Research Article

On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)

Number: 15 November 9, 2022
  • Svetla Petrova
TR EN

On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)

Abstract

This article examines several mosaic tesserae from the mosaic panel of the exonarthex of the early Christian basilica No 2 in Parthicopolis (today’s town of Sandanski).
The studied mosaic tesserae are made of glass, brick and stone - marble and sandstone. After the analysis: micro- and macroscopic, method applied: EDS; XRD analysis of the mineral phases and others. The composition and possible production of glass for the smalta tesserae has been established, the composition of the brick tesserae; of two types of white marble tesserae, of sandstone tesserae has been determined.
In antiquity, and especially in the early Byzantine period, several marble quarries of very good quality were exploited in the Middle Strymon area. It has been established that the stone tesserae were mined from deposits around the ancient and early Byzantine city, quarries Ilindentsi (‘The marble quarries of Trajan’), and the glass is imported. An assumption has been made about the possible production on site in the city of a type of glass tesserae - with a degree of crystallization. The chemical and structural analysis of the tesserae reveals the origin of the material, stone and glass, the latter in the form of a finished product distributed as an import by Thessaloniki merchants and undergoing only the final stage of heating, cutting and polishing in local workshops. Although research on the origin of tesserae from mosaic panels from the early Christian basilica complexes in Parthicopolis is only in the beginning, research proves the origin of tesserae materials, the supply of mosaic workshops mainly with local stone material, and trade in imported glass for enamel mosaic and its final stage of in situ preparation in Particopolis.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Archaeology

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Svetla Petrova This is me
0000-0002-7815-9754
Bulgaria

Publication Date

November 9, 2022

Submission Date

March 16, 2022

Acceptance Date

September 22, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Number: 15

APA
Petrova, S. (2022). On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2). Journal of Mosaic Research, 15, 397-412. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143757
AMA
1.Petrova S. On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2). JMR. 2022;(15):397-412. doi:10.26658/jmr.1143757
Chicago
Petrova, Svetla. 2022. “On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th C.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)”. Journal of Mosaic Research, nos. 15: 397-412. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143757.
EndNote
Petrova S (November 1, 2022) On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2). Journal of Mosaic Research 15 397–412.
IEEE
[1]S. Petrova, “On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)”, JMR, no. 15, pp. 397–412, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.26658/jmr.1143757.
ISNAD
Petrova, Svetla. “On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th C.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)”. Journal of Mosaic Research. 15 (November 1, 2022): 397-412. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143757.
JAMA
1.Petrova S. On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2). JMR. 2022;:397–412.
MLA
Petrova, Svetla. “On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th C.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2)”. Journal of Mosaic Research, no. 15, Nov. 2022, pp. 397-12, doi:10.26658/jmr.1143757.
Vancouver
1.Svetla Petrova. On the Provenance of the Tesserae in the Mosaic Pavements of Parthicopolis (4th - 6th c.). Local Quarries, Deposits and Import (Preliminary Report for Some Mosaic Tesserae from Basilica No 2). JMR. 2022 Nov. 1;(15):397-412. doi:10.26658/jmr.1143757

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