Archaeological and Archaeometric Investigation of the Roman Marble Cargos at Porto Cervo (Arzachena, Italy) and Secche della Meloria (Livorno, Italy)

Minero-petrographic and geochemical analyses, carried out on thirty-four samples of marble blocks and elements belonging to shipwrecked cargos at Porto Cervo (22 samples) and Secche della Meloria (12 samples), have indicated that the marble originated from the Apuan Alps (Italy), which implies that the ships may have come from the Roman city of Luna. Ceramic finds enabled dating one shipwreck to the end of the 2nd/beginning of the 3rd century AD and the other to the 1st -2nd century AD. The destination of the Porto Cervo cargo could have been Africa or Sicily, while a site on the way to Portus has here been hypothesized as a possible destination for the smaller Secche della Meloria ship.