Abstract
The article deals with the provenance of white marbles from the late antique and early medieval ecclesiastical complex of San Severo in Classe (Ravenna, Italy), presents the results of an archaeometric study, concerning mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical analyses (X-RAY diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-RAY microanalysis, optical polarization microscopy, determination of the δ13C and δ18O stable isotopic ratios) and compares them with the main databases of Mediterranean white marbles quarried during Late Antiquity. The import of the Proconnesian marble from Marmara Island to the North Adriatic region, Ravenna and Classe not excluded, during Late Antiquity is generally presupposed in the scientific literature.
The provenance of five analyzed samples of white-grey marble has been proposed. The results of analyzes indicate their Eastern provenance: four samples have been identified as the Proconnesian marble (Proconnesos 1 or Proconnesos 2).
The provenance of one sample does not appear to be entirely certain, in any case, both point to microasiatic provenance: Muğla (Göktepe) or Docimium seem to be the most probable of the considered localities.