Characterization and Provenance Analysis of Ancient Stone Materials: Insights from Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry

Dear Colleagues,

Since prehistoric times, humans have known how to select stones depending on their quality to be used as a tool, part of a building or noble decorative or artistic element, or even for their special symbolic value. There is no doubt that the stone identification used in archaeological pieces, in art and cultural heritage, provides valuable information which helps us to understand the way of life of ancient communities. Provenance studies facilitate geographical and chronological evidence of human activities and are of considerable value in elucidating economic and social exchange mechanisms. On the other hand, better understanding of the resources exploited in ancient quarries offers prized information with special potential application in damaged architectural stoneworks. This is why, in recent years, the scientific community has been paying significant attention to the application of different analytical techniques to identify discrimination traces or fingerprints of raw materials. Recent developments and studies of stone characterization and provenance are invited to this Special Edition of Minerals. This is extended not only to marbles of the Greco-Roman world, but also to any stone resource ranging from prehistoric to recent past periods.

Dr. Pilar Lapuente
Guest Editor

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