description: This stand, which according to P. Pensabene vaguely resembles an Ionic 

base, 324 presents a torus-like profile terminating in a disc outlined by a thin rim. A square 

base decorated with four lions’ paws at its corners supports the torus. The lions’ paws 

appear to be only roughly shaped, with the protective ring still in place. The surface is only 

lightly eroded and the state of preservation is good. One corner is broken and missing. 





Height (pedestal): 0.22 m (0.06 + 0.13 + 0.03 m) 


Notes: One corner is broken. Discovered on May 2, 1915. 

Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 494; Pensabene 1978, 114-5, fig. 6; 

Pensabene 2002a, 37; Ambrogi 2005, 356. 

324 Pensabene 1978, 115. 

325 Pensabene 1978, 115. 

219

220



Description: Similar to MPL 1 but in a worse state of preservation, this pedestal presents a 

torus-like profile terminating in a disc outlined by a thin rim. A square base decorated with 

four lions’ paws at its corners supports the torus. The lions’ paws appear to be only 

roughly carved. The surface is heavily eroded and the state of preservation mediocre. 





Height (base): 0.23 m (0.07 + 0.13 + 0.02 m) 



Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 494; Pensabene 1978, 108; Pensabene 

2002a, 37. 

326 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

221



Description: In a poor state of preservation, this pedestal’s surface is heavily eroded; the 

torus and the lions’ paws have completely eroded. 




Height Base: 0.10 m 

Diameter: Indeterminate 



2002a, 37. 

327 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

222

LPL 1. Low pedestal stand with lions' paws. 


Description: This artifact is extremely well preserved, with only one lion’s paw partially 

eroded. Light encrustation covers the surface. Its shape is reminiscent of the lower 

pedestals MPL 1 and MPL 2, but the torus has almost disappeared, and the square base and 

the diameter are greater. The Greek inscription “SATOR” has been carved on the edge of 

the upper disc. 








2002a, 37. 

328 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

223

224

LPL 2. Low pedestal stand with lions' paws. 


Description: This artifact is well preserved, even though it exhibits some marine erosion 

and is mildly encrusted. Its shape is identical to that of MPL 1. The Greek letter “H” has 

been carved on the upper disc, and a bent nail, probably of copper and presumably from 

the ship’s hull, is concreted to one of its edges. 






Nail’s length: 0.10 m 



2002a, 37. 

329 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

225

226

COL 1. Column shaft. 


Description: The column-shaft is broken into two pieces. The protective collar is visible at 

the lower end, but missing from the opposite extremity. The artifact is well preserved. The 

upper extremity of the smaller section is heavily eroded. The following inscription appears 

on the preserved end: 

LOC II 

B II COM I 

SEVEROEVICTO 

RINO COS OFF 

MODIANA C/ 

IVLI //A 

Due to clear signs of recent breakage, it is possible to deduce that this column shaft was 

broken into three pieces at or after the time of discovery, of which the upper section is 

missing. In Orsi’s 1911 article a column shaft, bearing the same identical inscription at the 

base, but 4.20 m long, is mentioned. It is highly likely that this was the column he saw, and 

that an upper portion, of 1.06 meters, was lost. A rectangular cartouche carved to host a 

lost lead seal, measuring 0.09 m x 0.015 m, is visible on the upper end of the column. 


Length: 2.22 m + 0.92 m = 3.14 m (probably 4.20 m when intact). 

Diameter (at the base with inscription): 0.57 m 

Diameter (long stump, at the break): 0.49 m 

Diameter (beginning short stump, at the break): 0.50 m 

Diameter (end short stump, at the break): 0.43 m 

Height (protective ring): 0.26 m 

Notes: Discovered in 1909. 

Bibliography: Orsi 1911, 16, fig. 103; Pensabene 1978, 115, fig. 7; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

330 Pensabene 1978, 115. 

227

The column shaft with inscription mentioning Severus and Victorinus at its base, as it 

appeared in December 2005 in the courtyard of the NavalMuseum of Capo Colonna, 

Croton. Notice the reinforcement collar at the upper rim for protecting the shaft during 

transportation. (Photo: D. Bartoli) 

The Roman quarry inscription described by Paolo Orsi in 1911. 

(Photo: D. Bartoli) 

228



Description: The column shaft is broken at its upper extremity, heavily eroded, and 

covered with a thick layer of marine encrustation. Since it stands upright in the ground, it 

is not possible to measure its exact length, nor determine if the lower end is intact and is 

provided with a protective collar. 

Marble type: Unknown. 

Length: 4.84 m 331 

Diameter: 0.65 m 332 

Diameter body: 0.72 m 

Notes: Discovered May 2, 1915. 

Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

COL 3A. Column shaft, fragment. 


Description: The column shaft is broken at its upper extremity, heavily eroded, and it 

stands upright in the ground. It is therefore not possible to determine its total length, or if 

the lower end is intact and has a protective collar. 


Length: 3.06 m 333 

Diameter: 0.58 m 334 

Diameter body: 0.73 m 







229

COL 3A 

COL 2 

230

COL 3B. Column shaft, fragment. 


Description: This small fragment of a column shaft is heavily eroded and covered with 

thick marine encrustation. Since it stands upright in the ground, it is not possible to 

determine its total length, or if the lower end is intact and has a protective collar. 


Length: more than 1.30 m 




COL 3C. Column shaft, fragment. 


Description: This is a small fragment of a column-shaft, which is heavily corroded, and 

covered with thick marine encrustations. 


Length: 1.53 m 335 

Diameter: 0.54 336 





231



Description: Part of a fragmentary column shaft, which is heavily eroded and covered 

with thick marine encrustation. Since it stands upright in the ground, it is not possible to 

determine its total length, nor if the lower end is intact and has a protective collar. 


Length: 1.10 m 




232

COL 3B 

COL 4 

COL 3C 

233


Present location: Seafloor, Punta Scifo. 

234 

Description: The column shaft rests on top of two large boulders, next to BLC 12. It is 

completely covered with marine growth, making it impossible to determine if collars exist 

at its extremities or not. 


Length: ca. 4.30 m 

Diameter: ca. 0.58 m 

Bibliography: Pensabene 2002a, 37.


Present location: Corazzo 

235 

Description: P. Pensabene saw this column-shaft in resort Corazzo, ca. 30 km inland from 

Croton. The surface appears to be in a poor state of preservation, with signs of marine 

erosion. 


Length: 5.82 m 337 (Pensabene 2002a) 

3.44 m (as seen in 2007, it appears to have broken into three fragments: 

1.64 + 0.90 + 0.90 m) 



Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4; Pensabene 1978, 109; Pensabene 

2002a, 37. 


STP 1. Statue Pedestal. 


Description: This artifact, similar in dimensions and state of finish to STP 4, that 

P. Pensabene saw in 1975 in Corazzo, is in a semi-finished state of execution. The general 

shape of the statue’s pedestal has been completed, but it is unpolished and bears clear 

marks of a pointed chisel. There are only mild signs of marine erosion and the item is well 

preserved. Its base and top are rectangular, while the body is nearly square. A smooth band 

is present at the top, but not at the base. 

Marble type: Proconnesian. 338 



Height (body): 0.81 m 

Height (top): 0.35 m 

Height (band): 0.19 m 

Width (base): 0.77 m; Length (base): 0.86 m 

Width (body): 0.67 m; Length (body): 0.63 m 



338 Pensabene 2002, 37. 

236



237 

Description: This artifact, similar in shape but slightly smaller than STP 1 and STP 4, is 

semi-finished. The general shape of the statue’s pedestal has been completed, but its 

surface has not been polished and bears clear marks of a pointed chisel. The base shows 

heavy signs of marine erosion, while the rest of the pedestal is well preserved. Its base and 

top are rectangular, and the body is almost square in section. A smooth band is present at 

the top, but not at the base. 











339 Pensabene 2002, 37. 

Top Base

238



239 

Description: This artifact, similar in dimensions and finishing state to STP 1 and STP 4, is 

semi-finished. The general shape of the pedestal has been completed, but its surface is 

unpolished and bears clear marks of a pointed chisel. There are almost no signs of marine 

erosion. Its base and top are rectangular, and the body is almost square in section. 

A smooth band is present only at the top, which appears to have been roughly worked out 

in antiquity. 











340 Pensabene 2002, 37.



Description: P. Pensabene saw this artifact in resort Corazzo, ca. 30 km inland from 

Croton, in 1975. Andrea and Riccardo Bartoli were able to relocate it on August 7, 2007, 

still in Corazzo, inside the church dedicated to St. Joseph. 

The general shape of the statue’s pedestal has been completed, but its surface is 

unpolished and bears clear marks of a pointed chisel. Its base and top are rectangular, and 

the body is almost square in section. A smooth band is present at the base, not at the top. 

This is a remarkable example of modern reuse of a Roman pedestal for the purpose it 

was intended: as base for a statue. 









Width (top): 0.81 m; Length (top): 0.86 m 



341 Pensabene 2002, 37. 

240

241

242



243 

Description: This pedestal has been missing since P. Orsi recorded it in 1915. Andrea and 

Riccardo Bartoli relocated it in resort Corazzo, ca. 30 km inland from Croton, inside the 

local church dedicated to St. Joseph. 

This statue pedestal has been roughed out on only three sides, the fourth left unworked 

and still showing the rock’s uneven surface. A smooth band is present at the top, but not at 

the base. As has been the case for STP 4, this artifact has also been reutilized as a base for 

a modern statue of St. Joseph. 

Marble type: Proconnesian. 





Height (band): 0.15 m (top) 



Width (top): 0.60 m (chipped); Length (top): 0.73 m 


Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4; Pensabene 2002a, 37.

244

245

BLC 1. Block. 


246 

Description: A trapezoidal block, with three steps on its upper surface, which are apparent 

in the photograph. It is covered with a thin layer of marine encrustation. 


Block: Length: 2.61 m 

Width: 1.22 m 


Step n.1: Length: 0.33 m 

Width: 0.18 m 



Width: 0.16 m 



Width: 0.29 m 



Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493; Pensabene 2002a, 37.

247

BLC 2. Block. 


Description: The block is broken into two parts and has three shallow steps on its upper 

surface. It is covered with a thin layer of marine encrustation. 



Width: 1.44 m 



Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

248

249

BLC 3. Block. 


Description: The block, which is rectangular in shape, has one shallow step on its upper 

surface. It is covered with a thin layer of marine encrustation. 



Width: 1.58 m 




250

BLC 4. Block. 


Description: The block, rectangular in shape, is deeply eroded, its surface partially 

destroyed by marine borers. 

Marble type: Proconnesian? 


Width: 0.75 m 




251

BLC 5. Block. 


252 

Description: The block, rectangular in shape, is deeply eroded on one side, well preserved 

on the other. 

Marble type: Proconnesian? 

Length: 1.0 m 

Width: 0.74 m 



Bibliography: Report May 2, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493; Pensabene 2002a, 37.

BLC 6. Block. 

Present location: Last seen in 1975 by P. Pensabene in front of Corazzo's church. 

Description: Trapezoidal in shape, it has an unspecified number of steps. The following 

inscription appears on one of the long sides: 

SVBC 

LIBROC 

/ / S / / 

This inscription permitted P. Pensabene to identify this block as the one seen by P. Orsi in 

1915 and published in 1921. A second inscription on one of the faces must have been lying 

on the ground when the blocks were revisited in 1975. This inscription reads: 

The artifact could not be relocated in 2007. 



Width: 1.50 m 



LOCXXXBI / / / / 

/ / / / / / NOERVF / / / / / / / 

/ / / / / / CAESN / / / / / / / / 

Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4; Pensabene 1978, 115-6, fig. 9; 

Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

342 Pensabene 1978, 115. 

253

BLC 7. Block. 

Present location: Last seen in 1975 by P. Pensabene in front of Corazzo's church. 

Description: The block is rectangular in shape, and apparently heavily eroded. The artifact 

could not be relocated in 2007. 



Width: 1.01 m 

Height: 0.80 m 344 


Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4; Pensabene 1978, 108-10; 

Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

343 Pensabene 1978, 110. 

344 The measurements are taken from Pensabene 1978, 108-10. 

254

BLC 8 


Description: This block of pavonazzetto, which P. Orsi saw in 1915 but was not recorded 

by P. Pensabene in 1975, is currently located in the courtyard of the church of St. Joseph in 

Corazzo. The notch used to accommodate a lead cartouche, now lost, is visible on its upper 

face (indicated by the red arrow). A heavily eroded inscription with the letters “LOCXX” 

is still partially discernible on its short, vertical side. 



Width: 1.06 m 



Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4. 

255

BLC 9. Block. 


Description: Another block of pavonazzetto, lost sometime after 1915, was relocated in 

2007 in the courtyard of church of St. Joseph in Corazzo. Four rectangular steps are visible 

on its upper surface; its under surface could not be observed. 



Width: ca. 0.90 m 

Height: ca. 0.40 m 


Bibliography: Report May 3, 1915; Orsi 1921, 493-4. 

256

BLC 10. Block. 


Description: The block lies on the seafloor partially covered with sand; the lower 

extremities seem to have been well preserved under the sand. 



Width: > 1.30 m 



257



258 

Description: The block lies on the seafloor, partially under the sand, partially leaning on a 

large boulder, and completely covered with marine growth. 



Width: 2.45 m 





Description: The block lies on a rocky seafloor, next to COL 5. Its upper face is covered 

with a thick layer of eelgrass (posidonia oceanica). 



Width: 2.20 m 



259



260 

Description: The block lies on a rocky seafloor, separated from the other marble elements. 

Its surface is completely covered with a thick layer of marine growth. 



Width: 1.43 m 



STA 1. Statuette of Eros and Psyche. 


Description: This small sculptural group is well preserved, with few signs of marine 

encrustation. Eros lacks the head and part of his left arm, Psyche the right arm; Eros once 

had wings of which only the attachments survive. The base has angular cornices and four 

protruding square feet. 

P. Orsi does not mention this find among the material he catalogued in 1909 and 

1915, and it is indeed proven that the sculpture was recovered from the bay of Punta Scifo 

in 1968 by local fishermen. 345 The Marquis Armando Lucifero bought the sculpture and 

donated it to the Archaeological Museum of Croton sometime before 1976. 346 In 1978, P. 

Pensabene saw in this representation of Eros and Psyche, a small, unfinished statuette. In 

his point of view the plinth, the hair and himation of Psyche, and Eros’ legs, had been left 

thicker than usual in order to make the artifact sturdier for transportation. C. Moss, 

however, disagrees with Pensabene and notes how the figures, even if superficially 

executed, display well-finished and almost polished surfaces. He sees, therefore, in this 

object not a statuette but rather a trapezophoros, a supporting pillar for a marble table 

which, due to its function, did not have to be perfectly finished. Considering that the 

shipwreck’s cargo contained at least two marble slabs that could serve as table tops, Moss’ 

hypothesis originally seemed more convincing, but after considering the total height of the 

statuette (1.30 m) and comparing it with other published trapezophori (averaging 0.75 

m), 347 this artifact seems too tall for use as a table stand. F. Slavazzi noticed that the four 

elements under the base serve to affix the object to the ground, suggesting that the statuette 

was made for use outdoors, such as in gardens of a Roman villa. 348 The Mahdia wreck 

provides a similar bronze parallel in the form of a small statue of Eros. 349 



Height (statue): 0.76 m 

Height (base) 0.54 m 

Width (base): 0.30 m; Depth (base): 0.25 m 351 

Bibliography: Lucifero in Lenormant 1976, 223, n. 29; Pensabene 1978b, 233-4, fig. 1; 

Moss 1988, 205-6, figs. 1-2; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

345 Moss 1988, 386. 

346 Lucifero in Lenormant 1976, 223, n. 29. 

347 Andronico in De Nuccio and Ungaro 2002, 373, 74; Mastroroberto in De Nuccio and Ungaro 2002, 373-4, 

n. 75; Valeri in De Nuccio and Ungaro 2002, 375, n. 76; Mastroroberto in De Nuccio and Ungaro 2002, 

375-6, n. 77. 

348 Slavazzi 2001, 93. 

349 Söldner 2004, 399-429. 

350 Pensabene 1978b, 233. 

351 Measurements from Pensabene 1978b, 233. 

261

262

SLB 1. Marble slab. 


Description: The slab is broken into two pieces, but otherwise is well preserved. Because 

of its thinness and one rounded corner, it is tentatively identified as a table top. 



Width: 1.05 m 

Thickness: 0.07 m 353 


352 Pensabene 2002, 37. 

353 Measurements from Pensabene 2002, 37 (who took them from Orsi 1921, 494. Orsi saw the slab intact). 

263

ABA 1. Attic Base. 


264 

Description: There is no doubt that this artifact comes from the sea, as evidenced by the 

evident traces of marine encrustation and erosion. The marble quality is identical to that of 

the other objects from Punta Scifo A, but since the provenience is unknown (P. Orsi never 

mentions this item), there are no definite clues to connect it with site A. It could also have 

come from another shipwreck in the area. This Attic base is finished. The plinth supports 

first a torus, then a cyma that is visible between two splines, surmounted by a second, 

thinner torus. One corner is chipped, another completely broken off. 

Marble type: White Synnadic. 354 





Notes: Not mentioned in P. Orsi’s reports. 

Bibliography: Pensabene 1978, 108; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

354 Pensabene 1978, 108.



265 

Description: As with the previous artifact, this Attic base comes from the sea, but is never 

mentioned in P. Orsi’s reports, nor in the reports available in the archives of Reggio 

Calabria’s archaeological museum. The base is finished. The plinth supports first a torus, 

then a cyma is visible between two splines, surmounted by a second, thinner torus. Two 

corners are broken off, and the upper surface is heavily eroded. 





Width (base): 0.72 m; Length (base): > 0.68 m (broken) 

Notes: Not mentioned in Paolo Orsi’s reports. 


355 Pensabene 1978, 108.



266 

Description: Like the previous two artifacts, this Attic base comes from the sea, but it is 

never mentioned in P. Orsi’s reports, nor in the reports available in the archives of Reggio 

Calabria’s archaeological museum. The base is finished. The plinth supports first a torus, 

then a cyma is visible between two splines, surmounted by a second, thinner torus. Two 

corners are cut off, and the upper surface is lightly eroded. The Greek letter “K” is incised 

on the upper disc. 








356 Pensabene 1978, 108.

267



268 

Description: This Attic base comes from the sea, but is not mentioned in either of 

P. Orsi’s reports, or the archives of Reggio Calabria’s archaeological museum. The base is 

finished. Three corners are broken off; the artifact is otherwise well preserved. 

Marble type: White Synnadic. 




Width (base): 0.68 m; Length (base): broken 

Bibliography: Unpublished.



269 

Description: This Attic base comes from the sea, but it is never mentioned in Paolo Orsi’s 

reports, nor in the reports available in the archives of Reggio Calabria’s archaeological 

museum. The base is finished. The plinth supports first a torus, then a cyma is visible 

between two splines, surmounted by a second, thinner torus. Two opposite corners are 

broken off, and the upper surface is lightly eroded. 

Marble type: White Synnadic. 




Height (lower torus): 0.15 m 

Width (base): > 0.68 m (broken); Length (base): 0.73 m 

Bibliography: Unpublished.

ICA 1. Ionic Capital. 


Description: This Ionic capital is without a doubt of marine provenience, since it is 

heavily eroded on one side and shows clear signs of sea encrustations. However, it is never 

mentioned in P. Orsi’s reports, nor in the reports available in the archives of the 

archaeological museum in Reggio Calabria. 

The capital is almost completely finished, even though the decorative elements 

(palmettes and ovuli) are only superficially carved. Once in place, the capital would have 

been completed. One pulvinus is missing, the surface of the left volute deeply abraded. 


Length (from volute to volute): 0.71 m 

Width (from volute to volute): 0.48 m 



Bibliography: Pensabene 1978, 116-7, fig. 15; Pensabene 2002a, 37. 

357 Pensabene 1978, 116. 

270



Description: This Ionic capital is without a doubt of marine provenience, since it shows 

clear signs of sea encrustation. However, it is never mentioned in P. Orsi’s reports, nor in 

the reports available in the archives of the archaeological museum in Reggio Calabria. 


(palmettes and ovuli) are only superficially carved. 


Length (from volute to volute): 0.75 m 

Width (from volute to volute): 0.52 m 





358 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

271



Description: This Ionic capital is well preserved and almost clean of marine encrustation. 

Its provenience from the aquatic environment is obvious, but since it is never mentioned in 

P. Orsi’s reports, nor in the reports available in the archives of the archaeological museum 

in Reggio Calabria, it is not sure that it came from the Punta Scifo A wreck site. 


(palmettes and ovuli) are only superficially carved. 


Length (from volute to volute): unknown 

Width (from volute to volute): unknown 

Height: unknown 

Diameter (available for a column): unknown 



359 Pensabene 1978, 108. 

272

MOB 1. Mobile artifacts. (Coticulae). 


273 

Description: It has not been possible to take detailed measurements of the items which 

were visible in 2006, in an exhibition in the newly-open Naval Museum of Capo Colonna. 

P. Orsi does not mention them, and indeed it was during the 1983 excavation that they 

were rescued. 360 One of the four tablets seems to have been carved from a white, purpleveined 

marble that seems to be pavonazzetto; the remaining three are made of grey and 

black slate. 361 They could have been used as marble samples, or, as D. Marino suggests, as 

tablets for the preparation of ointments and perfumes. 362 

Marble type: Pavonazzetto, slate. 

Dimensions not available 

Notes: Discovered in 1983, during the Aquarius’ excavation 


360 Freschi 1983, 2 in: Pensabene 2002, 37. 

361 Pensabene 2002, 37. 

362 Marino 2007, personal communication.

MOB 2. Mobile artifact. (Mortar). 


Description: It has not been possible to take detailed measurements of this item, that in 

2006 was visible on exhibition in the newly-open Naval Museum of Capo Colonna. 

Stone: Unknown. 

Dimensions not available 

Notes: Discovered in 1983, during the Aquarius’ excavation 

Bibliography: unpublished. 

274

MOB 3. Mobile artifact. (Amphora). 

Amphora-type: Kapitän II / Augst 54 / Peacock & Williams Class 47 / Niederbieber 77 / 

Berenice MRA 7 / Robinson M237 / Ostia Form VI / Keay Type XII 


Description: Two vertical handles, almost oval in section, stretch from the nearly flat 

shoulder to the top of the neck. They arch at the level of the rim, which is narrow with a 

sharp flange. The neck is tall and decorated with broad wheel-ridging. In the intact 

examples the body tapers to a hollow, tubular toe. The total height of the known, intact 

specimens is between 0.75 and 0.80 m, and seems to decrease throughout time. An 

example of the fifth century A.D., from Athens, is only 0.43 m high. 363 The inner capacity 

seems to have been of ca. 9 l. 364 

Origin: There is no direct evidence, since not one of the amphoras bore stamps or tituli 

picti. Based on distribution patterns, the place of origin seems to be the Aegean Sea. The 

texture of the fabric is closely connected with amphoras produced at Kos, and according to 

S. J. Keay it is possible that these amphoras were manufactured there. 365 

275 

Geographical Distribution: While it is most common in the eastern Mediterranean and 

Ostia, some examples have also been found in Germany, Britain, Greece, Spain, Romania, 

Iraq, Nubia, and south Russia. 366 

Content: Based on traces of pitch, wine has been suggested. 367 

Date range: Excavations in Ostia show that the production of this amphora type began in 

the second half of the second century A.D. 368 The production peaked in the third century 

A.D., and continued until the beginning of the fifth century A.D., as several amphoras 

from Athens and Corinth testify. 369 

Fabric: Bright orange in color, with inclusions of big grains of quartz. 

otes: Discovered in 1983, during the Aquarius’ excavation 

Bibliography: unpublished. 

363 Opaiţ 2004, 13. 

364 Opaiţ 2004, 13. 

365 Keay 1984, 137. 

366 Peacock-Williams 1986, 193; Keay 1984, 137; Opaiţ 2004, 13. 

367 Kapitan 1971, 303; Keay 1984, 137. 

368 Panella 1973, 596-7; Opaiţ 2004, 13. 

369 Athens: see Robinson 1959, 69, plate 15, K 113; 77, plate 16, L 33; 106, plate 28, M 237; 110, plate 29, M 

274; 112, plate 31, M 303; Corinth: see Warner Lane 1990, 108-17, fig. 254, plate 15, n. 254.

276


277 

Kapitän II / Peacock & Williams Class 47 / Niederbieber 77 / Berenice MRA 7 / Robinson 

M237 / Ostia Form VI / Keay Type XII 


Description: This amphora is not as well preserved as MOB 3. Of the entire amphora only 

the neck, one handle, and part of the shoulder are preserved, and all are heavily covered 

with marine encrustations. The handle that survives is almost oval in section and stretches 

from the nearly flat shoulder to the top of the neck. The neck is tall and decorated with 

broad wheel-ridging. As in MOB 3, no remains of the body or toe survive. 

Origin: Based on distribution patterns, the place of origin seems to be the Aegean Sea; 

possibly the island of Kos. 

Geographical Distribution: This amphora type is most commonly found in the eastern 

Mediterranean and at Ostia, but some examples have also been found in Germany, Britain, 

Greece, Spain, Romania, Iraq, Nubia, and south Russia. 

Content: Probably wine, due to some pitch remains. 

Date range: Second half of the second century A.D.-beginning of the fifth century A.D. 

Fabric: Bright orange in color, with inclusions of big grains of quartz. 

otes: Discovered in 1983, during the Aquarius’ excavation. 

Bibliography: unpublished.

278


Amphora-type “Warner Slane 249” 


279 

Description: This amphora is characterized by two vertical handles, which arch and curve 

outwards from the shoulder to the top of the neck. The flaring rim is quite narrow. The 

bulging neck is tall and decorated with broad wheel-ridging, not as sharp and deeply 

marked as in MOB 3 and MOB 4. No remains of the body or toe have survived, and since 

the only probable parallel from Corinth is fragmentary as well, it is impossible to 

determine their exact shapes. The bright orange color of the fabric, and the presence of 

quartz grains closely resemble the texture of MOB 3 and MOB 4. 

Origin: Eastern Mediterranean? 

Geographical Distribution: Croton, Corinth. 

Content: Unknown. 

Date range: First-half of the third century A.D. based on the excavations at the sanctuary 

of Demeter and Kore in Corinth. 370 

Fabric: Bright orange in color, with inclusions of big grains of quartz, similar to MOB 3 

and MOB 4. 


Bibliography: Unpublished. 

370 Warner Slane 1990, 116, fig. 249.

280

MOB 6. Mobile artifacts. (Pitchers/Jugs). 


281 

Description: Only the necks, rims, and part of the handle of five containers are on display 

at the Naval Museum of Capo Colonna. The necks are short and straight, and the flaring 

rims have a raised band at the end of their inner edge. Some grooves are present at the 

attachment of the neck to the container’s body. The single handle is vertical, it rises above 

the rim, and is decorated with two grooves. 

Because the bodies are not preserved, and because it was not possible to take 

measurements of the mouth’s wideness and height, it is not possible to determine if the 

intact vessel was a pitcher or a jug. 

Origin: Uncertain, possibly eastern Aegean (Klazomenai), or Black Sea. 371 

Geographical Distribution: Croton, Corinth, Athens, Ostia. 

Content: Unknown. 

Date range: Second half of the second century-third century A.D., based on parallels from 

the Athenian agora, 372 the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore in Corinth, 373 and Ostia. 374 

Fabric: Reddish-brown in color, with small, white and dark inclusions. 



371 Warner Slane 1990, 100, n. 215-6. 

372 Robinson 1959, 92, M 101, plates 23, 73. 

373 Warner Slane 1990, 100-4, n. 215-6. 

374 Panella 1973, 203, 430, fig. 342.

282

MOB 7. Mobile artifacts. (Bronze ladles). 


283 

Description: One of the two ladles has a round, deep bowl, while the bowl of the other is 

missing, and only its upper diameter survives. The long, straight handles taper upward and 

then curve into swan’s necks and heads that helped to hang the ladles in the ship’s galley. 

The shape of ladles (known also as cyathus/i in Greek and simpulum/a in Latin) is 

common both to the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, and there are many parallels found 

throughout the empire, both in bronze and silver. 375 Two similar exemplars of unknown 

provenience and date can be seen at the Louvre Museum, 376 one at the National 

Archaeological Museum in Naples, 377 and one among the artifacts found in a tomb of 

350-300 B.C. from Bolsena, Italy. 378 A fresco from the tomb of Vestorius Priscus in 

Pompeii depicts four smaller silver ladles decorated with swan’s heads among other 

silverware. 379 

Origin: Unknown. 

Geographical Distribution: Unknown. 

Date range: Ladles are extremely common in the Greek and Roman world, and their shape 

apparently does not change much throughout time. The ladle from Bolsena, dated to the 

middle or end of the fourth century B.C. appears to be quite similar to the preserved ladle 

from Punta Scifo, which could belong to the first quarter of the third century A.D. 



375 Jones 1956, 44-5, plate 19, n. 26. 

376 Ridder 1915, plate 108, n. 3060, 3069. 

377 Monaco 1884, 27, plate 149. 

378 Burn 1991, 171, fig. 145. 

379 Coarelli 2002, 390; Dunbabin 1993, 119, fig. 3.

284

MOB 8. Mobile artifact. (Bronze candelabrum). 


285 

Description: The candelabrum is made of a tall adjustable shaft, square in section. Its 

height can be raised or lowered with the use of a special bronze dowel inserted in the 

notches visible along the shaft. The dowel was found still attached to the stand’s base with 

a little bronze chain. A tripod base decorated with lion’s paws supports the shaft, on which 

top a small calyx krater was made to hold the oil-lamp. 

This type of candelabrum is common in Roman times: in Pompeii and Herculaneum 

many similar items have been found, 380 as well as in eastern Thrace. 381 Similar candelabra 

are also visible at the Louvre, 382 at the Archaeological Museum of Naples, 383 in the 

Dumbarton Oaks Collection in Washington, D.C., 384 and in the Mahdia shipwreck. 385 

Origin: Unknown. 

Geographical Distribution: Widespread in the east and west of the Roman empire. 

Date range: The candelabra from Pompeii date to the first century A.D., as well as the 

exemplar from eastern Thrace. 



380 De Spagnolis and De Carolis 1988, 26, n. 8; 56, n.19; 67, n.29; 141, n. 84-5. 

381 Atasoy 2005, 74, n. 128. 

382 Ridder 1915, 153-4, plate 113, n. 3164, 3170. 

383 Lamb 1969, 239, plate 84. 

384 Jones 1956, 43, n. 24, table 16.c. 

385 Baratte 2004, 607-28.

286

MOB 9. Mobile artifact. (Lead statuette of Heracles and the hind). 


Description: This statuette might represent the myth of Heracles and the Ceryneian hind. 

Cast in lead, it probably decorated a wooden item on board the ship, or the ship itself. Two 

holes are visible at the base, with a bronze nail still fixed in one. On the back a cavity is 

visible inside the hind’s body, probably due to the “lost wax” casting technique, and a lead 

strip supports Heracles’ statuette. This little group was clearly made to be seen frontally. 



287

288

APPEDIX 2 

TRASCRIPTIOS OF THE ORIGIAL RECORDS HOUSED I THE 

289 

ARCHIVES OF THE ATIOAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF REGGIO 

[2 maggio 1915]. 

- Verbale - 

CALABRIA 

R. ISPETTORE 

DEI 

MOUMETI E SCAVI 

DEL 

CIRCODARIO DI COTROE 

OGGETTO 

Inventario di oggetti recuperati dal mare. 

L’anno millenovecentoquindici, il giorno 2 maggio, sono convenuti in Cotrone i 

Signori: Forcellini Ing. Annibale, Impresario per i lavori del porto: Lucifero March. 

Armando, R. Ispettore dei monumenti e Scavi: Pugliese Giuseppe, delegato in 

rappresentanza dal Sig. Sottoprefetto Cav. Zinno Vincenzo: Lucente Prof. Raffaele 

componente la Commissione di Vigilanza per il Museo Civico: Ruffini Filiberto Ufficiale 

di porto, in rappresentanza della Amministrazione Marittima. 

Il Signor Forcellini dichiara che il giorno 30 aprile, mentre mentre il pontone Ione 

estraeva materiale di scogliera, nella piccola rada di Scifo, rinvenne e porto’ in luce alcuni 

pezzi di marmo lavorati che si elencheranno piu’ sotto, e che dal primo esame riconobbe di 

trattarsi di materiale archeologico. In conseguenza fece regolare denunzia alle competenti 

autorita’. 

Gli altri convenuti hanno preso atto della suddetta dichiarazione, ed hanno proceduto 

alla verifica degli oggetti medesimi, agli effetti della legge 20 giugno 1909, n. 364. 

Il suddetto materiale, attualmente depositato sul molo foraneo del porto nuovo, e nel 

cantiere dell’Impresa Forcellini va cosi’ distinto: 

Nel cantiere: 

1 o . 1 Basamento a sezione quadrata, con zampe leonine.

2 o .1 Basamento piccolo a sezione circolare, frammentario, recante sulla parte inferiore la 

marca Ε Λ 

3 o . 1 Pezzo informe per corrosione, a sezione quadrata 

4 o . 3 Basamenti a sezione quadrata, con zampe leonine e toro a sezione circolare, a cono 

tronco. 

5 o . 1 Lastra di marmo in cattivo stato di conservazione 

6 o . 2 Monconi di colonna, molto corrosi 

7 o 1 Labrum, con orli corrosi o rotti, e base in ottimo stato conservazione, spezzettata 

lievemente alla parte inferiore. 

Sul molo: 

1 o . 3 Colonne grandi, ed una piccola, recanti in gran parte iscrizioni, in buono stato di 

conservazione. 

2 o . 3 Colonne, simili alle precedenti, in parte corrose. 

3 o . 5 Colonne, c.s., in stato di cattiva conservazione per corrosione 

4 o . 5 piedistalli parallelepipedi, ben conservati; uno solo presenta corrosione avanzata 

5 o . 7 grandi pezzi architettonici, uno dei quali, alla data del presente verbale, e’ caduto 

nelle acque del porto istesso, in prossimita’ del molo 

6 o . 11 pezzi incrostati o corrosi, e percio’ di forma non definibile. 

290 

Tutti gli oggetti elencati sono presi in consegna dal R. Ispettore degli Scavi e monumenti, 

il quale, per accordi presi con l’Impresa Forcellini, e l’autorita’ politica, assicura la dovuta 

sorveglianza. 

Il presente verbale viene letto, confermato e sottoscritto in quadruplice esemplare, 

dai convenuti. 

Ciascun originale vien consegnato rispettivamente, al Sig. Sottoprefetto, all’ Ing. 

Forcellini Annibale, all’ Ufficiale di Porto, al R. Ispettore dei Monumenti. 

[Fine del documento, non segue nessuna firma] 

[Segue una “Copia di Verbale” identica a quanto sopra, salvo alcune correzioni 

ortografiche, in cui vengono pero’ aggiunte le firme dei partecipanti al verbale, 

apparentemente non originali:] 

Firmati 

- Annibale Forcellini 

- Armando Lucifero 

- Giuseppe Pugliese 

- Raffaele Lucente 

- Filiberto Ruffini

[May 2, 1915]. English Translation. 

- Record - 

ROYAL ISPECTOR 

TO THE 

MOUMETS AD EXCAVATIOS 

OF THE 

DISTRICT OF CROTO 

SUBJECT 

Inventory of items recovered from the sea. 

The year 1915, the day of May 2 nd , have met in Croton Messrs: Forcellini Eng. 

Annibale, contractor for the harbor’s building works: Lucifero Marquis Armando, Royal 

Inspector to the monuments and excavations: Pugliese Giuseppe, representative of Mr. 

Deputy Prefect Knight Zinno Vincenzo: Lucente Prof. Raffaele, member of the 

Supervision Committee for the Civic Museum: Ruffini Filiberto, harbor officer and 

representative of the Maritime Administration. 

Mr. Forcellini declares that the day of April 30 th , while the pontoon Ione was extracting 

rocky material in the little bay of Punta Scifo, he discovered and raised to the surface some 

worked marble items that will be listed in these pages, and that after a first examination he 

realized was archaeological material. Following that, he filed a regular report to the 

competent authorities. 

The other participants in this meeting have taken note of the aforementioned report, 

and have proceeded to verify these same items, complying with the law of 20 June 1909, n. 

364. 

The aforementioned material, currently deposited on the outer dock of the new harbor, 

and in the yard of the Forcellini Company, is divided this way: 

In the yard: 

291 

1. 1 Pedestal, square in section, with lions’ paws. 

2.1 Small pedestal, circular in section, fragmentary, bearing on the lower portion the mark 

“ΕΛ.” 

3. 1 Shapeless item due to the erosion, square in section 

4. 3 Pedestals, square in section, with lions’ paws and torus circular in section, like a 

frustum of a cone. 

5. 1 Marble slab, poorly preserved 

6. 2 Column stumps, heavily eroded 

7. 1 Labrum, with rims eroded or broken and base perfectly preserved, lightly chipped at 

the lower edge. 

On the dock:

1. 3 Big columns and a small one, most of which bear inscriptions, in good state of 

preservation. 

2. 3 Columns, similar to the previous ones, partially eroded. 

3. 5 Columns, as before, in poor state of preservation due to their erosion. 

4. 5 Parallelepiped pedestals, well preserved; only one is in an advanced state of erosion. 

5. 7 Big architectonic items, one of which, at the time of this record, has fallen into the 

water of the harbor itself, close to the dock. 

6. 11 items encrusted or eroded, and therefore of unidentifiable shape. 

292 

All the listed items are taken on consignment by the Royal Inspector to the Excavations 

and Monuments, who, based on an agreement with the Forcellini Company and the public 

authorities, guarantees the due surveillance. 

This record has been read, approved, and signed in four copies by the participants. 

Each original is handed to Mr. Deputy Prefect, to Eng. Forcellini Annibale, to the harbor 

officer, and to the Royal Inspector to the Monuments. 

[End of the document, no original signatures] 

[A second “Copy of the Record” follows, identical to this one, with the exception of some 

corrections of grammatical mistakes. The signatures of the participants to the meeting have 

been added, but apparently they are not original because all are identical.] 

Signed, 

- Annibale Forcellini 

- Armando Lucifero 

- Giuseppe Pugliese 

- Raffaele Lucente 

- Filiberto Ruffini

[3 maggio 1915]. 

Copia = 

L’anno millenovecentoquindici, il giorno tre del mese di Maggio in Cotrone, sono 

convenuti i signori Forcellini Ing. Annibale, impresario per i lavori del porto; Zinno Cav. 

Vincenzo, sottoprefetto; Berlingieri Dottor Carlo, Sindaco della Citta’, Ruffini Filiberto, 

Ufficiale del Porto; Lucifero March. Armando, R. Ispettore degli Scavi e Monumenti; 

Lucente Prof. Raffaele; Componente la Commissione di vigilanza del Civico Museo. 

Essi recatisi nello specchio d’acqua nella rada di Scifo hanno assistito alla estrazione dal 

fondo del mare di oggetti archeologici ivi accumulati. 

Le operazioni di ricupero hanno avuto per risultato l’estrazione dei seguenti oggetti di 

marmo: 

1 o Un basamento – piedistallo, a base quadrata, con zampe leonine, in ottimo stato di 

conservazione 

2 o Un basamento – piedistallo a cono tronco, a base quadrata, con zampe leonine, 

discretamente conservato 

3 o Un basamento – piedistallo corroso ed incrostato 

4 o Un basamento – “a gola” (?) diritta, con zampe leonine discretamente conservato. 

5 o Due vasche tipo labrum, ottimamente conservate rotte ambedue in una parte. 

6 o Un labrum = sola parte del fondo con piedistallo 

7 o Tredici frammenti di labrum 

8 o Otto frammenti di lastre marmoree 

9 o Una lastra marmorea integra 

10 o Un piedistallo di forma parallelopipeda. 

11 o Un pezzo di fasciame di nave, in legno chiodato 

12 o Due blocchi, dei quali uno con indicazioni incise 

13 o Un blocco grandissimo. 

293 

Si e’ convenuto che gli oggetti elencati dal numero 1 al N. 11 siano conservati e custoditi o 

in recinto chiuso, o nei locali del Museo Civico. 

Gli altri sul molo foraneo del Porto Nuovo, nei modi indicati sul precedente verbale. 

Letto confermato e sottoscritto in quadruplice originale come il precedente. 

Firmati: Annibale Forcellini – Carlo Berlingieri – V. Zinno – Armando Lucifero – Raffaele 

Lucente Filiberto Ruffini.


Copy 

294 

The year 1915, the 3 rd day of the month of May in Croton, have met Messrs Forcellini Eng. 

Annibale, contractor for the harbor’s works; Zinno Knight Vincenzo, Deputy Prefect; 

Berlingieri Dr. Carlo, City Mayor; Ruffini Filiberto, harbor officer; Lucifero Marquese 

Armando, Royal Inspector to the Excavations and Monuments; Lucente Prof. Raffaele; 

Member of the Supervision Committee for the Civic Museum. 

They, visiting the sheet of water of the bay of Punta Scifo, have witnessed the uplift from 

the seafloor of archaeological items located there. 

The salvage operations have, as a result, raised all of the following marble items: 

1. A pedestal-base, with a squared base and lions’ paws, in perfect state of preservation 

2. A pedestal-base shaped like a frustum of cone, with a squared base and lions’ paws, 

fairly well preserved. 

3. A pedestal-base, eroded and encrusted. 

4. A pedestal with a straight cyma, with lions’ paws, fairly well preserved. 

5. Two basins labrum-like, perfectly preserved, both broken in one area. 

6. A labrum = only the bottom with the pedestal. 

7. Thirteen fragments of labrum. 

8. Eight fragments of marble slabs. 

9. A marble slab, intact. 

10. A pedestal in the shape of a parallelepiped. 

11. A portion of the ship’s hull, made of wood with some nails in it. 

12. Two blocks, one of which with engraved indications [sic] 

13. A huge block. 

It has been agreed that the items listed from number 1 to n. 11 have to be conserved under 

surveillance or within a fence, or in the rooms of the Civic Museum. 

The others will remain on the outer dock of the New Harbor, according to the agreement 

taken with the previous record. 

Read, approved, and signed in four original copies like the previous one. 

Signed: Annibale Forcellini – Carlo Berlingieri – V. Zinno – Armando Lucifero – Raffaele 

Lucente Filiberto Ruffini.

[15 maggio 1915]. 

R. SOPRITEDEZA ARCHEOLOGICA 

PER LA CALABRIA 

(Prov. Di Reggio C., Catanzaro e Cosenza) 

SEDE PROVVISORIA DI SIRACUSA 

. 2052 

OGGETTO: Cotrone – Scoperte marmi a punta Scifo 

SE. Ministro alla P.I. 

Direzione Gen.le Ant. E BA 

Roma 

Siracusa 15 maggio 1915 

L’impresa Forcellini, “assuntasi” (?) dei grandi lavori al Porto di Cotrone, andando colle 

sue potenti draghe in cerca di scogli subacquei nelle acque di P. Scifo, comincio’ a 

salp[are] marmi antichi; una naturale curiosita’, congiunta alla speranza di trovare opere 

d’arte, fece proseguire il fortunato lavoro per un paio di giorni, intanto che vi accorrevano 

le autorita’ locali e la sottoscritta Soprintendenza. Ed ivi [...] appena io ebbi avviso dalla 

[S.] Prefettura di Cotrone delle avvenute scoperte disposi telegraficamente la sospensione 

dei lavori alla fine della giornata stessa, che era la 2 dalla data iniziale della scoperta. 

In complesso l’impresa Forcellini coi potentissimi mezzi di cui dispone estrasse 

l’ingente massa di circa 150 tonn. di marmi, che deposito’ sulle banchine nel suo cantiere 

del porto di Cotrone, trasportandoli da circa 12 km di distanza. 

Mi mancano ancora moltissimi dati per stendere una anche sommaria relazione 

scientifica, ma in sostanza posso assicurare la E. V., che si tratta di quel deposito di marmi 

subacquei, in seguito a naufragio di una nave romana, di cui diedi una illustrazione, per 

quel tanto che era possibile, in Supplem. Notizie 1910 pag.118 e segg. 

Allora l’impresa Tricoli con deboli mezzi estrasse pochi ma ragguardevoli pezzi, 

che le attuali scoperte hanno quantitativamente quasi decuplicati; sono tutti marmi allo 

stato di abbozzo, decorativi, od addirittura grezzi, nessuno plastico. Colonne, grandi are, 

bacini e bacinetti (labra), basi e sostegni diversi, lastroni, non che alcuni massi prismatici 

appena digrossati, il maggiore dei quali (m. 3.80 x 2 1/4 circa x 0.84) e’ di un peso colossale, 

che si aggira intorno alle 30 tonnellate (sic). Molti dei marmi sono contrassegnati con una 

capsula plumbea in forma di targhetta ansata, e parecchi portano delle lunghe ed anche 

lunghissime iscrizioni romane di cava, analoghe a quelle gia’ da me pubblicate. Ho fatto 

tentativi disperati per cavare gli apografi di questi [modifiloli?], ma finora i risultati 

conseguiti sono ben lungi dal soddisfarmi, opponendosi difficolta’ gravissime al desiderio 

di avere apografi od almeno calchi perfetti; l’azione della salsedine e dei molluschi ha 

talvolta cosi’ dilavato od anche erosa la superficie scritta, a lettere per giunta poco 

profonde, che la lettura di talune parti piuttosto che difficile e’ addirittura impossibile. 

295

296 

Aggiungasi che dato l’accatastamento dei pezzi e la mole di essi non e’ possibile muoverli 

e metter le superfici scritte sotto un determinato angolo di luce, che agevoli la difficile 

lettura. Non bisogna tuttavia disperare, e confido di migliorare sensibilmente con rinnovati 

tentativi i primi apografi ottenuti. Ma occorre tempo e pazienza. Posso pero’ fin da ora 

dichiarare, che si tratta di lunghe marche delle cave di Luni, con nomi di [consoli] e di 

funzionari delle cave stesse; l’epoca si aggira attorno al 200 d. Cr. – In fine si raccolsero 

pezzi ragguardevoli del fasciame del naviglio affondato. 

Nella mia visita a Cotrone, oltre che dell’esame, per ora preliminare, del materiale, 

ho dovuto occuparmi di altre questioni diverse, ed io sottopongo ora alla E. V. le 

conclusioni cui sono arrivato. 

a) Il contegno dell’impresa Forcellini fu correttissimo. Avverti’ la R. Prefettura delle 

scoperte (si era a circa 12 km di mare dalla citta’), la quale si mise tosto in contatto 

col sottoscritto, che ordino’ la sospensione dei lavori. Ma per due giorni si lavoro’, 

e fu bene. 

b) L’impresa Forcellini vanta diritti sul quarto del valore del materiale scoperto; ma io 

contesterei tale diritto, [trattandosi] di impresa portuale per conto dello Stato, nei 

cui contratti devesi sempre includere la clausola delle scoperte fortuite, il cui 

prodotto deve venire senza compenso allo Stato. Desidero conoscere su di cio’ il 

pensiero di V. E. per regolare la mia ulteriore linea di condotta. 

c) L’impresa Forcellini mi ha presentato un conto di massima di L. 4300 per le opere 

di salpamento, trasporto e scarico (tre giorni di lavoro). Ho richiesto il conto di 

dettaglio, che, tra breve trasmettero’ e, forse con qualche riduzione, converra’ 

pagare. 

d) Propongo che i marmi rimangano a Cotrone, dati in deposito statale al locale 

Museo Civico, che in piccola parte li disporra’ nelle sue sale, ed il resto in speciali 

aiole del giardino pubblico. Ma per il solo trasporto dalla assai discosta banchina e 

dal cantiere alla sede definitiva occorre una spesa di parecchie centinaia di lire. 

[Siponga] neanche al solo masso di 30 tonnellate, la cui rimozione per terra e’ un 

problema. 

e) A suo tempo qualche buon campione dei labra minori e delle basi potra’ essere 

destinato al Museo Nazionale di Reggio. 

f) L’impresa Forcellini ambisce l’onore di procedere alla completa ed esauriente 

esplorazione e sfruttamento del banco subacqueo marmifero, che ha una superficie 

di m. 150 x 70 circa, e dove il palombaro asserisce esservi ancora un materiale 

enorme. Da un primo calcolo da me fatto coll’ingegnere Forcellini, la spesa si 

aggirerebbe intorno alle L. 35.000, essendo indispensabile una nuova macchina 

escavatrice ad aspirazione, per togliere tutto il banco sabbioso avvolgente i marmi, 

che ha una [pascura] di m. 2 o 3. Affinche’ la E. V. sia in grado di decidere, e di 

presentare, se sara’ il caso, una leggina speciale, ho deciso che l’impresa rediga un 

progetto di dettaglio. 

Tale l’esito della mia missione a Cotrone, i cui risultati sottopongo all’esame di V.E. 

Il Soprint. P.o


ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOPRITEDEZA 

OF CALABRIA 

(Provinces of Rhegium, Catanzaro and Consentia) 

TEMPORARY BRACH OF SYRACUSE 

. 2052 

SUBJECT: Croton – Discoveries of marble at Punta Scifo 

His Excellency Secretary Public Instruction 

General Direction Fine Arts Bureau 

Rome 

Syracuse, May 15, 1915 

The Forcellini Company, undertaking the large enterprise of the works at the Harbor of 

Croton, while with its powerful dredges was looking for underwater boulders in the water 

of Punta Scifo, began raising ancient marbles; a natural curiosity, along with the hope of 

finding artworks, kept the lucky work going for a couple of days, while the local 

authorities and this Soprintendenza were reaching the site. And there [?] as soon as alerted 

by the [S.?] Prefecture of Croton of the discoveries that took place, I sent by telegraph my 

decision to stop the work at the end of that same day, that was the second from the original 

date of the discovery. 

All told, the Forcellini Company, with its powerful gear, raised the remarkable 

quantity of ca. 150 tons of marbles, that were left on the docks of its yard in the harbor of 

Croton, after carrying them from ca. 12 km of distance. 

I still lack too many data to write even a concise scientific report, but after all I can 

assure Your Excellency that we are dealing with that deposit of underwater marbles 

coming from the shipwreck of a Roman merchantman which I have already described, as 

much as it was possible, in Supplem. Notizie 1910, page 118 and following. 

At that time the Tricoli Company raised with its limited means a few, but 

remarkable items, that the current discoveries have increased almost tenfold; they all are 

marbles roughly worked out, decorative, or totally unfinished; no sculptures are present. 

Columns, great arae, large and small basins (labra), bases and different pedestals, big slabs, 

and also some prismatic blocks just rough-hewn, the largest of which (ca. m. 3.80 x 2 1/4 x 

0.84) has a huge weight, around 30 tons. Many of these marble items are marked with a 

lead seal shaped like a little ansate plate, and many bear long and even extremely long 

Roman quarry inscriptions, similar to those I already published. I made desperate attempts 

to get the impressions of these [modifiloli?], but for the time being the results are far from 

being satisfactory. My desire to get apographs or at least perfect impressions gets frustrated 

by insurmountable difficulties; the action of salted water and marine life has sometimes 

abraded and eroded the written surface, which is characterized by letters carved not too 

297

deep into the stone, that the reading of some parts of them is not only difficult, but 

impossible. It must also be considered that because of the stockpiling of the items and their 

size it is not possible to move them and place the written surfaces under a certain light 

angle that could make the reading easier. We do not need to despair, however, and I am 

sure that I will be able to improve substantially the first apographs I got with further, 

following attempts. But more time is required. I can be sure, right now, that these are long 

inscriptions of the Luna quarries, with names of [consuls] and employees of the quarries 

themselves; the age needs to be placed around A.D. 200. Eventually, remarkable fragments 

of the planking of the shipwreck were discovered. 

During my visit to Croton I had to deal not only with the preliminary analysis of 

this material, but also with other issues. I would like to inform Your Excellency of the 

conclusions I have reached. 

298 

a) The behavior of the Forcellini Company has been extremely appropriate. They 

alerted the Royal Prefecture of the discoveries (they were working at sea, at a 

distance of ca. 12 km from the city), and the Prefecture immediately got in touch 

with me, who ordered to stop the works. But for two days the works went on, and it 

was a good thing. 

b) The Forcellini Company asks for a compensation worth of one quarter of the value 

of the discovered items. However, I would deny such a claim, [because] they were 

working under a government contract, in which must always be included the clause 

of the accidental discoveries, whose results must be given to the government 

without further compensation. I would like to know Y.E. point of view on this 

matter, in order to address myself accordingly. 

c) The Forcellini Company showed me a summary bill of 4,300 Lira for the work of 

raising, carrying, and unloading these items (three working days). I asked for a 

detailed summary of expenditures that I will transmit shortly and, maybe with some 

reductions, it will be appropriate to pay. 

d) I propose that the marble items remain in Croton, given in deposit to the local Civic 

Museum, which will place a few of them in its rooms, and the remaining in special 

flowerbeds of the public garden. But just to move them from the very distant dock 

and yard to the final location several hundred Lira are required. It is not even 

possible to think to the boulder weighing 30 tons, whose transportation over land is 

an issue. 

e) When time will be appropriate, a few good samples of the smaller labra and of the 

pedestals might be moved to the National Museum of Rhegium. 

f) The Forcellini Company yearns for the honor to proceed with the total and through 

exploration and exploitation of the underwater deposit of marbles, that has an 

extension of ca. 150 x 70 m, and where the helmet-diver says is still located a huge 

block. According to a first estimate I did with Eng. Forcellini, the cost should be 

around 35,000 Lira, since a new air-lifting digging machine is required in order to 

remove all of the sand covering the marbles, which has a [thickness] of 2 or 3 m. In 

order to make Y.E. able to decide, and to write as appropriate a special, little law, I 

decided that the firm will present a detailed operative plan.

These are the results of my mission in Croton, whose results I submit to the review of 

Y.E. 

The Superintendent 

Po [Paolo Orsi] 

299

[21 giugno 1915]. 

R. SOPRITEDEZA ARCHEOLOGICA 

PER LA CALABRIA 

(Prov. Di Reggio C., Catanzaro e Cosenza) 

SEDE PROVVISORIA DI SIRACUSA 

. 2097 

OGGETTO: Cotrone – Blocchi marmorei rinvenuti a Punta Scifo 

Allegati . 14 Disegni, deposti in archivio disegni 

Ill.mo Sig. Soprintendente Arch. 

Per la Calabria 

Siracusa 

Siracusa, 21 giugno 1915 

______ 

Atti Po. 

Unisco al presente rapporto i disegni schematici dei blocchi marmorei rinvenuti a Punta 

Schifo [sic] a Cotrone e depositati sul costruente molo di quella citta’, dove mi sono recato 

per ordine della S.V. Ill.ma. 

Del tipo della colonna X disegnata al foglio A ve ne sono altre 11; 5 delle quali 

molto deteriorate, una rotta in tre pezzi e una ridotta nel senso della lunghezza, quasi a 

meta’ e fortemente corrosa. Del tipo della colonna Y disegnata sullo stesso foglio ve ne 

[sic] un’altra ma con quella specie di placca distrutta. 

Entrambe le colonne hanno delle iscrizioni disegnate al foglio O. 

Uguali per grandezza e qualita’ di marmo alla base disegnata al foglio B ve ne sono 

altre 5 talune di esse con forte incrostazioni. 

Il tipo delle marche di piombo incastrate in diversi blocchi o colonne e’ unico. 

(Vegg. Disegno e sezione al foglio C) 

Il grandioso blocco (foglio G) sulla faccia superiore ha due piani; il piu’ alto oltre a 

non abbracciare tutta la larghezza del blocco [ricorre] in linea col margine superiore 

esterno del lato lungo. La parte del piano inferiore fra il superiore e il margine si unisce a 

questo con una leggiera curva che va a finire nel lato corto dove il piano superiore si 

distacca di solo 8 centimetri. 

Del blocco A (foglio H) non ne ho potuto ricavare una vedutina sia perche’ molto 

nascosto fra altri blocchi e sia perche’ ha molti piani rialzati. L’iscrizione del blocco O 

disegnato nello stesso foglio e nel foglio H I trovasi nel foglio O dove e’ riprodotta una 

parte dell’iscrizione del blocco S (fogli L – I) letta attraverso piccoli vuoti lasciati dai 

blocchi sovrappostigli. 

300

Nel foglio M presento il disegno di una delle vasche, depositate nel cantiere 

Forcellini. In tutte sono quattro, la disegnata alla quale manca poca parte, ed altre 3 

frammentate ed incomplete. 

L’Impresa Forcellini fa premura perche’ si trasportino i blocchi, avendo bisogno 

dello spazio da essi occupato per proseguire i suoi lavori. 

Il R. Ispettore On. (Sig. March. Armando Lucifero) ed altri sigg. Cotronesi pregano 

la S.V. Ill. ma acciocche’ voglia riprendere gli scavi per rimettere alla luce le glorie antiche della 

loro citta’ e illustrarle. 

Con profondo ossequio 

Il R. Soprastante 

Claudio Riva [Rina?] 

301

[June 21, 1915]. English Translation. 

ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOPRITEDEZA 

OF CALABRIA 

(Provinces of Rhegium, Catanzaro and Consentia) 

TEMPORARY BRACH OF SYRACUSE 

. 2097 

SUBJECT: Croton – Marble blocks discovered in Punta Scifo 

. 14 Drawings in attachment, stored in the drawings’ archive 

Archaeological Superintendent Esq. 

For Calabria 

Syracuse 

Syracuse, June 21, 1915 

______ 

Records Po. [Paolo Orsi] 

I enclose with this report the schematic drawings of the marble blocks found in Punta 

Schifo [sic] in Croton and deposited on the dock currently under construction in that city, 

where I went myself following Your order. 

The column-type X, drawn on the sheet A, has 11 similar specimens, 5 of which are 

extremely damaged, one shattered in three pieces and one shortened lengthwise, almost in 

the middle and deeply eroded. There is another column similar to column-type Y, drawn 

on the same sheet, but with that kind of seal destroyed. 

Both columns have some inscriptions, which are drawn on sheet O. 

There are 5 bases identical in size and marble quality to the base drawn on sheet B, 

some of them deeply encrusted. 

There is only one type of lead seal driven in several blocks or columns. (See 

drawing and section on sheet C) 

The huge block (sheet G) has two levels on the upper side; the highest does not 

follow the entire width of the block [and runs] with the upper external edge of the long 

side. The portion of the lower side comprised between the upper level and the edge joins it 

with a slight curvature ending on the short side where the upper edge is only 8 cm away. 

I could not draw a view of block A (sheet H) both because it is hidden among other 

blocks, and because has many superimposed levels. The inscription of block O, drawn on 

the same sheet and on sheet H I is found on sheet O where is also reproduced a portion of 

the inscription of block S (sheets L – I) read through some small empty spaces left among 

the superimposed blocks. 

302

I show on sheet M the drawing of one of the basins deposited in the Forcellini’s 

yard. There are four of them; the drawn one is missing a small fragment, and 3 more are 

fragmentary and incomplete. 

The Forcellini Company hurries us to move the blocks, since it needs the space that 

they occupy in order to continue the work it has started. 

The Royal Inspector MP (Marquise Armando Lucifero) and other Crotonians beg 

You to reopen the excavations to bring back to the light the ancient glories of their city, and 

publish them. 

With kindest respects, 

The Royal Supervisor 

Claudio Riva [Rina?] 

303

APPEDIX 3 

ACIET SOURCES 

304 

Amm. Marc. 16.10.15-16: Verum cum ad Traiani forum venisset, singularem sub omni 

caelo structuram, ut opinamur, etiam numinum assensione mirabilem, haerebat attonitus, 

per giganteos contextus circumferens mentem, nec relatu effabiles, nec rursus mortalibus 

appetendos. Omni itaque spe huius modi quicquam conandi depulsa, Traiani equum 

solum, locatum in atrii medio, qui ipsum principem vehit, imitari se velle dicebat et posse. 

16. Cui prope adstans regalis Ormisda, cuius e Perside discessum supra monstravimus, 

respondit astu gentili: “Ante” inquit “imperator, stabulum tale condi iubeto, si vales.” 

But when he [the emperor Constantius] came to the Forum of Trajan, a 

construction unique under the heavens, as we believe, and admirable even in the 

unanimous opinion of the gods, he stood fast in amazement, turning his attention to the 

gigantic complex about him, beggaring description and never again to be imitated by 

mortal men. Therefore abandoning all hope of attempting anything like it, he said that he 

would and could copy Trajan’s steed alone, which stands in the centre of the vestibule, 

carrying the emperor himself. 16. To this prince Ormisda, who was standing near him, and 

whose departure from Persia I have described above, replied with native wit: ‘First, Sire,’ 

said he, ‘command a like stable to be built, if you can. (J.C. Rolfe). 

Amm. Marc. 17.4.12-14: 12. Et quia sufflantes adulatores ex more Constantium id 

sine modo strepebant, quod cum Octavianus Augustus obeliscos duos ab Heliupolitana 

civitate transtulisset Aegyptia, quorum unus in Circo Maximo alter in Campo locatus 

est Martio, hunc recens advectum, difficultate magnitudinis territus, nec contrectare 

ausus est nec movere, discant qui ignorant, veterem principem translatis aliquibus 

hunc intactum ideo praeterisse, quod Deo Soli speciali munere dedicatus, fixusque 

intra ambitiosi templi delubra, quae contingi non poterant, tamquam apex omnium 

eminebat. 13. Verum Constantinus id parvi ducens, avulsam hanc molem sedibus suis, 

nihilque committere in religionem recte existimans, si ablatum uno templo miraculum 

Romae sacraret, id est in templo mundi totius, iacere diu perpessus est, dum 

translationi pararentur utilia. Quo convecto per alveum ili, proiectoque Alexandriae, 

navis amplitudinis antehac inusitatae aedificata est, sub trecentis remigibus agitanda. 

14. Quibus ita provisis, digressoque vita principe memorato, urgens effectus intepuit, 

tandemque sero imposuit navi, per maria fluentaque Tibridis, velut paventis, ne quod 

paene ignotus miserat ilus, ipse parum sub emeatus sui discrimine moenibus alumnis 

inferret, defertur in vicum Alexandri, tertio lapide ab urbe seiunctum. Unde chamulcis 

impositus, tractuesque lenius per Ostiensem portam piscinamque publicam, Circo 

illatus est Maximo. 

12. And because sycophants, after their fashion, kept puffing up Constantius 

and endlessly dinning it into his ears that, whereas Octavianus Augustus had brought 

over two obelisks from the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, one of which was set up in the

Circus Maximus, the other in the Campus Martius, as for this one recently brought in, 

he neither ventured to meddle with it not move it, overawed by the difficulties caused 

by its size –let me inform those who do not know it that that early emperor, after 

bringing over several obelisks, passed this one and left it untouched because it was 

consecrated as a special gift to the Sun God, and because being placed in the sacred 

part of his sumptuous temple, which might not be profaned, there it towered aloft like 

the peak of the world. 13. But Constantine, making little account of that, tore the huge 

mass from its foundations; and since he rightly thought that he was committing no 

sacrilege if he took this marvel from one temple and consecrated it at Rome, that is to 

say, in the temple of the whole world, he let it lie for a long time, while the things 

necessary for its transfer were being provided. And when it had been conveyed down 

the channel of the Nile and landed at Alexandria, a ship of a size hitherto unknown was 

constructed, to be rowed by three hundred oarsmen. 14. After these provisions, the 

aforesaid emperor departed this life and the urgency of the enterprise waned, but at last 

the obelisk was loaded on the ship, after long delay, and brought over the sea and up 

the channel of the Tiber, which seemed to fear that it could hardly forward over the 

difficulties of its outward course to the walls of its foster-child the gift which the 

almost unknown Nile had sent. But it was brought to the vicus Alexandri distant three 

miles from the city. There it was put on cradles and carefully drawn through the Ostian 

Gate and by the Piscina Publica and brought into the Circus Maximus. (J. C. Rolfe). 

305 

App. B. Civ. 5.14.133: 

Pomphvio~ d j ejk me;n Sikeliva~ a[kra/ Lakiniva/ prosevce kai; to; ijero;n th`~ {Hra~ 

ploutou`n ajnaqhvmasin ejsulhse, feuvgwn ej~ ∆Antwvnion. 

Pompeius, fleeing from Sicily to Antony, stopped at the Lacinium promontory and 

robbed the rich temple of Juno of its gifts. (H. White). 

App. Sam. 7.1: 

{Oti Kornhvlio~ ejpi; katafravktwn devka new`n ejqea`to th;n megavlhn JEllavda, 

kaiv ti~ ejn Tavranti dhmagwgo;~ Filovcari~, aijscrw`~ te bebiwkw;~ kai; para; 

tou`to kalouvmeno~ Qaiv~, palaiw`n tou;~ Tarantivnou~ ajnemivmnhske sunqhkw`n, 

mh; plei`n JRwmaivou~ provsw Lakiniva~ a{kra~, paroxuvna~ te e{peisen ejpanacqh`nai 

tw/` Kornhlivw/. kai; tevssara~ me;n aujtou` nau`~ katevdusan oiJ Taranti`noi, 

mivan de; e{labon aujtoi`~ ajndravsin. e{~ te Qourivou~ ejgklhvmata poiouvmenoi o{ti 

{Ellhne~ o{nte~ ejpi; JRwmaivou~ katevfugon ajnti; sgw`n, kai; parelqei`n aujtouv~ 

ejpevkeina ai[tioi mavlista ejgegevnhnto, tou;~ me;n ejpifanei`~ aujtw`n ejxevbalon,th;n 

de; povlin dihvrpasan, kai; tou;~ ÔRwmaivwn frourou;~ uJpospovndou~ ajfh`kan. 

Conelius went on a voyage of inspection along the coast of Magna Graecia with ten 

decked ships. At Tarentum there was a demagogue named Philocharis, a man of obscene 

life, who was for that reason nicknamed Thais. He reminded the Tarentines of an old treaty 

by which the Romans had bound themselves not to sail beyond the promontory of 

Lacinium, and so stirred their passion that he persuaded them to put to sea and attack 

Cornelius, of whose ships they sank four and captured one with all on board. They also 

accused the Thurini of preferring the Romans to the Tarentines although they were Greeks,

and held them chiefly to blame for the Romans overpassing the limits. Then they expelled 

the noblest citizens of Thurii, sacked the city, and dismissed the Roman garrison under a 

flag of truce. (H. White.) 

Arist. Pol. 7.1329b: kaiŸ thŸn aékthŸn tau®thn th~v EuŒrw®phv ∆Itali®an touònoma labei~n oòsh 

tetu®chken eéntoŸv ouùsa tou~ ko®lpou tou~ Skullhtikou~ kaiŸ tou~ Lamhtokou~ aépe®cei deŸ 

tau~ta aépé aöllh®lwn oédoŸn hémisei®av héme®rav. 

The name of Italy was given to all that promontory of Europe lying between the 

Gulfs of Skylletium and of Lametus, which are half a day’s journey apart. (H. Rackham). 

Cato, Agr. 22.3: Trapetus emptus est in Suessano HS CCCC et olei P. L. Conpsturae 

HS LX; vecturam boum, operas VI, homines VI cum bubulcis HS LXXII; cupam 

ornatam HS LXXII, pro oleo HS XXV; S.S. HS DCXXVIIII. Pompeis emptus ornatus 

HS CCCXXCIIII; vecturam HS CCXXC; domi melius concinnatur et accommodatur, 

eo sumpti opus est HS LX: S.S. HS DCCXXIIII. 4 Si orbes in veteres trapetos parabis, 

medios crassos P. I digitos III, altos P. I, foramen semipedem quoquo vorsum. Eos 

cum advexeris, ex trapeto temperato. Ii emuntur ad Rufri macerias HS CXXC, 

temperantur HS XXX. Tantidem Pompeis emitur. 

A mill is bought near Suessa for 400 sesterces and fifty pounds of oil. The cost 

of assembling is 60 sesterces, and the charge for transportation by oxen, with six days’ 

wages of six men, drivers included, is 72 sesterces. The bar complete costs 72 

sesterces, and there is a charge of 25 sesterces for oil; the total cost is 629 sesterces. At 

Pompeii one is bought complete for 384 sesterces, freight 280 sesterces. It is better to 

assemble and adjust on the ground, and this will cost 60 sesterces, making a total cost 

of 724 sesterces. If you are fitting old mills with stones, they should be 1 foot 3 fingers 

thick at the centre and 1 foot in diameter, with a half-foot square opening; alter them to 

fit the mill after they have been hauled. These can be bought at the yard of Rufrius for 

180 sesterces, and fitted for 30 sesterces. The price is the same at Pompeii. (W.D. 

Hooper). 

306 

Cic. Att. 9.19: os, quoniam superum mare obsidetur, infero navigabimus, et, si Puteolis 

erit difficile, Crotonem petemus aut Thurios et boni cives amantes patriae mare infestum 

habebimus. 

As for me, since the Adriatic is beset, I shall sail by the lower sea, and, if it will be 

difficult to start from Puteoli, I shall seek Croton or Thurii, and like a loyal and patriotic 

citizen play the pirate. (E. O. Winstedt). 

Cic. Att. 13.6.1: De aquae ductu probe fecisti. Columnarium vide ne nullum 

debeamus; quamquam mihi videor audisse a Camillo commutatam esse legem. 

You have done quite right about the aqueduct. Make sure whether I owe any 

pillar-tax at all. However, I think I heard from Camillus that the law had been changed. 

(E.O. Winstedt).

Cic. Brut. 85: Memoria teneo Smyrnae me ex P. Rutilio Rufo audisse, cum diceret 

adulescentulo se accidisse, ut ex senatus consulto P. Scipio et D. Brutus, ut opinor, 

consules de re atroci magnaque quaererent. nam cum in silva Sila facta caedes esset 

notique homines interfecti insimulareturque familia, partim etiam liberi societatis eius, 

quae picarias de P. Cornelio L. Mummio censoribus redemisset, decrevisse senatum, ut 

de ea re cognoscerent et statuerent consules. 

I still remember an anecdote which I heard from Publius Rutilus at Smyrna: how 

in his early youth the consuls Publius Scipio and Decimus Brutus, I believe, were 

instructed by a resolution of the senate to investigate a great and shocking crime. It 

seems that in the forest of Sila murderer had been committed, resulting in the death of 

well-known men; and that slaves of the company’s household were under accusation, as 

well as some free members of the corporation which had leased the pine-pitch product 

from the censors Publius Cornelius and Lucius Mummius. The senate therefore had 

decreed that the consuls should make investigation of the charges and pass judgment. 

(G. L. Hendrickson). 

Cic. Div. 1.48: Hannibalem Coelius scribit, cum columnam auream, quae esset in fano 

Iunonis Laciniae, auferre vellet dubitaretque, utrum ea solida esset an extrinsecus 

inaurata, perterebravisse; cumque solidam invenisset, statuisse tollere; ei secundum 

quietem visam esse Iunonem praedicere, ne id faceret, minarique, si fecisset, se 

curaturam, ut eum quoque oculum, quo bene videret, amitteret. Idque ab homine acuto 

non esse neglectum; itaque ex eo auro quod exterebratum esset buculam curasse 

faciendam et eam in summa columna collocavisse. 

Coelius writes that Hannibal wished to carry off a golden column from Juno’s 

temple at Lacinium, but since he was in doubt whether it was solid or plated, he bored into 

it. Finding it solid he decided to take it away. But at night Juno came to him in a vision and 

warned him not to do so, threatening that if he did she would cause the loss of his good 

eye. That clever man did not neglect the warning. Moreover out of the gold filings he 

ordered an image of a calf to be made and placed on top of the column. 

(W. Armistead Falconer). 

307 

Cod. Theod. 10.19.2: IMP. IULIAUS A. AD RUFIUM COM(ITEM) OR(IETIS). 

Quoniam marmorum cupiditate in immensum quoddam saxorum pretia aucta sunt, ut 

sumptuosa voluntas copia relaxetur, permittimus omnibus, ut qui volunt caedere habeant 

licentiam adtributam. Fore enim arbitramur, ut etiam conplures saxorum nitentium venae 

in lumen usumque perveniant. DAT. XI KAL. OV. ATIOCHIAE IULIAO A. III ET 

SALLUSTO COSS. 

EMPEROR JULIAN AUGUSTUS TO RUFINUS, COUNT OF THE ORIENT. 

Since the desire for marble has enormously increased the price of such stone, in order that 

this expensive wish may be alleviated by an abundant supply, we permit that all men who 

wish to quarry shall have the license granted to them. For we consider that the result will 

be that very many veins of glistering stone will also come to light and into use. Given on 

the eleventh day before the kalends of October in the year of the third consulship of Julian 

Augustus and the consulship of Sallustius. - October 22, 363. (C. Pharr).

308 

Cod. Theod. 10.19.13: IDEM AAA. RUFIO P(RAEFECTO) P(RAETORI)O. 

Privatorum manus ab exercendo quolibet marmoreo metallo prohiberi praecipimus, ut 

fiscalibus instantia locis liberior relaxetur. Si qui vero clandestino opere vetita deinceps 

exercere temptaverit, omne id, quidquid exciderit, iuri fisci et publico vindicandum. DAT. 

PRID. ID. FEB. COSTATIOP(OLI) THEOD(OSIO) A. III ET ABUDATIO 

COSS. 

The same Augusti to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. We command that the hands of 

private persons shall be prohibited from operating any marble quarry whatever, so that the 

prosecution of such operations may be more freely indulged on fiscal lands. But if any 

person, working secretly, should hereafter attempt such operations, all that he may cut out 

shall be vindicated to the ownership of the fisc and of the public. Given on the day before 

the ides of February at Constantinople in the year of the third consulship of Theodosius 

Augustus and the consulship of Abundantius.-February 12, 393. (C. Pharr). 

Diod. Sic. 4.24.7: 

‘O d j JHraklh`~ meta; tw`n bow`n peraiwqei;~ eij~ th;n JItalivan proh`ge dia; th`~ 

paraliva~, kai; Lakivnion me;n klevptonta tw`n bow`n a;nei`le, Krovtwna de; ajkousivw~ 

ajpokteivna~ e[qafe megaloprepw`~ kai; tavfon aujtou` kateskeuvase: proei`pe de; kai;t 

oi`~ ejgcwrivoi~ o[ti kai; kata; tou;~ u[steron crovnou~ e[stai povli~ ejpivshmo~ 

ojmwvnumo~ tw`/ teteleuthkovti. 

Heracles then crossed over into Italy with the cattle and proceeded along the coast; 

there he slew Lacinius as he was attempting to steal some of the cattle, and to Croton, 

whom he killed by accident, he accorded a magnificent funeral and erected for him a tomb; 

and he foretold to the natives of the place that also in after times a famous city would arise 

which should bear the name of the man who had died. (C. H. Oldfather). 

Diod. Sic. 8.17.1-2: 

[Oti Muvskellov~ ti~ ∆Acaio;~ w]n tov gevno~ ejk ∆Ruvph~ kathvnthsen eij~ Delfou;~ 

kai; to;n qeo;n ejphrwvthse peri; tevknwn genevsew~: hj de; Puqiva ajvnei`len ou[tw~: 

Muvskelle bracuvnwte, filei` s j ejkavergo~ ∆Apovllwn, 

kai; genea;n dwvsei: tovde de; provterovn se keleuvei, 

oijkh`saiv se Krovtwna mevgan kalai`~ ejn ajrouvrai~. 

tou` de; Krovtwna ajgnou`nto~ eijpei`n pavlin th;n Puqivan, 

aujtov~ soi fravzei ejkathbovlo~: ajlla; sunivei. 

ou\to~ me;n Tafiov~ toi ajnhvroto~, h{de de; Calkiv~, 

h{de de; Kourhvtwn ... hj ijera; cqwvn, 

ai{de d ; ∆Ecinavde~ eijsiv: poluv~ d j ejp j ajristera; povnto~. 

ou{tw s j oujk a[n fhmi Lakinivou a[krou ajmartei`n 

oujd j ijera`~ Krimivsh~ oujd j Aijsavrou potamoiò. 

{Oti tou` crhsmou` prostavttonto~ Krovtwna ktivzein oj Muvskello~ th;n peri; th;n 

Suvbarin cwvran qaumavsa~ ejbouvleto ktivsai, kai; ejxevpese crhsmov~ aujtw'/ ou\to~, 

Muvskelle bracuvnwte, pare;k qeou` a[lla mateuvwn 

klauvmata masteuvei~: dw`ron d j o} didw`/ qeo;~ ai[nei.

Myscellus, an Achaean by birth, went from Rhype to Delphi and inquired of the god 

concerning the begetting of children. And the Pythian priestess gave him the following 

answer: 

Myscellus, too short of back, beloved art thou 

Of him, even Apollo, who works afar, 

And he will give thee children; yet this first 

Is his command, Croton the great to found 

Amidst fair fields. 

And since he did not understand the reference to Croton, the Pyhtian priestess gave answer 

a second time: 

To thee the Far-darter in person now doth speak, 

And give thou heed. Here lieth the Taphian land, 

Untouched by plow, and Chalcis there, and there 

The home of the Curetes, sacred soil, 

And there the isles of the Echinades: 

And on the islands’ left a mighty sea. 

This way thou cans’t not miss the Lacinian Head, 

Nor sacred Crimisa, nor Aesarus’ stream. 

Although the oracle thus commanded Myscellus to found Croton, he, because of his 

admiration of the territory of Sybaris, wished to found a city there; whereupon the 

following oracle was delivered to him: 

Myscellus, too short of back, in searching things 

Other than god commands, thou seekest naught 

But tears. Approve the gift the god doth give. (C. H. Oldfather). 

309 

Diod. Sic. 13.3.3-5: ejpei; d ja{pante" hjqroivsqhsan, diapleuvsante" to;n jIovnion 

povron pro;" a{kran jIapugivan kathnevcqhsan, kajkei`qen h[dh parelevgonto th;n 

jItalivan. ujpo; me;n ou\n Tarantivnwn ouj prosedevcqhsan, Metapontivnou" de; kai; 

jHrakleiwvta" parevpleusan: eij" de; Qourivou" katenecqevnte" pavntwn e[tucon 

tw`n filanqrwvpwn. ejkei`qen de; katapleuvsante" eij" Krovtwna, kai; labovnte" 

ajgora;n para; tw`n Krotwviatw`n, th`" te Lakiniva" {Hra" to; ijero;n parevpleusan 

kai; th;n Dioskouriavda kaloumevnhn a[kran ujperevqento. meta; de; tau`ta 

to; kalouvmenovn te Skullhvtion kai; Lokrou;" parhvllaxan, kai; tou` jRhgivou 

kaqormisqevnte" ejggu;" e[peiqon tou;" jRhgivnou" summacei`n: oij de; ajpekrivnanto 

bouleuvsesqai meta; tw`n a[llwn jItaliwtw`n. 

And when they (the Athenians at Corcyra) had all been assembled, they sailed 

across the Ionian Strait (the Otranto Channel) and came to land on the tip of Iapygia, from 

where they skirted along the coast of Italy. They were not received by the Tarantini, and 

they also sailed on past the Metapontines and Heracleians; but when they put in at Thurii 

they were accorded every kind of courtesy. From there they sailed on to Croton, from 

whose inhabitants they got a market, and then they sailed on past the temple of Hera 

Lacinia and doubled the promontory known as Dioscurias. After this they passed by 

Skylletium, as it is called, and Locri, and dropping anchor near Rhegium they endeavored 

to persuade the Rhegians to become their allies; but the Rhegians replied that they would 

consult with the other Greeks of Italy. (C. H. Oldfather).

Dion. Hal. Antiquitates Romanae 20.15.1-2: Oij Brevttioi ejkovnte" ujpotagevnte" 

jRwmaivoi" th;n hjmivseian th`" ojreinh`" parevdwkan aujtoi`", h} kalei`tai me;n Sivla, 

mesth; d j ejsti;n u{lh" eij" oijkodomav" te kai; nauphgiva" kai; pa`san a[llhn 

kataskeuh;n eujqevtou: pollh; me;n ga;r ejlavth pevfuken oujranomhvkh" ejn aujth,`/ 

pollh; de; ai[geiro", pollh; de; piveira peuvkh ojxuvh te kai; pivtu" kai; fhgo;" 

ajmfilafh;" kai; melivai tai`" diarreouvsai" libavsi pianovmenai, kai; pa`sa a[llh 

baqeià sunufainomevnh toi" klavdoi" u{lh skiero;n ajpotelou`sa di j o{lh" hjmevra" 

to; o[ro". 

jEx h`/" hj me;n e[ggista qalavtth" kai; potamw`n fuomevnh tmhqei`sa th;n ajpo; 

rjivzh" tomh;n ojlovklhro" ejpi; tou;" limevna" tou;" e[ggista katavgetai, pavsh/ 

diarkh;" jItaliva/ prov" te ta; nautika; kai; pro;" ta;" tw`n oijkiw`n kataskeuav": 

hj de; a[nw qalavtth" kai; potamw`n provsw karmasqei`sa kata; mevrh kwvpa" te 

parevcei: kai; kontou;" kai; o{pla pantoià kai; skeuvh ta; katoikivdia, foravdhn 

ujp j ajnqrwvpwn komizomevnh: hj de; pleivsth kai; piotavth pittourgei`tai kai; parevceip 

asw`n w\n i[smen hjmei`" eujwdestavthn te kai; glukutavthn th;n kaloumevnhn 

Brettivan pivttan: ajf j h\" megavlo" oj tw`n jRwmaivwn dh`mo" kaq j e{kaston ejniauto;n ej 

k tw`n misqwvsewn lambavnei prosovdou". 

The Bruttians, after submitting willingly to the Romans, delivered up to them onehalf 

of their mountainous district, called Sila, which is full of timber suitable for the 

building of houses and ships and every other kind of construction. For much fir grows 

there, towering to the sky, much black poplar, much pitch pine, beech, stone pine, widespreading 

oak, ash trees enriched by the streams flowing through their midst, and every 

other kind of tree with densely-intertwined branches that keep the mountain in shadow 

throughout the whole day. 

Of this timber, that which grows nearest the sea and rivers is felled at the root and 

taken down in full lengths to the nearest harbours, sufficient in quantity to serve all Italy 

for shipbuilding and the construction of houses. That which grows inland from the sea and 

remote from rivers is cut up in sections for the making of oars, poles and all kinds of 

domestic implements and equipment, and is carried out on men’s shoulders. But the largest 

and most resinous part of the timber is made into pitch, furnishing the most fragrant and 

sweetest pitch known to us, the kind called Bruttian, from the farming out of which the 

Roman people receive large revenues every year. (E. Cary). 

310 

Diod. Sic. 8.19.1-2: {Oti Mindurivdh" ... ajnacqh`naiv fasin ejk Subavrew" 

ejn penthkontovrw/ tou;" ejrevta"e[conta ijdivou" oijkevta", w\n ei\nai tou;" me;n ajliei`", t 

ou;" de; ojrniqoqhvra". 

Mindyrides … we are told, set sail from Sybaris in a ship of fifty oars, the rowers 

being slaves of his own household, some of them fishermen and others fowlers. (C. H. 

Oldfather). 

Diod. Sic. 13.3.3-5: ejpei; d ja{pante" hjqroivsqhsan, diapleuvsante" to;n jIovnion 

povron pro;" a{kran jIapugivan kathnevcqhsan, kajkei`qen h[dh parelevgonto th;n 

jItalivan. ujpo; me;n ou\n Tarantivnwn ouj prosedevcqhsan, Metapontivnou" de; kai; 

jHrakleiwvta" parevpleusan: eij" de; Qourivou" katenecqevnte" pavntwn e[tucon 

tw`n filanqrwvpwn. ejkei`qen de; katapleuvsante" eij" Krovtwna, kai; labovnte"

311 

ajgora;n para; tw`n Krotwviatw`n, th`" te Lakiniva" {Hra" to; ijero;n parevpleusan 

kai; th;n Dioskouriavda kaloumevnhn a[kran ujperevqento. meta; de; tau`ta 

to; kalouvmenovn te Skullhvtion kai; Lokrou;" parhvllaxan, kai; tou` jRhgivou 

kaqormisqevnte" ejggu;" e[peiqon tou;" jRhgivnou" summacei`n: oij de; ajpekrivnanto 

bouleuvsesqai meta; tw`n a[llwn jItaliwtw`n. 

And when they (the Athenians at Corcyra) had all been assembled, they sailed 

across the Ionian Strait (the Otranto Channel) and came to land on the tip of Iapygia, from 

where they skirted along the coast of Italy. They were not received by the Tarantini, and 

they also sailed on past the Metapontines and Heracleians; but when they put in at Thurii 

they were accorded every kind of courtesy. From there they sailed on to Croton, from 

whose inhabitants they got a market, and then they sailed on past the temple of Hera 

Lacinia and doubled the promontory known as Dioscurias. After this they passed by 

Skylletium, as it is called, and Locri, and dropping anchor near Rhegium they endeavored 

to persuade the Rhegians to become their allies; but the Rhegians replied that they would 

consult with the other Greeks of Italy. (C. H. Oldfather). 

Diod. Sic. 14.100: oiJ d∆ ∆Italoi; puqovmenoi th;n tou` Dionusivou diavbasin ejpi; to; 

ÔRhvgion, ajpevsteilan ejk Krovtwno~ nau`~ ejxhvkonta, speuvdonte~ paradou`nai 

toi`~ ÔRhgivnoi~. 

When the Italians learned that Dionysius had crossed the sea to attack Rhegium, 

they dispatched sixty ships from Croton, with intent to hand them over to the Rhegians. (C. 

H. Oldfather). 

Diod. Sic. 16.18.2: ou\to" me;n ou\n ejk Lokrw`n ajnacqei;" ejtevlei to;n eij" 

Surakouvssa" plou`n. 

Nypsius then set sail from Locri and completed the voyage to Syracuse. 

(C. L. Sherman). 

Diod. Sic. 22.8.3: ejmbibavsa" de; to;n a[llhn paraskeuhvn, ejxevpleusen 

ejk th`" Tavranto", kai; dekataiòi" eij" Lokrou;" kath`ren. 

He (Pyrrhus) embarked his men, his elephants, and his other equipment of war aboard 

his ships, set sail from Tarentum, and put it Locri on the tenth day. (F. R. Walton). 

Herod. 8.47: 

tw`n de; ejkto;~ touvtwn oijkhmevnwn Krotwnih`tai mou`noi h\san oi} ejbohvqhsan th`/ 

ÔEllavdi kinduneuouvsh/ mih/` nhiv, th`~ h\rce ajnh;r tri;~ puqionivkh~ Favullo~: 

Krotwnih`tai de; gevno~ eijsi; ∆Acaioiv. 

Of those that dwell farther off than these, the men of Croton alone came to aid 

Hellas in its peril, and they with one ship, whereof the captain was Phayllus, a victor in the 

Phytian games. These Crotoniats are of Achaean blood. (A. D. Godley). 

Hor. 2.1.156: Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit and artis intulit agresti Latio. 

Greece, the captive, made her savage victor captive, and brought the arts into 

rustic Latium. (H. Rushton Fairclough).

Livy 23.30.6: Isdem ferme diebus et Bruttiorum exercitus Crotonem, Graecam urbem, 

circumsedit, opulentam quondam armis virisque, tum iam adeo multis magnisque cladibus 

adflictam ut omnis aetatis minus duo milia civium superessent. 

About the same time an army of the Bruttians also besieged Croton, a Greek city 

formerly rich in arms and men, but even so crushed by so many disasters that, including all 

ages, less than two thousand citizens remained. (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 24.1.9: L. Atilio praefecto praesidii quique cum eo milites Romani erant clam in 

portum deductis atque impositis in navis, ut Regium deveherentur, Hamilcarem 

Poenosque... in urbem acceperunt. 

After Lucius Atilius, commander of the garrison, and the Roman soldiers who were 

with him had been secretly led down to the harbor and put on ships to be carried to 

Rhegium, they admitted Hamilcar and the Carthaginians into the city. (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy, 24.2.1-3: Sic a freto Poeni reducti frementibus Bruttiis quod Regium ac Locros, quas 

urbes direpturos se destinaverant, intactas reliquissent. Itaque per se ipsi conscriptis 

armatisque iuventutis suae quindecim milibus ad Crotonem oppugnandum pergunt ire, 

Graecam et ipsam urbem et maritimam, plurimum accessurum opibus, si in ora maris 

urbem ac portum moenibus validam tenuissent, credentes. 

Thus the Carthaginians were withdrawn from the Straits, though the Bruttians were 

indignant because they had left Rhegium and Locri untouched, the cities that they had 

counted upon plundering. And so without aid they enlisted and armed 15,000 of their 

young men and set out to besiege Croton, another Greek city and on the sea, believing that 

it would be a great addition to their resources if they should hold a fortified city and 

harbour on the sea-coast. (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy, 24.3.1-5: Urbs Croto murum in circuitu patentem duodecim milia passuum habuit 

ante Pyrrhi in Italiam adventum. Post vastitatem eo bello factam vix pars dimidia 

habitabatur; flumen, quod medio oppido fluxerat, extra frequentia tectis loca 

praeterfluebat, et arx procul eis erat quae habitabantur. Sex milia aberat ab urbe nobili 

templum ipsa urbe nobilius Laciniae Iunonis, sanctum omnibus circa populis. Lucus ibi 

frequenti silva et proceris abietis arboribus saeptus laeta in medio pascua habuit, ubi omis 

generis sacrum deae pecus pascebatur sine ullo pastore. 

The city of Croton had a wall with a circuit of twelve miles before the coming of 

Pyrrhus to Italy. Since the desolation caused by that war scarcely half of the city was 

inhabited. The river which had flowed through the middle of the city now flowed past, 

outside the quarters which had numerous houses, and the citadel was far from the inhabited 

portions. Six miles from the famous city was a temple more famous than the city itself, that 

of Lacinian Juno, revered by all the surrounding people. There a sacred grove, which was 

enclosed by dense woods and tall fir-trees, had in its centre luxuriant pastures, where cattle 

of all kind, being sacred to the goddess, used to pasture without any shepherd. (F. Gardner 

Moore). 

312

Livy, 24.3.6: Magni igitur fructus ex eo pecore capti, columnaque inde aurea solida facta 

et sacrata est. 

Therefore great profits were made from the cattle, and out of the profits a massive 

golden column was wrought and consecrated. (Trans: F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 24.3.12-5: Morituros se adfirmabant citius quam inmixti Bruttiis in alienos ritus 

mores legesque ac mox linguam etiam verterentur. Aristomachus unus, quando nec 

suadendo ad deditionem satis valebat nec, sicut urbem prodiderat, locum prodendae arcis 

inveniebat, transfugit ad Hannonem. Locrenses brevi post legati, cum permissu Hannonis 

arcem intrassent, persuadent ut traduci se in Locros paterentur nec ultima experiri vellent. 

Iam hoc ut sibi liceret impetraverant et ab Hannibale missis ad id ipsum legatis. Ita 

Crotone excessum est deductique Crotoniatae ad mare naves conscendunt. Locros omnis 

multitudo abeunt. 

They [Croton’s aristocrats] claimed that they would sooner die than mingle with 

the Bruttians and change to the rites, customs and laws, and presently even the language, of 

another people. Aristomachus, since he was unable by persuasion to bring them to 

surrender and could find no opportunity to betray the citadel, as he had betrayed the city, 

alone went over to Hanno. Soon after that the Locrians legates entered the citadel with 

Hanno’s consent and persuaded them to allow themselves to be transferred to Locri, and 

not to risk desperate measures. Permission to that effect they had already obtained from 

Hannibal, having sent legates for that very purpose. So Croton was evacuated, and the 

Crotonians were led down to the sea and went on shipboard. They went, the whole number 

of them, to Locri. (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 27.25.11: Locros in Bruttiis Crispinus oppugnare conatus, quia magnam famam 

attulisse Fabio Tarentum rebatur, omne genus tormentorum machinarumque ex Sicilia 

arcessierat; et naves indidem accitae erant quae vergentem ad mare partem urbis 

oppugnarent. 

Crispinus attempted to besiege Locri in the land of the Bruttii, because he thought 

that Tarentum had brought great repute to Fabius; and he had requisitioned artillery and 

machines of every kind from Sicily. And from the same quarter ships also had been sent 

for, to attack the part of the city facing the sea.” (F. Gardner Moore). 

313 

Livy 28.46.15: In Bruttiis nihil ferme anno eo memorabile gestum. Pestilentia incesserat 

pari clade in Romanos Poenosque, nisi quod Punicum exercitum super morbum etiam 

fames adfecit. Propter Iunonis Laciniae templum aestatem Hannibal egit, ibique aram 

condidit dedicavitque cum ingenti rerum ab se gestarum titulo, Punicis Graecisque litteris 

insculpto. 

In the land of the Bruttians virtually nothing notable was done that year. An 

epidemic, equally disastrous to both, had attacked Romans and Carthaginians, with this 

difference that in addition to disease hunger also weakened the Carthaginian army. 

Hannibal spent the summer near the temple of Juno Lacinia, and there erected an altar and 

dedicated it together with a great record of his achievements in a Punic and Greek 

inscription. (F. Gardner Moore).

Livy 29.7.7: Classis Romana a Messana Locros aliquot horis die superante accessit; 

expositi omnes e navibus et ante occasum solis urbem ingressi sunt. 

The Roman fleet sailing from Messana reached Locri while several hours of 

daylight remained. All were landed from the ships and before sunset they entered the city. 

(F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 29.8.9-11: am avaritia ne sacrorum quidem spoliatione abstinuit; nec alia modo 

templa violate, sed Proserpinae etiam intacti omni aetate thensauri, praeterquam quod a 

Pyrrho, qui cum magno piaculo sacrilegii sui manibus rettulit, spoliati dicebantur. Ergo 

sicut ante regiae naves laceratae naufragiis nihil in terram integri praeter sacram 

pecuniam deae quam asportabant extulerant... 

It goes without saying that their avarice (of the Romans who controlled Locri 

Epizephyri) did not refrain from despoiling even sacred things. And not only were other 

temples desecrated, but also the treasure-chambers of Proserpina, untouched in every age 

except that they were said to have been despoiled by Pyrrhus, who met with a signal 

punishment and restored the plunder gained by his sacrilege. Consequently, just as 

formerly the king’s ships, battered and wrecked, had landed nothing intact but the goddess’ 

sacred money which they were trying to carry away… (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 29.9.8: His Messanam nuntiatis Scipio post paucos dies Locros hexeri advectus cum 

causam Plemini et tribunorum audisset. 

These acts being reported to Messana, Scipio a few days later sailed to Locri on a 

six-oared ship to hear the case of Pleminius and the tribunes. (F. Gardner Moore). 

314 

Livy 30.20.5: Itaque inutili militum turba praesidii specie in oppida Bruttii agri quae 

pauca metu magis quam fide continebantur dismissa, quod roboris in exercitu erat in 

Africam transvexit, multis Italici generis, quia in Africam secuturos abnuentes 

concesserant in Iunonis Laciniae delubrum inviolatum ad eam diem, in templo ipso foede 

interfectis. 

After distributing the mass of useless troops, nominally as garrisons, among the 

few Bruttian towns that were being held rather by fear than by loyalty, he transported the 

flower of his army to Africa. Many men of Italic race refusing to follow him to Africa had 

retired to the shrine of Juno Lacinia, never desecrated until that day, and had been cruelly 

slain actually within the temple enclosure. (F. Gardner Moore). 

Livy 34.45.3-5: Tempsam item et Crotonem coloniae civium Romanorum deductae. 

Tempsanus ager de Bruttiis captus erat; Brutti Graecos expulerant; Crotonem Graeci 

habebant. Triumviri Cn. Octavius, L. Aemilius Paulus, C. Laetorius Crotonem, Tempsam 

L. Cornelius Merula, Q. * *, C. Salonius deduxerunt. 

Colonies of Roman citizens were established at Tempsa and Croton. The land of 

Tempsa had been taken from the Bruttii, who in turn had expelled the Greeks; Croton had 

been held by the Greeks. The triumvirs for Croton were Gnaeus Octavius, Lucius Aemilius 

Paulus, and Gaius Laetorius; for Tempsa, Lucius Cornelius Merula, Quintus …, and Gaius 

Salonius. (E. T. Sage).

Livy, 36.42.1-4: C. Livius praefectus Romanae classis, cum quinquaginta navibus tectis 

profectus ab Roma eapolim, quo ab sociis eius orae convenire iusserat apertas naves 

quae ex foedere debebantur, Siciliam inde petit fretoque Messanam praetervectus, cum sex 

Punicas naves ad auxilium missas accepisset et ab Reginis Locrisque et eiusdem iuris 

sociis debitas exegisset naves, lustrata classe ad Lacinium, altum petit. Corcyram, quam 

primam Graeciae civitatium adiit, cum venisset. 

Gaius Livius, commander of the Roman fleet, sailed with fifty decked vessels from 

Rome to Naples, where he had ordered the allies along the coast to assemble the undecked 

ships which they owed under the treaty, then headed for Sicily and, passing Messina 

through the strait, picked up six Carthaginian ships sent to aid him, received from the 

people of Rhegium and Locri and the other allies of the same status the ships which he had 

demanded of them, and having purified the fleet at Lacinium struck out into the deep. 

When he had arrived at Corcyra, the first city in Greece which he reached. 

[191 B.C.] (Trans: E. T. Sage). 

Livy, 42.3.1-11: Eodem anno aedis Iunonis Laciniae detecta. Q. Fulvius Flaccus 

censor aedem Fortunae Equestris, quam in Hispania praetor bello Celtiberico voverat, 

faciebat enixo studio ne ullum Romae amplius aut magnificentius templum esset. 

Magnum ornatum ei templo ratus adiecturum, si tegulae marmoreae essent, profectus 

in Bruttios aedem Iunonis Laciniae ad partem dimidiam detegit, id satis fore ratus ad 

tegendum quod aedificaretur. aves paratae fuerunt quae tollerent atque asportarent, 

auctoritate censoria sociis deterritis id sacrilegium prohibere. Postquam censor redit, 

tegulae expositae de navibus ad templum portabantur. Quamquam unde essent 

silebatur, non tamen celari potuit. Fremitus igitur in curia ortus est; ex omnibus 

partibus postulabatur ut consules eam rem ad senatum referrent. Ut vero accersitus in 

curiam censor venit, multo infestius singuli universique praesentem lacerare: templum 

augustissimum regionis eius, quod non Pyrrhus, non Hannibal violassent, violare 

parum habuisse, nisi detexisset foede ac prope diruisset. Detractum culmen templo, 

nudatum tectum patere imbribus putrefaciendum. Ad id censorem moribus regendis 

creatum? Cui sarta tecta exigere sacris publicis et locare tuenda more maiorum 

traditum esset, eum per sociorum urbes diruentem templa nudantemque tecta aedium 

sacrarum vagari! Et quod, si in privatis sociorum aedificiis faceret, indignum videri 

posset, id eum templa deum immortalium demolientem facere, et obstringere religione 

populum Romanum, ruinis templorum templa aedificantem, tamquam non iidem 

ubique di immortales sint, sed spoliis aliorum alii colendi exornandique! Cum 

priusquam referretur appareret quid sentirent patres, relatione facta in unam omnes 

sententiam ierunt ut eae tegulae reportandae in templum locarentur piaculariaque 

Iunoni fierent. Quae ad religionem pertinebant cum cura facta; tegulas relictas in area 

templi, quia reponendarum nemo artifex inire rationem potuerit, redemptores 

nuntiarunt. 

In the same year (173 B.C.) the temple of Juno Lacinia was stripped off of its 

roof. Quintus Fulvius Flaccus as censor was building the temple to Fortuna Equestris 

which he had vowed while praetor in Spain during the Celtiberian war, striving 

zealously that there should be no temple in Rome larger or more splendid. Considering 

315

that it would add great beauty to the temple if the roof tiles were of marble, he set out 

for Bruttium and stripped the temple of Juno Lacinia of its tiles up to half their number, 

thinking that these would be sufficient to cover the building which was now being 

erected. Ships were made ready to load and transport them, the inhabitants being 

prevented by the censor’s high office from forbidding the sacrilege. When the censor 

returned the tiles were unloaded from the ships and were being taken to the temple. 

Although nothing was said as to where they were obtained, yet such an act could not be 

concealed. There was accordingly an outcry in the senate: from all sides the demand 

was made that the consuls should lay the question before that body. But when the 

censor was summoned and entered the senate-house, one and all assailed him to his 

face far more violently: the most venerable shrine of that region, a shrine which neither 

Pyrrhus nor Hannibal had violated, he had not been content with violating but had 

shamefully robbed it of its covering and well-night destroyed it. The top, they said, had 

been torn from the temple and the bare framing laid open to be rotted by the rains. Was 

it for this, they demanded, that a censor was chosen to control behaviour? That the 

magistrate to whom had been entrusted, in the fashion of the forefathers, the duty of 

enforcing the repair of public shrines and of contracting for their maintenance, was 

himself roving through the cities of the allies plundering the temples and stripping off 

the roofs of sacred edifices! A thing, they continued, which might well seem unworthy 

if done to private buildings of the allies, he was doing when he destroyed the temples 

of the immortal gods, and fastening upon the Roman people the guilt of impiety, 

building temples with the ruins of temples, just as if the immortal gods were not the 

same everywhere, but that some should be worshipped and adorned with the spoils of 

others! When it was clear, before the vote was taken, what the sentiment of the Fathers 

was, when the motion was put, all unanimously decreed that a contract should be let 

for carrying the tiles back to the temple and that atonements should be offered to Juno. 

These matters which concerned expiation were scrupulously performed; the contractors 

reported that the tiles had been left in the court of the temple because no workman 

could devise a plan for replacing them. (C. Schlesinger). 

Livy 42.48.6-7: Praemissus a praetore est frater M. Lucretius cum quinqueremi una, 

iussusque ab sociis ex foedere acceptis navibus ad Cephallaniam classi occurrere. Ab 

Reginis triremi una sumpta, ab Locris duabus... 

The praetor sent his brother Marcus Lucretius on in advance with one quinquireme, 

with orders to meet the fleet at Cephallania with the ships received from the allies 

according to the treaty. After taking on one trireme from Rhegium, two from Locri… 

(A.C. Schlesinger). 

Luc. 10.107-17: Pax ubi parta ducis donisque ingentibus empta est, / Excepere epulae 

tantarum gaudia rerum, / Explicuitque suos magno Cleopatra tumultu / ondum 

translatos Romana in saecula luxus. / Ipse locus templi, quod vix corruptior aetas 

Extruat, instar erat; laqueataque tecta ferebant / Divitias, crassumque trabes 

absconderat aurum. / ec summis crustata domus sectisque nitebat / Marmoribus, 

316

stabatque sibi non segnis achates / Purpureusque lapis, totaque effusus in aula / 

Calcabatur onyx. 

When Caesar’s favour was gained and bought by mighty gifts, so joyful an event 

was followed by a feast; great was the bustle, as Cleopatra displayed her magnificence 

–magnificence which Roman society has not yet adopted. The place itself was the size 

of a temple, such a temple as a corrupt age would hardly rear; the panels of the ceiling 

displayed wealth, and the rafters were hidden beneath a thick coating of gold. The 

walls shone with marble; nor were they merely overlaid with a thin surface of it; and 

agate stood there on its own account, no useless ornament, and porphyry. Alabaster 

was laid all over the hall to tread on. (J.D. Duff). 

Ov. Fast. 4.64: ec tibi sit mirum Graio rem nomine dici: Itala nam tellus Graecia major 

erat. 

And it should not be surprising for you to be called with a Greek name: the Italian 

land was indeed Greater Greece. (D. Bartoli). 

Ov. Met. 15.700-6: Ionium zephirys sextae Pallantidos ortu / Italiam tenuit praeterque 

Lacinia templo / nobilitata deae Scylaceque litora fertur; / linquit Iapygiam laevisque 

Amphrisia remis / saxa fugit, dextra praerupta Celennia parte / Romethiumque legit 

Caulonaque aryciamque / evincitque fretum Siculique angusta Pelori… 

Carried by gentle breezes over the Ionian Sea, at dawn on the sixth day he reached 

Italy, and sailed along past the shores of Lacinium, famed for Juno’s temple, and past the 

coast of Scylacium. He left Iapygia behind him, and was rowed past the rocks of 

Amphrisia on the left, the cliffs of Cocinthus on the right. Coasting by Romethium, by 

Caulon and Narycia, he sailed through the narrow strait of the Sicilian Pelorus... 

(M. Innes). 

317 

Paus. 10.9.2: 

Fauvlw/ de; Krotwniavth - ∆Olumpivasi me;n oujk e[stin aujtw/` nivkh. tav~ de; Puqoi` 

pentavqlou du;o ajneivleto kai; stadivou th;n trivthn: ejnaumavchse de; kai; ejnantiva 

tou` Mhvdou nau`n te paraskeuasavmeno~ oijkeivan, kai; Krotwniatw`n oJpovsi 

ejpedhvmoun th`/ ∆Ellavdi ajnebivbase - touvtou ejstin ajndria;~ ejn Delfoi`~. 

Phayllus from Croton – He did not get a victory in Olympia, but he won twice in 

the pentathlon and the third time in the run at the Pythian Games. He fought in the naval 

battle against the Persians after having geared up his own ship, and he put on board all the 

Crotoniats who lived in Greece – He has a statue in Delphi. (D. Bartoli). 

Petron. Sat. 116: Hoc peracto libenter officio destinatum carpimus iter ac momento 

temporis in montem sudantes conscendimus, ex quo haud procul impositum arce sublimi 

oppidum cernimus. ec quod esset, sciebamus errantes, donec a vilico quodam Crotona 

esse cognovimus, urbem antiquissimam et aliquando Italiae primam. Cum deinde 

diligentius exploraremus, qui homines inhabitarent nobile solum, quodve genus 

negotiationis praecipue probarent post attritas bellis frequentibus opes, “O mi” inquit 

“hospites, si negotiatores estis, mutate propositum aliudque vitae praesidium quaerite. Sin

autem urbanioris notae homines sustinetis semper mentiri, recta ad lucrum curritis. In hac 

enim urbe non litterarum studia celebrantur, non eloquentia locum habet, non frugalitas 

sanctique mores laudibus ad fructum perveniunt, sed quoscunque homines in hac urbe 

videritis, scitote in duas partes esse divisos. am aut captantur aut captant. In hac urbe 

nemo liberos tollit, quia quisquis suos heredes habet, non ad cenas, non ad spectacula 

admittitur, sed omnibus prohibetur commodis, inter ignominosos latitat. 

We gladly performed this last office, and then took up our proposed way, and in a 

short while came sweating to a mountain top, from which we saw, not far off, a town set 

on a high peak. We had lost ourselves, and did not know what it was, until we learned from 

a farm-bailiff that it was Croton, a town of great age, and once the first city in Italy. When 

we went on to inquire particularly what men lived on such honoured soil, and what kind of 

business pleased them best, now that their wealth had been brought low by so many wars, 

the man replied, “My friends, if you are business men, change your plans and look for 

some other safe way of life. But if you profess to be men of a superior stamp and throughpaced 

liars, you are on the direct road to wealth. In this city the pursuit of learning is not 

esteemed, eloquence has no place, economy and a pure life do not win their reward in 

honour: know that the whole of the men you see in this city are divided into two classes. 

They are either the prey of legacy-hunting or legacy-hunter themselves. In this city no one 

brings up children, because anyone who has heirs of his own stock is never invited to 

dinner or to the theatre; he is deprived of all advantages, and lies in the obscurity among 

the base-born. (M. Heseltine). 

Petron. Sat. 117: “Quid vos” inquit “iumentum me putatis esse aut lapidariam 

navem? Hominis operas locavi, non caballi. 

“What’s wrong with you -he asked- do you think I am a beast of burden or a 

stone carrier? I made arrangements for the services of a man, not a horse!” (D. Bartoli) 

Plin. Ep. 10.41: C. PLIIUS TRAIAO IMPERATORI […] Est in icomedensium 

finibus amplissimus lacus. Per hunc marmora fructus ligna materiae et sumptu modico 

et labore usque ad viam navibus, inde magno labore maiore impendio vehiculis ad 

mare devehuntur (...lacuna...) hoc opus multas manus poscit. [...] Superest ut tu 

libratorem vel architectum si tibi videbitur mittas, qui diligenter exploret, sitne lacus 

altior mari, quem artifices regionis huius quadraginta cubitis altiorem esse 

contendunt. Ego per eadem loca invenio fossam a rege percussam, sed incertum utrum 

ad colligendum umorem circumniacentium agrorum an ad committendum flumini 

lacum; est enim imperfecta. 

Pliny to Trajan. “There is a sizeable lake not far from Nicomedia, across which 

marble, farm produce, wood, and timber for building are easily and cheaply brought by 

boat as far as the main road; after which everything has to be taken on to the sea by 

cart, with great difficulty and increased expense. (To connect the lake with the sea) 

would require a great deal of labour, but there is no lack of it. […] It remains for you to 

send an engineer or an architect, if you think fit, to make an accurate survey and 

determine whether the lake is above sea-level. The local experts say that it is forty 

cubits above. I have looked at the site myself and find there is a canal dug by one of 

318

the former kings of Bithynia, though whether this was intended to drain the 

surrounding fields or to connect the lake with the river I am not sure; it was left 

unfinished, and again I cannot say if this was because the king died suddenly or 

despaired finishing the work. (B. Radice). 

Plin. Ep. 10.42: TRAIAUS PLIIO. Potest nos sollicitare lacus iste, ut committere 

illum mari velimus; sed plane explorandum est diligenter, ne si emissus in mare fuerit 

totus effluat certe, quantum aquarum et unde accipiat. Poteris a Calpurnio Macro 

petere libratorem, et ego hinc aliquem tibi peritum eius modi operum mittam. 

Trajan to Pliny. “I may perhaps be tempted to think of connecting this lake of 

yours with the sea, but there must be first be an accurate survey to find how much 

water the lake contains and from what source it is filled, or else it might be completely 

drained once it is given an outlet to the sea. You can apply to Calpurnius Macer for an 

engineer, and I will send you out someone who has experience of this sort of work. (B. 

Radice). 

Plin. H 3.10.95-6: A Locris Italiae frons incipit Magna Graecia appellate, in tris sinus 

recedens Ausonii maris, quoniam Ausones tenuere primi. Patet LXXXVI, ut auctor est 

Varro; plerique LXXV fecere. In ea ora flumina innumera, sed memoratu dignu a Locris 

Sagra et vestigia oppidi Caulonis, Mustiae, Consilinum castrum, Cocynthum quod esse 

longissimum Italiae promontorium aliqui existumant, dein sinus et urbs Scolagium, 

Scylletium Atheniensibus cum conderent dictum; quem locum occurrens Terinaeus sinus 

peninsulam efficit, et in ea portus qui vocatur Castra Hannibalis, nusquam angustiore 

Italia: XX p. latitudo est. itaque Dionysius maior intercisam eo loco adicere Siciliae voluit. 

Amnes ibi navigabiles Carcinus, Crotalus, Semirus, Arogas, Thagines, oppidum intus 

Petilia, mons Clibanus, promunturium Lacinium, cuius ante oram insula X a terra 

Dioscoron, altera Calypsus quam Ogygiam appellasse Homerus existimatur, praeterea 

Tyris, Eranusa, Meloessa, ipsum a Caulone abesse LXX prodit Agrippa. 

At Locri begins the projection of Italy called Magna Graecia, retiring into the three 

bays of the Ausonian Sea, so called from the first inhabitants the Ausones. According to 

Varro its length is 86 miles, but most authorities have made it 75. On this coast are rivers 

beyond count; but the places worthy of mention, beginning at Locri, are the Sagra River 

and the ruins of Caulonia’s higher city, then Monasterace, Camp Consilinum, Punta Stilo 

(thought by some to be the longest promontory in Italy), then the gulf and city of 

Scolacium, called by the Athenians when founded it Skylletion. This part of the country is 

made into a peninsula by the Gulf of Santa Eufemia which runs up to it, and on it is the 

harbour called Hannibal’s camp. It is the narrowest part of Italy, which is here 20 miles 

across, and consequently the elder Dionysius wanted to cut a canal across the peninsula in 

this place, and annex it to Sicily. The navigable rivers in this district are the Corace, Alli, 

Simari, Crocchio, and Tacina; it contains the inland town of Strongoli, the range of the 

Monte Monacello, and the promontory of Lacinium, off the coast of which ten miles out 

lies the Island of the Sons of Zeus and another called Calypso’s Island, which is thought to 

be Homer’s island of Ogygia, and also Tyris, Eranusa and Meloessa. According to Agrippa 

the distance of the promontory of Lacinium from Caulon is 70 miles. (H. Rackham). 

319

320 

Plin. H 3.11.97: A Lacinio promunturio secundus Europae sinus incipit magno ambitu 

flexus et Acroceraunio Epiri finitus promunturio, a quo abest LXXV. Oppidum Croto, 

amnis eaethus, oppidum Thurii inter duos amnes Crathim et Sybarim, ubi fuit urbs 

eodem nomine. Similiter est inter Sirim et Acirim Heraclea aliquando Siris vocitata. 

Flumina Acalandrum, Casuentum, oppidum Metapontum, quo tertia Italiae regio finitur. 

At the promontory of Lacinium begins the second Gulf of Europe; it curves round 

in a large bay and ends in Acroceraunium, a promontory of Epirus; the distance from cape 

to cape is 75 miles. Here are the fortress of Croton, the river Neto, and the fortress of 

Thurii between the rivers Crati and Sybaris, on which once stood the city of the same 

name. Likewise Heraclea, once called Siris, lies between the Siris and the Aciris. Then the 

rivers Salandra and Bassiento, and the fortress of Metapontum, where the third region of 

Italy ends. (H. Rackham). 

Plin. H 14.25.123: Pudetque confiteri maximum iam honorem eius esse in evellendis 

virorum corpori pilis. 

And I am ashamed to confess that the chief value now set on resin is for use as a 

depilatory for men. (H. Rackham). 

Plin. H 14.25.127: Pix in Italia ad vasa vino condendo maxime probatur Buttia. 

The pitch most highly esteemed in Italy for vessels intended for storing wine is that 

which comes from the Bruttii. (H. Rackham). 

Plin. H 16.22.53: Bruttian cognomen accepit… lentore ab alia pice differens, item 

colore rutilante et quod pinguior est reliqua omni illa. 

And it has given the name of Bruttian pitch… and differs from other pitch by its 

viscosity and also by its reddish color and because it is greasier than all the rest. (H. 

Rackham). 

Plin. H 16.56.201: Abies admirationis praecipuae visa est in nave quae ex Aegypto Gai 

principis iussu obeliscum in Vaticano circo statutum quattuorque truncos lapidis eiusdem 

ad sustinendum eum adduxit; qua nave nihil admirabilius visum in mari certum est. CXX 

modium lentis pro saburra ei fuere: longitudo spatium obtinuit magna ex parte Ostiensis 

portus latere laevo; ibi namque demersa est Claudio principe cum tribus molibus turrium 

altitudine in ea exaedificatis, factis ob id ex Puteolano pulvere advectisque. 

An especially wonderful fir was seen in the ship which brought from Egypt at the 

order of the emperor Gaius the obelisk erected in the Vatican Circus and four shafts of the 

same stone to serve as its base. It is certain that nothing more wonderful than this ship has 

ever been seen on the sea: it carried one hundred and twenty bushels of lentils for ballast, 

and its length took up a large part of the left side of the harbor of Ostia, for under the 

emperor Claudius it was sunk there, with three moles as high as towers erected upon it that 

had been made of Pozzuoli cement for the purpose and conveyed to the place. 

(H. Rackham).

321 

Plin. H 24.23.37: Spissarum utilissima medicinae Bruttia, quoniam pinguissima et 

resinosissima. 

Of the thick pitches the most useful in medicine is the Bruttian, because being both 

very rich and very resinous. (W.H.S. Jones). 

Plin. H 35.34: Lignea potius aut fictilia deorum simulacra in delubris dicata, usque 

ad devictam Asia, unde luxuria. 

The images of the gods placed in the temples were made preferably of wood or 

terracotta until the conquest of Asia, from where all the extravagance came. 

(D. Bartoli). 

Plin. H 36.1.2-3.: Promunturia aperiuntur mari, et rerum natura agitur in planum; 

evehimus ea quae separandis gentibus pro terminis constituta erant, navesque 

marmorum causa fiunt, ac per fluctus, saevissimam rerum naturae partem, huc illuc 

portantur iuga, maiore etiamnum venia quam cum ad frigidos potus vas petitur in 

nubila caeloque proximae rupes cavantur, ut bibatur glacie. 

Headlands are laid open to the sea, and nature is flattened. We remove the barriers 

created to serve as the boundaries of nations, and ships are built especially for marble. And 

so, over the waves of the sea, Nature’s wildest element, mountain ranges are transported to 

and fro, and even then with the greater justification than we can find for climbing to the 

clouds in search of vessels to keep our drinks cool, and for hollowing our rocks that almost 

reach the heavens, so that we may drink from ice. (D.E. Eichholz). 

Plin. H 36.2.6: Etiamne tacuerunt, maximas earum atque adeo duodequadragenum 

pedum Lucullei marmoris in atrio Scauri conlocari? 

Were not (the laws) silent also when the largest of those columns, which were 

each fully 38 feet long and of Lucullean marble, were placed in the hall of Scaurus’ 

house? (D.E. Eichholz) 

Plin. H 36.2.7: Iam L. Crassum oratorem illum, qui primus peregrini marmoris 

columnas habuit in eodem Palatio, Hymettias tamen nec plures sex aut longiores 

duodenum pedum, M. Brutus in iurgiis ob id Venerem Palatinam appellaverat. 

The orator L. Crassus, having been the first to install, also on the Palatine, 

columns of foreign marble, columns which were after all merely of Hymettus marble 

and not more than six in number and more than 12 feet each in length, was in 

consequence nicknamed by Marcus Brutus the Palatine Venus. (D.E. Eichholz) 

Plin. H 36.5.46: Primum, ut arbitror, versicolores istas maculas Chiorum lapicidinae 

ostenderunt, cum exstruerent muros, faceto in id M. Ciceronis sale –omnibus enim 

ostentabant ut magnificum: -multo, inquit, magis mirarer, si Tiburtino lapide fecisset. 

In my opinion, the first specimens of our favourite marbles with their parti-coloured 

markings appeared from the quarries of Chios when the people of that island were 

building their walls. Hence the witty remark made at the expense of this work by 

Cicero. It was their practice to show it as a splendid structure to all their visitors; and

his remark to them was ‘I should be much more amazed if you had made it of stone 

from Tibur.’ (D.E. Eichholz). 

Plin. H 36.8.49-50: M. Lepidus Q. Catuli in consulatu conlega primus omnium 

limina ex umidico marmore in domo posuit magna reprensione. Is fuit consul anno 

urbis DCLXXVI. Hoc primum invecti umidici marmoris vestigium invenio, non in 

columnis tamen crustisve, ut sopra Carystii, sed in massa ac vilissimo limino usu. Post 

hunc Lepidum quadriennio L. Lucullus consul fuit, qui nomen, ut ex re apparet, 

Luculleo marmori dedit, admodum delectatus illo, primusque Romam invexit, atrum 

alioqui, cum cetera maculis aut coloribus commendentur. ascitur autem in Chio 

[Teo] insula, solumque paene hoc marmor ab amatore nomen accepit. 

Marcus Lepidus, who was consul with Quintus Catulus, was the very first to lay 

down door-sills of Numidian marble in his house; and for this he was sharply 

criticized. He was consul in the 676 th year after the founding of the city (78 B.C.) This 

is the first indication I can find of the importing of Numidian marble. The marble, 

however, was not in the form of columns or slabs, like the Carystus mentioned above, 

but came in blocks to be used in the most sordid manner –ad door-sills! Four years 

after the consulship of this Lepidus came that of Lucius Lucullus, who gave his name, 

as is evident from the facts, to Lucullean marble. He took a great delight in this marble 

and introduced it to Rome, although it is in general black and all other marbles are 

favoured because of their markings or colours. It is found in the island of Chios 

[reading uncertain, emend as Teos] and is almost the only marble to have derived its 

name from that of a devotee. (D.E. Eichholz) 

Plin. H 36.14.70-1: [70]. Super omnia accessit difficultas mari Romam devehendi, 

spectatis admodum navibus. Divus Augustus eam quae priorem advexerat miraculi 

gratia Puteolis perpetuis navalibus dicaverat; incendio consumpta ea est. Divus 

Claudius aliquot per annos adservatam qua C. Caesar inportaverat, omnibus quae 

umquam in mari visa sunt mirabiliorem, in ipsa turribus Puteolis e pulvere 

exaedificatis, perductam Ostiam portus gratia mersit. Alia ex hoc cura navium quae 

Tiberi subvehant, quo experimentuo patuit non minus aquarum huic amni esse quam 

ilo. [71]. Is autem obeliscus quem divus Augustus in circo magno statuit excisus est a 

rege Psemetnepserphreo, quo regnante Pythagoras is Aegypto fuit, LXXXV pedum et 

dodrantis praeter basim eiusdem lapidis; is vero, quem in campo Martio, novem 

pedibus minor, a Sesothide. Inscripti ambo rerum naturae interpretationem 

Aegyptiorum philosophia continent. 

Above all, there came also the difficult task of transporting obelisks to Rome 

by sea. The ships used attracted much attention from sightseers. That which carried the 

first of two obelisks was solemnly laid up by Augustus of Revered Memory in a 

permanent dock at Puteoli to celebrate the remarkable achievement; but later it was 

destroyed by fire. The ship used by the Emperor Gaius for bringing a third was 

carefully preserved for several years by Claudius of Revered Memory; for it was the 

most amazing thing that had ever been seen at sea. Then caissons made of cement were 

erected in its hull at Puteoli; whereupon it was towed to Ostia and sunk there by order 

322

of the emperor, so to contribute to his harbor-works. Then there is another problem, 

that of providing ships that can carry obelisks up the Tiber; and the successful 

experiment shows that the river has just as deep a channel as the Nile. [71] The obelisk 

placed by Augustus of Revered Memory in the Circus Maximus was cut by King 

Psemetnepserphreus, who was reigning when Pythagoras was in Egypt, and measures 

85 feet and 9 inches (25.39 m), apart from its base, which forms part of the same stone. 

The obelisk in the Campus Martius, however, which is 9 feet less, was cut by Sesothis. 

Both have inscriptions comprising an account of natural science according to the 

thories of the Egyptian sages. (D.E. Eichholz). 

Plin. H 36.24.114-5: (Marcus Scaurus) in aedilitate hic sua fecit opus maximum 

omnium quae umquam fuere humanu manu facta, non temporaria mora, verum etiam 

aeternitatis destinatione. Theatrum hoc fuit; scaena ei triplex in altitudinem CCCLX 

columnarum in ea civitate quae sex Hymettias non tulerat sine probro civis amplissimi. 

Ima pars scaenae e marmore fuit, media e vitro, inaudito etiam postea genere luxuriae; 

summa e tabulis inauratis; columnae, ut diximus, imae duodequadragenum pedum. 

(Marcus Scaurus) as aedile he constructed the greatest of all the works ever 

made by a man, a work that surpassed not merely those erected for a limited period but 

even those intended to last for ever. This was his theatre, which had a stage arranged in 

three storeys with 360 columns; and this, if you please, in a community that had not 

tolerated the presence of six columns of Hymettus marble without reviling a leading 

citizen. The lowest storey of the stage was of marble, and the middle one of glass (an 

extravagance unparalleled even in later times), while the top storey was made of gilded 

planks. The columns of the lowest storey were, as I have stated, each 38 feet high. 

(D.E. Eichholz). 

323 

Plut. Alex. 34.2: e[pemye de; kai; Krotwniavtai~ eij~ ∆Italivan mevro~ tw`n lafuvrwn, 

th;n Fauvllou tou` ajqlhtou` timw`n proqumivan kai; ajrethvn, o}~ peri; ta; Mhdika; 

tw`n a[llwn ∆Italiwtw`n ajpegnwkovtwn tou;~ [Ellhna~ ijdiovstolon e[cwn nau`n 

e[pleusen eij~ Salami`na, tou` kinduvnou ti meqevxwn. 

He [Alexander] sent also to the people of Croton in Italy a portion of the spoils, 

honouring the zeal and valour of their athlete Phayllus, who, in the Median wars, when the 

rest of the Greeks in Italy refused to help their brother Greeks, fitted out a ship at his own 

cost and sailed with it to Salamis, that he might have some share in the peril there. (B. 

Perrin). 

Plut. Pomp. 24.6: 

tw`n de; ajsuvlwn kai; ajbavtwn provteron iJerw`n ejxevkoyan ejpiovnte~ […] th`~ de; 

[Hra~ to;n ejn Savmw/, to;n ejn {Argei, to;n ejpi; Lakinivw/. 

Besides, they [the pirates] attacked and plundered places of refuge and sanctuaries 

hitherto inviolate, such as [...] those of Hera at Samos, at Argos, and at Lacinium. 

(B. Perrin).

324 

Plut. Vit. Cat. Mai. 21.5: ‘Aptovmeno" de; suntonwvteron porismou` th;n me;n 

gewrgivan ma`llon hjgei`to diagwgh;n h} provsodon, eij" d j ajsfalh` pravgmata kai; 

bevbaia katatiqevmeno" ta;" ajforma;" ejkta`to livmna" u{data qermav, tovpou" 

knafeu`sin ajneimevnou", e[rga pivssia, cwvran e[cousan aujtofuei`" noma;" kai; u[la", 

ajf j w\n aujtw`/ crhvmata proshv/ei polla; mhd j ujpo; tou` Diov", w{" fhsin aujtov", 

blabh`nai dunamevnwn. 

However, as he (Cato the Elder) applied himself more strenuously to moneygetting, 

he came to regard agriculture as more entertaining that profitable, and invested his 

capital in business that was safe and sure. He bought ponds, hot springs, districts given 

over to fullers, pitch factories, land with natural pasture and forest, all of which brought 

him large profits and “could not”, to use his own phrase, “be ruined by Jupiter.” (B. 

Perrin). 

Polyaenus, Strat. 6.11: 

jAristeivdh~ jEleavth~ Dionusivw/ poliorkou'nti Kaulwnivan ejpevlei meta; dwvdeka 

trihvrwn. o`]\ de; sunidw;n ejpanhvcqh pevnte kai; devka nau`~ plhrwvsa~. jAristeivdh~ 

uJpostrevfa~ uJpocwrei` kai; nukto;~ genomevnh~ ejkevleusen a|rai tou;~ lampth`ra~, 

oi|~ aiJ tou` Dionisivou nhè~ ei{ponto. meta; mikro;n de; touvtou~ kaqelovnte~ eJtevrou~k 

aqh`kan ej~ th;n qalattan felloi`~ megavloi~ ejfhrmosmevnou~ kajk tou` fwto;~ ej~ 

to; plavgion ejpistrevfante~ e[fqasan ej~ th;n Kaulwnivan katapleuvsante~ tw`n 

peri; Dionuvsion pro;~ th;n ajpo; tw`n fellw`n aujgh;n planwmevnwn. 

Aristeides from Elea sailed with 12 triremes to fight Dyonisus who was besieging 

Caulonia. When Dyonisus saw him, he sailed against him with 15 ships. Aristeides then 

withdrew his ships and when night came, gave the order to raise the ships’ lanterns to have 

Dyonisus’ ships following them. After a while, he lowered them and dropped some at sea 

on some floating cork devices. After having done so, he sailed towards Caulonia’s landing 

place arriving earlier than Dyonisus’ men, who were still following the light coming from 

the floating devices. (D. Bartoli) 

Polyb. 3.33.18: hJmei{~ ga;r euJrovnte~ ejpi; Lakinivw/ th;n grafh;n tauvthn ejn calkwvmati 

katatetagmevnhn uJp∆ ∆Annivbou, kaq∆ ou}~ kairou;~ ejn toi`~ kata; th;n ∆Italivan 

tovpoi~ ajnestrevfeto, pavntw~ ejnomivsamen aujth;n periv ge tw`n toiouvtwn 

ajxiovpiston ei\nai: dio; kai; katakolouqei`n ei\lovmeqa th`/ grafh/` tauvth/. 

I myself found on Lacinium a bronze tablet, which Hannibal had caused to be 

inscribed with these particulars when he was in Italy; and holding it to be an entirely 

trustworthy authority for such facts, I did not hesitate to follow it. (E.S. Shuckburgh). 

Polyb. 3.56.4: 

tevlo~ de; th;n me;n pa`san poreivan ejk Kainh`~ povlew~ ejn pevnte mhsi; poihsavmeno~t 

h;n de; tw`n [Alpewn uJperbolh;n hJmevrai~ dekapevnte kath`re tolmhrw`~ eij~ ta; 

peri; to;n Pavdon pediva kai; to; tw`n ∆Insovmbrwn e[qno~, e[cwn to; diasw/zovmenon 

mevro~ th`~ me;n tw`n Libuvwn dunavmew~ pezou;~ murivou~ kai; discilivou~, 

th`~ de; tw`n ∆Ibhvrwn eij~ ojktakiscilivou~, iJppei`~ de; tou;~ pavnta~ ouj pleivou~ 

eJxakiscilivwn, w\~ aujto;~ ejn th`/ sthvlh/ th/` peri; tou` plhvqou~ ejcouvsh/ 

th;n ejpigrafh;n ejpi; Lakinivw/ diasafei`.

325 

The whole march from New Carthage had occupied five months, the actual passage 

of the Alps fifteen days, and he now boldly entered the valley of the Padus, and the 

territory of the Insubres, with such of his army as survived, consisting of twelve thousand 

Libyans and eight thousand Iberians, and not more than six thousand cavalry in all, as he 

himself distinctly states on the stelae erected on the promontory of Lacinium to record the 

numbers. (E.S. Shuckburgh). 

Porph. Pyth. 56: Puqagovran de; kratoumevnwn tw`n fivlwn to; me;n prw`ton 

eij" Kaulwnivan to;n o{rmon swqh`nai, ejkei`qen de; pavlin ej" Lokrouv". puqomevnou" de; t 

ou;" Lokrou;" tw`n gerovntwn tina;" ejpi; ta; th`" cwvra" o{ria ajpostei`lai. 

Pythagoras then, after his friends had been defeated, first looked for shelter in the 

small anchorage of Caulonia, and then from there in Locri. (D. Bartoli). 

P Panopolis 2, 43-50: 

Aujrhvl[i]o~ jIsivdwro~ ejpivtropo~ th`~ katwtevrw [qhbaivdo~ stra(thgoi`~) th`]~ 

ejpitrph`~ caivrein. tw`n ajpostellomevnwn ejvn Suhvnh/ ploivwn dhmosivwn devka dia; t 

h;n tw`n kiovnwn [kat]akomidh;n oujk uJpodexamevnwn pavnta~ kai; th`~ 

katakomidh`[~ ajnagkaiotavth~] ou[sh~ ejdevhsen kai; e[tera ajposta[lh`nai i[na] 

tou;~ loipou;~ uJpodexavmena katakomivsein ejpi; th;n jAle[xavndre]ian: a[per eij 

mh; tuvcoi bohqeiva~ iJkanh`~ tw`n ajnevmwn ep[…………..]…..n tugcanovntwn to;n 

kairo;n paradramei`tai kaq jo}n dehvsei eij~ th;n jAlexavndreian tou;~ kivona~ 

kata[komis]qh`nai, kai; th`~ uJponosthvsew~ tw`n uJdavtwn mavlista oJshmevra[i 

aujxamevnh~. fron]tisavtw ou\n e[kasto~ uJmw`n, ajforw`n [to; ajp]araivthton th`~ 

creiva~, th;n eJautou` proqumivan ejndivxasqai, kai; ajniovnta ta; ploià, oJpovte mh; 

ajnagoito uJpo; tw`n ajnevmwn, [diav te tw`n nautw`n] kai; ejnoikouvntwn ta;~ 

ejpineivou~ kwvma~ ajndrw`n aujto;~ ejpista;~ ta; ploià ajnavxai, kai; tw`/ plhsivon 

strathgw`/ paradou`nai, ajpocav~ te e[kasto~ kai; dou`nai oJpovte ta; pl[oià 

paragevnoito] ejn toi`~ tou` nomou` o[roi~, labei`n te ta; i[sa ejpi; th`/ paradovsei. 

kai; tauvthn th;n gnw`sin e[ti mh;n kai; ajntivgrafa tw`n ejkdoqhsomevnwn kai; 

ejkdoqeisw`n ajpocw`n uJpotavx[a~ gravfw i[na duvnhtai] eJ/kavstou to; provqumon peri;[ 

to;] qeiòn pr[ovstagma s]afevsteron gnwsqh`nai. ejrrw`sqai uJma`~ eu[comai 

polloi`~ crovnoi~. i~ ie h, Mecei;r b. 

Aurelius Isidorus, Procurator of the Lower Thebaid, to the Strategi of the 

Procuratorial district, greeting. Since the ten state ships being sent to Syene for the 

transport down river of the columns are insufficient to carry all of them, and since their 

transportation is most urgent, it has become necessary that other ships should be sent to 

take the remaining columns on board and bring them down to Alexandria. If these ships 

do not receive sufficient assistance from the winds, ….., they will exceed the time limit 

by which the columns must be brought to Alexandria, especially as the fall in the level 

of the water is increasing daily. Let everyone of you, therefore, considering the absolute 

necessity of this task, display his own zeal, and while the ships are going up river, 

whenever they are not propelled by the winds, give his personal attention to seeing that 

they are towed by their crews and the inhabitants of the villages of the river ports, and 

hand them over to the next Strategus. And let each of you give receipts whenever the 

ships reach the boundaries of his nome, and take the same when he hands them over.

This instruction, accompanied by copies of the receipts to be given and those already 

given I have appended to my letter, so that the zeal of each one of you for the divine 

command may be more clearly manifested. I bid you farewell, for many years. Year 

16/15/8, Mecheir 2 nd . (T.C. Skeat). 

326 

Ps. Skyl. 14: jApo; ga;r jRhgivou povlei" eijsi;n ai{de: Lukroi,v Kaulwniva, Krovtwn, 

Lakivnion ijero;n {Hra", kai; nh`so" Kalufou`", ejn h\/ jOdusseu;" w/{kei para; Kalufoi`,k 

ai; potamo;" Kra`qi" kai; Suvbari", kai; Qouriva povli". Ou\toi ejn th`/ Leukaniva/. 

From Rhegium the cities are the following: Locri, Caulonia, Croton, the Lacinium 

Promontory sacred to Hera, and the island of Calypsos, in which Odysseus dwelt with 

Calypsos, and the river Cratis and Sybaris and the city of Thurii. These are the Greeks in 

Lucania. (D. Bartoli). 

Strabo 6.1.4: eçsti dˆ auétoŸv oé iésqmoŸv eékatoŸn kaiŸ eéxh®konta sta®dioi metaxuŸ duei~n 

ko®lpwn, tou~ t e Îppwnia®tou, oçn Ânti®ocov Naphti~non eiçrhske, kaiŸ tou~ Skullhtikou~. 

The isthmus itself, one hundred and sixty stadia in width, lies between two gulfs – 

the Hipponiate (which Antiochus has called Napetine) and the Scylletic. The coastingvoyage 

round the country comprised between the isthmus and the Strait is two thousand 

stadia. (H.L. Jones). 

Strabo 6.1.11: 

Meta; de; to; Skullhvtion hJ Krotwnia`ti~ cwvra kai; tw`n ∆Iapuvgwn a[krai trei`~. 

meta; de; tauvta~ to; Lakivnion, {Hra~ iJerovn, plouvsiovn pote uJpavrxan kai; pollw`n 

ajnaqhmavtwn mestovn. ta; diavrmata d j oujk eujkrinw`~ levgetai: plh;n w{~ ge ejpi; to; 

polu; stavdivou~ ajpo; Porqmou` mevcri Lakinivou Poluvbio~ ajpodivdwsi discilivou~ kai;t 

riakosivou~, ejnteu`qen de; kai; divarma ei;~ a[kran ∆Iapugivan ejptakosivou~. tou`to 

me;n ou\n stovma levgousi tou` Tarantivnou kovlpou. 

After Scylletium comes the territory of the Crotoniates, and three capes of the 

Iapyges; and after these, the Lacinium, a temple of Hera, which at one time was rich and 

full of dedicated offerings. As for the distances by sea, writers give them without 

satisfactory clearness, except that, in a general way, Polybius gives the distance from the 

Straits to Lacinium as two thousand three hundred stadia, and the distance thence across to 

Cape Iapygia as seven hundred. This point in called the mouth of the Tarantine Gulf. (H.L. 

Jones). 

Strabo 6.2: uçsteron mevn ge kai; th`v mesogaivav pollh;n afhv 

©rhnto, ajpo; tw`n Trwikw`n 

crovnwn ajrxavmenoi, kaiŸ dhŸ epiŸ tosou~ton hu°xanto, w°ste thŸn mega®lhn èElla®da tau®thn 

eçlegon kaiŸ thŸn Sikeli®an. 

Later on, beginning from the time of the Trojan Wars, took away most of the inner 

country (from the local inhabitants) and their power grew to such an extent that they called 

Magna Graecia also Sicily. (D. Bartoli).

Suet. Aug. 28: Urbem neque pro maiestate imperii ornatam et inundationibus 

incendiisque obnoxiam excoluit adeo, ut iure sit gloriatus marmoream se relinquere, 

quam latericiam accepisset. 

Since the city was not adorned at the dignity of the empire demanded, and was 

exposed to flood and fire, he so beautified it that he could justly boast that he had 

found it of brick and left it in marble. (J.C. Rolfe.) 

Suet. Iul. 46: Multi prodiderunt [..] in expeditionibus tessellata et sectilia pavimenta 

circumtulisse. 

Many have written that [.. Caesar] carried tessellated and mosaic floors about 

with him on his campaigns. (J.C. Rolfe). 

Suet. Tib. 49.2: Plurimis etiam civitatibus et privatis veteres immunitates et ius 

metallorum ac vectigalium adempta. 

(Tiberius) also took away from many cities and private citizens ancient tax 

exemptions and the rights to exploit mines and quarries and to collect land rent. 

(D. Bartoli). 

327 

Thuc. 4.1.1: Tou` d j ejpigignomevnou qevrou" peri; sivtou ejkbolh;n Surakosivwn 

devka nhè" pleuvsasai kai; Lokrivde" i[sai Messhvnhn th;n ejn Sikeliva/ katevlabon. 

The next summer, about the time of the earing of the grain, ten Syracusan and as many 

Locrian ships sailed to Messene in Sicily and occupied it. (C. Forster Smith). 

Thuc. 6.44.2-3: a} tovte pavnta ejk th`" Kerkuvra" xundievballe 

to;n jIovnion kovlpon. kai; prosbalou`sa hj pa`sa paraskeuh; prov" te a[kran 

jIapugivan kai; pro;" Tavranta kai; wj" e{kastoi hujpovrhsan, parekomivzonto 

th;n jItalivan, tw`n me;n povlewn ouj decomevnwn aujtou;" ajgora/` oujde; a[stei, u{dati de; k 

ai; o{rmw/, Tavranto" de; kai; Lokrw`n oujde; touvtoi", e{w" ajfivkonto ej" jRhvgion th`" 

jItaliva" ajkrwthvrion. kai; ejntau`qa h[dh hjqroivzonto, kai; e[xw th`" povlew", wj" 

aujtou;" e[sw oujk ejdevconto, stratovpedovn te kateskeuavsanto ejn tw/` th`" 

jArtevmido" ijerw`/, ou\ aujtoi`" kai; ajgora;n parei`con, kai; ta;" nau`" ajnelkuvsante" 

hjsuvcasan. 

All these, at that time, sailed together from Corcyra across the Ionian Gulf. And 

when the whole armament reached the Iapygian promontory, or Tarentum, or wherever 

they severally found opportunity to make land, they sailed along the coast of Italy – some 

of the cities not receiving them with a market nor into the town, though furnishing them 

with water and anchorage, and Tarentum and Locri not even with these- until they came to 

Rhegium, a promontory of Italy. There they now assembled, and, as the Rhegians did not 

admit them within the walls, they pitched a camp outside of the town in the precinct of 

Artemis, where a market also was provided for them; and so drawing up their ships on 

shore they took a rest. (C. Forster Smith). 

Thuc. 6.104.2: kai; oj me;n Guvlippo" ejk tou` Tavranto" ej" th;n Qourivan prw`ton 

presbeusavmeno" kata; th;n tou` patrov" pote politeivan kai; ouj dunavmeno" aujtou;"p 

rosagagevsqai, a[ra" parevplei th;n jItalivan.

From Tarentum, Gylippus, after first going on a mission to Thuria, on account of 

his father having been once a citizen there, and failing to win them over, weighed anchor 

and sailed along the coast of Italy. (C. Forster Smith). 

Thuc. 7.23.3-6: oj de; Dhmosqevnh" kai; Eujrumevdwn, ejtoivmh" h{dh 

th`" stratia`" ou[sh" e[k te th`" Kerkuvra" kai; ajpo; th`" hjpeivrou, ejperaiwvqhsan 

xumpavsh/ th`/ stratia`/ to;n jIovnion ejp ja[kran jIapugivan: kai; ojrmhqevnte" aujtovqen 

kativscousin ej" ta;" Coiravda" nhvsou" jIapugiva", kai; ajkontistav" tev tina" tw`n 

jIapuvgwn penthvkonta kai; ejkato;n tou` Messapivou e[qnou" ajnabibavzontai ejpi; ta;"n 

au`" ... ajfiknou`ntai ej" Metapovntionth`" jItaliva". kai; tou;" Metapontivou" 

peivsante" kata; to; xummaciko;n ajkontistav" te xumpevmpein triakosivou" kai; 

trihvrei" duvo kai; ajnalabovnte" tau`ta parevpleusan ej" Qourivan. kai; 

katalambavnousi newsti; stavsei tou;" tw`n jAqhnaivwn ejnantivou" ejkpeptwkovta": 

kai; boulovmenoi th;n stratia;n aujtovqi pa`san ajqroivsante" ei[ ti" ujpelevleipto 

ejxetavsai kai; tou;" Qourivou" pei`sai sfivsi xustrateuvein te wj" proqumovtata 

kai, ejpeidhvper ejn touvtw/ tuvch" eijsiv, tou;" aujtou;" ejcqrou;" kai; fivlou" toi`" 

jAqhnaivoi" nomivzein, perievmenon en th`/ Qouriva/ kai; e[prasson tau`ta. 

Demosthenes and Eurymedon, the army being now ready which they had gathered 

from Corcyra and the mainland, sailed with all their forces across the Ionian Sea to the 

Iapygian promontory. Proceeding from there, they touched at the Choerades, which are 

islands of Iapygia, and they took on board some Iapygian javelin-men, one hundred and 

fifty in number… and they arrived at Metapontum in Italy. There they persuaded the 

Metapontines to send with them, in accordance with the terms of their alliance, three 

hundred javelin-men and two triremes, and taking up these they sailed along the coast to 

Thuria. At Thuria they found that the faction opposed to the Athenians had recently been 

expelled in a revolution; and as they were desirous, after collecting their whole armament 

at that place, to hold a review of it, on the chance that anyone had been left behind, and 

also to persuade the Thurians both to take part with them in the expedition with all zeal 

and, in view of the Athenian’s present good fortune, to regard the same persons foes and 

friends as the Athenians did, they waited at Thuria and dealt with these matters. (C. Forster 

Smith). 

Thuc. 7.25.1-2: jO de; Dhmosqevnh" kai; Eujrumevdwn, ejpeidh; xustrateuvein 

aujtoi`" oij Qouvrioi pareskeuavsqhsan ejptakosivoi" me;n ojplivtai", triakosivoi" de;ajk 

ontistai`", ta;" me;n nau`" paraplei`n ejkevleuon ejpi; th`" Krotwniavtido", aujtoi; 

de; to;n pezo;n pavnta ejxetavsante" prw`ton ejpi; tw/` Subavrei potamw/` h\gon dia; th`" Q 

ouriavdo" gh`": kai; wj" ejgevnonto ejpi; tw`/ jUliva/ potamw`/ kai; aujtoi`" 

oij Krotwnia`taiprospevmfante" ei\pon oujk a}n sfivsi boulomevnoi" ei\vnai dia; th`" 

gh`" sfw`n to;n strato;n ijevnai, ejpikatabavnte" hujlivsanto pro;" th;n qavlassan kai; t 

h;n ejkbolh;n tou` jUlivou: kai; aij nhè" aujtoi`" ej" to; aujto; ajphvntwn. th/` d j ujsteraiva/ajn 

abibasavmenoi parevpleon, i[sconte" pro;" tai`" povlesi plh;n Lokrw`n, e{w" 

ajfivkonto ejpi; Pevtran th`" jRhgivnh". 

Demosthenes and Eurymedon, when the Thurians had been induced to join in the 

campaign with them with seven hundred hoplites and three-hundred javelin-men, gave 

orders that the ships should sail along the coast toward the territory of Croton, while they 

themselves, after first reviewing all their land forces at the river Sybaris, advanced through 

328

the territory of Thuria. And when they came to the river Hylias and the Crotoniates sent 

word to them that their army could not go through their territory with their consent, they 

went down and bivouacked near the sea at the mouth of the Hylias; and their ships met 

them at that point. On the next day they embarked their army and proceeded along the 

coast, touching at the various cities, with the exception of Locri, until they reached Petra in 

the territory of Rhegium. (C. Forster Smith). 

329 

Thuc. 7.25.2-3: kai; xuvla nauphghvsima ejn th`/ Kaulwniavtidi katevkausan, 

a} toi`" jAqhnaivoi" ejtoi`ma h\n. e[" te Lokrou;" meta; tau`ta h\lqon, kai; ojrmousw`n 

aujtw`n katevpleuse miva tw`n ojlkavdwn tw`n ajpo; Peloponnhvsou a[gousa Qespiw`n 

ojplivta". 

And they (the Spartans) also burned some timber in the territory of Caulonia which 

was lying there ready for the Athenians to use in ship-building. After this they went to 

Locri, and while they were lying there at anchor, one of the merchant-ships that had sailed 

from the Peloponnesus arrived in port, bringing some Thespian hoplites. 

(C. Forster Smith). 

Thuc. 8.35.1: jEk de; th`" Peloponnhvsou tou` aujtou` ceimw`no" jIppokravth" 

oj Lakedaimovnio" ejkpleuvsa" devka me;n Qourivai" nausivn... 

During the same winter Hippocrates the Lacedaemonian sailed from the 

Peloponnesus with ten Thurian ships… (C. Forster Smith). 

Thuc. 8.91.2: a{ma ga;r kai; ejk th`" Peloponnhvsou ejtuvgcanon Eujboevwn 

ejpikaloumevnwn kata; to;n aujto;n crovnon tou`ton duvo kai; tessaravkonta nhè", 

w\n h\san kai; ejk Tavranto" kai; ejk Lokrw`n jItaliwvtide" kai; Sikeliaiv tine", ojpmou`s 

ai h[dh ejpi; La/` th`" Lakwnihh`"... 

For at this very time it so happened that, on the invitation of the Euboeans, ships 

from the Peloponnesus to the number of forty-two, among which were Italian vessels from 

Tarentum and Locri and some from Sicily, were already lying off Las in Laconia. (C. 

Forster Smith). 

Val. Max. Facta et Dicta Memorabilia 8.7.2: [Pythagoras] in Italiae etiam partem, quae 

nunc maior Graecia appellabatur, perrexit, in qua plurimis et opulentissimis urbibus 

effectus studiorum suorum adprobavit. 

Pythagoras proceeded also in that area of Italy, that at that time was called Greater 

Greece, in which he proved the good effects of his studies in many and rich cities. 

(D. Bartoli). 

Veg. Mil. 4.39: Quibus mensibus tutius navigetur. Sequitur mensum dierumque tractatus. 

eque enim integro anno vis atque acerbitas maris patitur navigantes, sed quidam menses 

aptissimi, quidam dubii, reliqui classibus intractabiles sunt leges naturae. Pachnitae 

decurso, id est post ortum Pleiadum, a die VI kal. Iunias usque in Arcturi ortum, id est in 

diem VIII decimum kal. Octobres, secura navigatio creditur, quia aestatis beneficio 

ventorum acerbitas mitigatur; post hoc tempus usque in tertium idus ovembres incerta 

navigatio est et discrimini proprior propterea, quia post idus Septembres oritur Arcturus,

vehementissumum sidus. Et VIII kal. Octobres aequinoctialis evenit acerba tempestas, 

circa nonas vero Octobres aeduli pluviales, V idus easdem Taurus. A ovembri autem 

mense crebris tempestatibus navigia conturbat Vergiliarum hiemalis occasus. Ex die 

igitur tertio idus ovembres usque in diem sextum idus Martias maria clauduntur. am 

lux minima noxque prolixa, nubium densitas, aeris obscuritas, ventorum imbri vel nivibus 

geminata saevitia non solum classes a pelago sed etiam commeantes a terrestri itinere 

deturbat. Post natalem vero, ut ita dicam, navigationis, qui sollemni certamine 

publicoque spectaculo multarum urbium celebratur, plurimorum siderum ipsiusque 

temporis ratione usque in idus Maias periculose maria temptantur, non quo negotiatorum 

cesset industria, sed quia maior adhibenda cautela est, quando exercitus navigat cum 

liburnis, quam cum privatorum mercium festinat audacia. 

In what months it is safer to be at sea. The analysis of the months and days follows. 

The roughness of the sea does not allow to sail for the entire year. Some months are the 

most favorable, others are dangerous, the remaining ones are too dangerous for the ships 

due to the laws of nature. 

Past Pachnitae –in other words after the constellation of the Pleiads has risen- from 

May 27 until the rise of Arcturus –in other words September 14– it is safe to be at sea, 

because the strength of the winds is mitigated by the grace of the summer. 

After this time and until November 10 it is not safe to be at sea. The length of the 

day is shorter because after September 13 Arcturus rises, baleful star, and on September 24 

the unpleasant equinoctial season begins. Around October 7 the winds carriers of rain 

come, and on the 15 th day of the same month the constellation of Taurus rises. 

During the month of November, on the other hand, the winter disappearance of the 

Pleiads causes trouble to the ships because of the heavy rain. Therefore, from November 

10 until March 10 the sea is unaccessible. The short daylight, the length of the night, the 

thickness of the clouds, the darkness of the air, and the strength of the winds twice as 

destructive due to the rain and to the snow, not only keeps the ships away from the sea, but 

also the travelers from a terrestrial trip. 

After the day -so to speak- navigation was born, that is celebrated in several cities 

according to the position of the stars and time of the year with public games and races, 

until May 15, the sea can be sailed at the sailors’ own risk. It is not necessary to stop the 

trade of merchandises, but, since the fleet uses liburnian ships, it is necessary to be more 

careful than private merchants usually are. (L. Campana). 

Verg. Aen. 3.551-3: Hinc sinus Herculei (si vera est fama) Tarenti / cernitur; attolit se 

diva Lacinia contra, / Caulonisque arces et navifragium Scylaceum. 

Next is descried the bay of Tarentum, a town of Hercules, if the tale be true; while 

over against it rise the Lacinian goddess, the towers of Caulon and the shipwrecking 

Scylaceum. (H. Rushton Fairclough). 

Verg. Aen. 12.715-7: Ac velut ingenti Sila summove Taburno / cum duo conversis inimica 

in proelia tauri / frontibus incurrunt… 

And as on the mighty Sila or on Taburnus’ height two bulls charge, brow to brow, 

in mortal battle… (H. Rushton Fairclough). 

330

Verg. G. 3.219: Pascitur in magna Sila formosa iuvenca. 

The beautiful heifer grazes in the great Sila. (D. Bartoli). 

Vitr. De arch. 2.8.10: Item Halicarnasso potentissimi Regis Mausoli domus, cum 

Proconnesio marmore omnia haberet ornata, parietes habet latere structos. 

At Halicarnassus also, although the palace of the mighty king Mausolus had all 

parts finished with Proconnesian marble, it has walls built of brick. (F. Granger). 

Vitr. De arch. 10.2.15: Pixodarus fuerat pastor. Is in his locis versabatur. Cum autem 

cives Ephesiorum cogitarent fanum Dianae ex marmore facere decernerentque, a Paro, 

Proconneso, Heraclea, Thaso uti marmor peteretur, propulsis ovibus Pixodarus in 

eodem loco pecus pascebat, ibique duo arietes inter se concurrentes alius alium 

praeterierunt et impetu facto unus cornibus percussit saxum, ex quo crusta 

candidissimo colore fuerat deiecta. Ita Pixodarus dicitur oves in montibus reliquisse et 

crustam cursim Ephesum, cum maxime de ea re ageretur, detulisse. Ita statim honores 

decreverunt ei et nomen mutaverunt: pro Pixodaro Euangelus nominaretur. Hodieque 

quotmensibus magistratus in eum locum proficiscitur et ei sacrificium facit, et si non 

fecerit, poena tenetur. 

Pixodarus was a shepherd who lived in this neighborhood. Now when the citizens 

of Ephesus planned to build a temple of marble and decided to obtain marble from 

Paros, Proconnesus, Heraclea, and Thasos, Pixodarus was driving his sheep and was 

pasturing them in the same place. And there two rams, butting together, overran one 

another, and, in the rush, one of them struck a rock with his horns and a chip of the 

whitest color was thrown down. So Pixodarus is said to have left his sheep on the hills 

and to have run with the chip of marble to Ephesus at the time when there was a great 

discussion about the matter. Thus the citizens decreed him divine honors and changed 

his name: instead of Pixodarus he was to be named Evangelus. And to this day every 

month the magistrate sets out to that place and sacrifices to Evangelus. If he omits to do 

so he is subject to a penalty. (F. Granger). 

331

APPEDIX 4 

DIOCLETIA’S EDICT O MAXIMUM PRICES 

Documentary evidence is of great importance for reconstructing the actual names, 

provenience quarries, and monetary values of marble. Nineteen different types of marble 

traded during the Late Empire are recorded in Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices 

332 

(A.D. 301). In an attempt to stop the rampaging inflation that was quickly undermining the 

empire’s economy, the Edict fixed by law the prices that could be asked for all kinds of 

merchandise, from dried beans and watermelons to the salaries of architects and lawyers. 

322 The fact that marble is included in the list suggests that it was a heavily-traded 

commodity, and that despite the state-controlled quarries there was a free market outside of 

imperial control where prices were based on the laws of supply and demand. 

Strangely enough, the Edict omits the names of marbles extremely popular in 

antiquity like Pentelic from Attica, Naxian, Parian, and Tean, or the marble from Luna 

with which so many monuments of Rome were built. It is difficult to understand why. 

Perhaps the varieties not included had a much smaller market, but it is hard to imagine how 

Egyptian red porphyry, the Imperial stone par excellence, could be more widespread than 

Parian or Pentelic. The only possible, and not completely satisfactory answer is that the 

Edict was written in Constantinople, and included the marble varieties used most 

frequently in the eastern regions of the Empire. Maybe only the qualities that were most 

322 Giacchero 1974, 125-230.

widely used in Byzantium made the list, even though this interpretation contradicts the 

universal value of the Edict for all the territories of the Empire. 

Table 23 offers a synopsis of the marbles mentioned in the Edict, their ancient and 

modern names, and the cost per Roman foot (1 Roman foot = 0.296 m). 323 It is generally 

assumed that the cost was calculated in cubic feet. Recent evidence gathered by 

333 

S. Corcoran and J. DeLaine, however, suggests that the square foot is more likely. 324 Table 

23 demonstrates that the navis lapidaria which sank at Punta Scifo A was carrying marbles 

that ranked among the most expensive and the cheapest varieties mentioned in the Edict: 

pavonazzetto from Docimium valued at 200 denarii/R.ft., and Proconnesian from the 

Marmara Island for a fifth of that price: 40 denarii/R.ft. The column shafts located in Capo 

Cimiti, made of cipollino from Euboea, were priced at 100 denarii/R.ft. 

323 For a comparison between ancient and modern names, marble production centers, and a detailed 

description of each variety, see: Borghini 2001, 132-295; Erim, Reyn. 

324 Corcoran and DeLaine 1994, 263-73. P. Pensabene assumes a cubic foot in his calculations for the cost of 

the Punta Scifo A cargo (Pensabene 1978a, 113). The same assumption is made by M. Giacchero (Giacchero 

1974, 305-6) and P. Barresi (Barresi 2002, 75-6).

334 

Table 23. The marbles mentioned in Diocletian’s Edict: ancient and modern names, region 

of provenience, cost in denarii per Roman foot. 

Marble Name (Ancient) Marble Name (Modern) Provenience Denarii /R.ft. 

1 Porfyritici Red porphyry Gebel Dokhan, Egypt 250 

2 Lacedaemonii Serpentino Krokeai, Greece 250 

3 Numidici Giallo antico Chemtou, Tunisia 200 

4 Lucullei Africano Teos, Turkey 150 

5 Pyrrhopoicili Red granite Aswan, Egypt 100 

6 Claudiani Granito del Foro Gebel Fatireh, Egypt 100 

7 Alabastreni Alabastro cotognino Egypt 75 

8 Docimeni Pavonazzetto Iscehisar, Turkey 200 

9 Euthydemiani Unnamed Unknown 60 

10 Anacasteni Unnamed Asia Minor? 40 

11 Tripontici Occhio di pavone Nicomedia, Turkey 75 

12 Thessalici Verde antico Thessaly, Greece 150 

13 Carusti Cipollino Euboea, Greece 100 

14 Scyriani Breccia di Sciro Skyros, Greece 40 

15 Heracleotici Heracleian Bafa Gölü, Turkey 75 

16 Lesbi Bigio Antico Lesbos, Greece 40 

17 Thassi Thasian Thasos, Greece 50 

18 Proconnesi Proconnesian Marmara, Turkey 40 

19 Potomogalleni Lithos Sangarios? Bilecik, Turkey 325 

325 Ward-Perkins 1992b, 61, n.4. 

40

APPEDIX 5 

ROMA QUARRY ISCRIPTIOS 

Roman quarry inscriptions follow a highly-standardized marking system. Therefore, it is 

335 

easy to provide the basic elements that were inscribed on the surfaces of marble blocks and 

column shafts: only a limited number of words were used, often combined together to in a 

kind of standard pattern. 

First of all, it appears that there are three different sets of inscriptions: those carved 

immediately after the block or column shaft had been extracted from the bedrock, another 

made just before the items were shipped to their destinations, and the final inscription 

made upon receipt. In a certain way, quarry-inscriptions had to record the “production 

pedigree” of each item, specifying the year of production, the owner, the officer in charge 

of a given quarry, the engineer who supervised the operations, and even the team that cut 

that particular artifact in a specific location at the quarry. The probator, a specialist in 

assessing marble imperfections, granted the final approval of quality control, marking his 

approval with the letter P(robatum,) or rejection with REP(robatum). 

325 Sometimes a stricken-through R can also be found for R(ecensitum), meaning that the 

item had been reviewed and approved for trade. 326 

The first element that often appears on blocks and column shafts was the title 

CAES, which can have two completely different meanings. On one hand, if interpreted as 

CAES(aris), it could mean “belonging to Caesar.” As J. C. Fant pointed out, the Emperor 

325 Pensabene 1998a, 359. 


was called “Caesar” rather than “Augustus” when he was referred to as a private citizen, 

and not as Head of State. Therefore, one can deduce that some quarries belonged to the 

Emperor’s personal possessions, and were outside of public control. 327 On the other hand, 

the letters CAES could also mean CAES(ura), the highly-trained “cutting team” that knew 

how to follow the natural grain of the bedrock and cut it free of imperfections that might 

compromise a stone when put to use. 

A number of abbreviations is frequently found on blocks of marble coming from 

the quarries of Teos (africano), Simitthus (giallo antico), Carystos (cipollino), Chios 

336 

(portasanta) and on Parian white marble used for sculptures. 328 The timeframe for their use 

was from A.D. 64 until A.D. 236, after which they are no longer quarried. 329 The following 

initials are normally found: 

• N(umerus): the shipping number of the block or column shaft itself. 

• EX RATIONE followed by the name of the quarry’s contractor, usually an Imperial 

slave: “Credited to the account of…”, used from the age of Vespasian onwards. 330 

• SUB CURA: meaning “under the supervision of…”; 

• CAES(aris): identifies the imperial ownership of the marble item; 

327 Fant 1993, 83. 


329 An inscription possibly dated to Marcus (Licinius?) Crassus’ consulship might provide the year 64 A.D. as 

terminus post quem for the introduction of quarry-marks. A block of giallo antico found in Rome and 

recorded by L. Bruzza in 1870 has the inscription: M. CRASSO COS EX R LAE / NCCCXCIIX (opposite 

side). Trans: “Under the consulship of Marcus Crassus, (this block) was credited to the account of Laetus. 

Number 398.” (Bruzza 1870, 187, n. 220.) List of consuls from: Degrassi 1952, 17. 


• CAES(ura) followed by the name of the supervisor of the workers who cut the 

piece of marble; 

• OFF(icina) followed by the name of the director of the “workshop” that received 

the rough item from the team mentioned in the caesura; 

• LOC(o) followed by a numeral indicating the marble’s vein from which the rough 

block was carved; 

• BRACC(hium) followed by a numeral registering the quarry’s sector from which 

the block came; 

• CO(n)S(uls): the name of the two consuls in charge in the year of production. 

• COM(missura?): the actual reading and meaning of this abbreviation remain 

unknown. 

For only two centuries, from the Flavian to the Severan ages, it was thought necessary to 

carve complex inscriptions at some quarries, probably to mark the owners’ names and to 

inventory the number of items produced in a given year at a given location. These 

inscriptions disappear after A.D. 236. 

337

VITA 

Dante Giuliano Bartoli 

Address: Texas A&M University 

201 Anthropology Bldg. 

College Station, TX, 77843 

USA 

Email Address: dante.bartoli@gmail.com 

Education: 

1999 B.A. in Classical Literature – Università Statale, Milano (Italy). 

2008 Ph.D. in Anthropology – Texas A&M University. 

Archaeological Fieldwork Experience: 

2006 Western Greek Colonies Underwater Project, Italy. Director. 

2005 Locri Epizephiri II Underwater Survey, Italy. Director. 

2005 Kizilburun Underwater Excavation, Turkey. Excavation of a first-century 

B.C. Roman navis lapidaria. Participant (director: Dr. Deborah N. Carlson). 

2004 Locri Epizephiri I Underwater Project, Italy. Director. 

2003 Kaulon 2003 Underwater Project, Italy. Director 

Professional Experience: 

2008-present Director, US-Italy Research Programs. ProMare, Inc. 

2002-present Research Associate, Institute of Nautical Archaeology. 

2004-2005 Lecturer. Department of Modern and Classical Languages, 

Texas A&M University. 

2002-2006 Graduate Research Assistant. Texas A&M University. 

2000-2001 Employee; Società Ricerca S.p.A., Milan. Italy. 

1999-2000 Private; Italian Army's Artistic Heritage Special Unit. Italy. 

338

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