The Use of Greco Scritto in Roman Campania: Evidence from the Vesuvian Area (Murecine, Pompeii, Herculaneum) and the Western Bay of Naples (Cuma)

Abstract

This paper discusses the presence of greco scritto marble types in early Imperial contexts in Campania drawing on new data from Cuma and Murecine (Pompeii). Long believed to come primarily, if not exclusively, from Algeria, greco scritto is now understood to have been extracted also in other parts of the Empire and an Ephesian provenance is now favoured by many scholars. In Italy, it is found in contexts dating from the late 1st to the 2nd century AD, however earlier and later uses have now been attested. Despite the considerable scientific advances, the picture of its quarrying, distribution and use remains controversial. The contextual evidence from Campania shows that greco scritto – in all probability of turkish provenance – was used in bath complexes starting from the late Julio-Claudian - early Flavian period. Moreover, epigraphic evidence points towards use by wealthy private and local benefactors.