Marbles quarried in Greece traveled hundreds of miles to decorate the churches of Hippos (Ancient Greek: Ἵππος, lit. ‘Horse’), an ancient city near the Sea of Galilee, according to a new study that traces the origins of stone used in its sacred buildings.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, was led by Sara Mandera of the Institute of Archaeology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland.
Mandera and her colleagues analyzed 48 marble samples taken from four churches at Hippos: the cathedral, the Northwest Church, the Northeast Church, and the Martyrion of Theodoros. The churches date from the mid-5th to the mid-8th centuries CE.
Researchers used several scientific methods to trace each piece of marble back to its quarry. They studied the stone under regular and cathodoluminescence microscopes, ran X-ray diffraction tests, and measured carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes.
These tests let them compare the Hippos marbles with known samples from quarries across the Mediterranean.
Marbles from Greece reached the churches of Hippos
The results show that builders in Hippos relied on stone from many different places. Most of the marble came from Prokonnesos, on Marmara Island in modern-day Turkey, and from Dokimeion, in inland Turkey.
Smaller amounts came from the Greek islands of Paros and Thasos, the Aliki quarries in Greece, and Mount Pentelikon near Athens. Some pieces, known as “greco scritto,” came from Ephesos on the Turkish coast.
Four objects were traced to the Karyni quarries on the Greek island of Lesbos. Two more pieces, a striped marble called cipollino, came from the island of Euboea in Greece. The findings show that marbles from Greece reached the churches of Hippos even though the city sits inland, far from the coast.
Mandera said the study found a mix of reused Roman-era stone and marble quarried specifically during the Byzantine period. Some artifacts, dated to the 1st through 3rd centuries CE, were repurposed from earlier Roman buildings and reused in the later churches. Other pieces were newly imported.
Reused Roman stone and new imports defined each church’s look
The study also found that the four churches did not all use the same supply patterns. Some buildings show distinct combinations of marble types not seen elsewhere in the city.
Mandera suggested this could point to the wealth or trade connections of each church’s patrons, since some sponsors may have had access to rarer or more expensive stone.
Most past research on marble trade in the Decapolis region focused on sites in Jordan, such as Abila and Gadara. Hippos had received far less attention until now.
The study adds new evidence to the broader picture of how marble moved across the Eastern Mediterranean during the Byzantine period, and how inland cities obtained imported stone for their most important buildings.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
