Afyon Marble

Docimium (Iscehisar-Afyonkarahisar), one of the most important marble centers of Anatolia, along with Prokonnesos, is known to have been mined in large quantities in ancient times, especially during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The rich marble deposits in the İscehisar region of Afyonkarahisar date back to 300 BC. Docimium and Prokonnesos’s marbles met local needs and adorned the cities’ buildings in different parts of Anatolia and were exported overseas (Figure 10) (Dodge 1988; Attanasio 2003). In ancient times, Afyon marbles were often mentioned in the literature, legal and trade documents. In the early first century Strabo (Geographica 12.8.14) wrote about quarrying activity at Docimium. Another important historical documents showing that Afyon marbles were a trade commodity exported to different geographies outside Anatolia is the Edict on Maximum Prices (Edictum de Pretiis Rerum Venalium). Also known as the Edict on Prices or the Edict of Diocletian was issued in 301 AD by Diocletian. The document denounces monopolists and sets maximum prices and wages for all important articles and services. In this edict, the price per ft3 of Afyon marble was set at 200 denarii (Figure 12). Strabo, the famous geographer of antiquity, states that marble was exported to Rome from the Dokimeion marble quarry, praises the variety of colors of Dokimeion marbles and mentions its proximity to water marble. Docimium Marble (Afyon Marble) has been highly appreciated and valued since Roman times for its fine-grained quality and unique color combinations. Emperors such as Augustus, Trajan and Hadrian used Docimium Marble extensively in many major building projects (Figure 13a-f). The proposed stone was generally utilized in small-medium scale works of art such as sculpture, sarcophagus, etc. (Figure 14a-g) (See more detail information at Fant 1985; Dodge 1988; Attanasio 2003; Al-Bashaireh 2011; Attanasio et al. 2013; Russel 2013; Al-Bashaireh and Al-Housan 2015; Mitchell 2015; Prochaska and Zivic 2018; Çelik and Sert 2020 and references therein). Furthermore, one of the most important internet sources pointing to the utilization of Afyon marbles (especially Afyon white and Afyon violet (Pavonazzetto)) in the ancient world is the Corsi Collection. Some information can be found at the following website. http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/stones/quickSearch