Rethinking Cycladic Marble Extraction: Multimodal Survey and Analysis of Archaic Quarries on Naxos
(2026) 3rd IRAAR Conference ‘Quarries and rock-cut sites through the lens of archaeology’ — Location: Edimbourg (14.May.2026)
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- Between the 7th – 5th c. BCE, marble extraction on Naxos played a central role in positioning the island as an economic and artistic power throughout the Archaic Aegean world. While the quarries themselves have been known since the earliest antiquarian interest and archaeological research in the Cyclades, the scale and complexity of these landscapes have made them difficult to document using conventional archaeological methods. This paper presents the results of the Naxos Quarry Project, which undertook multi-scalar investigation of the two primary ancient quarries on the island, collecting wide-ranging interdisciplinary evidence for marble quarrying and its impact. This project integrated high-resolution UAV lidar and photogrammetry with detailed architectural and sculptural analysis, geological sampling, archaeometric characterisation, ecological observation, and systematic archaeological field survey. This combined methodology allows for the precise documentation of quarry faces, extraction traces, working surfaces, transport infrastructures, and associated built features, while situating these elements within their wider topographic and environmental contexts. Our results demonstrate that the application of cutting-edge documentation technologies enriches understanding of the chaîne opératoire of marble extraction on the island, ranging from quarry organisation, extraction strategies, and transport logistics, in addition to providing novel insight on the development and innovation of monumental architectural and sculptural traditions. In particular, the integration of archaeometric provenance analyses with detailed interdisciplinary archaeological, architectural, and ecological study offers a new interpretative framework that can be applied to other sites of premodern stone extraction.
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Vanden Broeck-Parant, J., Anevlavi, V., Levitan, R., & Levine, E. (2026, May 14). Rethinking Cycladic Marble Extraction: Multimodal Survey and Analysis of Archaic Quarries on Naxos. 3rd IRAAR Conference ‘Quarries and rock-cut sites through the lens of archaeology’, Edimbourg. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/276822