Geochemical fingerprints of volcanic materials: Identification of a pumice trade route from Pompeii to Rome

Research Article| March 01, 2013 Geochemical fingerprints of volcanic materials: Identification of a pumice trade route from Pompeii to Rome Fabrizio Marra; Fabrizio Marra † 1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00147 Rome, Italy †E-mail: fabrizio.marra@ingv.it Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ersilia D'Ambrosio; Ersilia D'Ambrosio 2Via Cupa 5, 00048 Nettuno, Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gianluca Sottili; Gianluca Sottili 3Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Salaria km 29,300, 00015 Montelibretti, Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Guido Ventura Guido Ventura 1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00147 Rome, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Fabrizio Marra † 1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00147 Rome, Italy Ersilia D'Ambrosio 2Via Cupa 5, 00048 Nettuno, Rome, Italy Gianluca Sottili 3Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Salaria km 29,300, 00015 Montelibretti, Rome, Italy Guido Ventura 1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00147 Rome, Italy †E-mail: fabrizio.marra@ingv.it Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 10 Apr 2012 Revision Received: 12 Jul 2012 Accepted: 25 Jul 2012 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2013 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2013) 125 (3-4): 556–577. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30709.1 Article history Received: 10 Apr 2012 Revision Received: 12 Jul 2012 Accepted: 25 Jul 2012 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Fabrizio Marra, Ersilia D'Ambrosio, Gianluca Sottili, Guido Ventura; Geochemical fingerprints of volcanic materials: Identification of a pumice trade route from Pompeii to Rome. GSA Bulletin 2013;; 125 (3-4): 556–577. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30709.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Geochemical investigations on samples of pumice and lava extracted from the mortars and concretes of the Forum of Caesar and the Forum and Markets of Trajan are presented and integrated with previous analyses of lava samples from Rome and Pompeii, and of pumices from the Colosseum and the Dioclethian's Bath, with the aim to identify the lithological provenance of these materials. Discrimination diagrams based on ratios of selected trace elements (i.e., Zr/Y, Nb/Y, Th/Ta, Nb/Zr) allow us to recognize the geochemical signature of the different volcanic regions of central Italy. These diagrams indicate that in the mortars of the Forum of Caesar and Forum of Trajan, the Roman builders integrated the scanty pumices from deposits of the Monti Sabatini Volcanic District near Rome with others coming from the Vesuvius and Phlegrean Fields. Some of the pumices employed in the vaulted ceilings of these monuments display a peculiar geochemistry that has a unique correspondence with a pyroclastic deposit recovered in a borehole drilled on the southern flanks of Vesuvius. Similarly, lava flows from this borehole display a different trace-element signature with respect to that of other coeval lava flows of the northern flanks of Vesuvius, and it has a closer correspondence to that of the archaeological lava samples. These observations, integrated with historical and archaeological data, indicate that the Roman builders had a profound empirical knowledge of the physical properties of the volcanic rocks from different regions, and suggest that a systematic cultivation of lightweight volcanic material occurred in the area of Pompeii for exportation to Rome and, likely, to other regions of the Mediterranean. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.