Mithras in Tróia (Portugal): an art historical and archaeometric analysis of the roman marble bas-relief with the Banquet of the Gods Mithras and Helios

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2023

Authors

Limão, Filomena (Author) FLUP; Lapuente, Pilar (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Open Access Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology - OAJAA

Vol. 5 No. 1

ISSN: 2687-8402

Publisher: Iris Publishers

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Other information

DOI: 10.33552/OAJAA.2023.05.000602

Abstract (EN): In the early 1930s, archaeologist Marques da Costa reported the finding of a fragmentary marble bas-relief depicting the banquet of the gods Mithras and Helios in Tróia, where a Roman industrial settlement producing fish-salting goods evolved since the 1st century CE. Tróia is located on a sandy peninsula on the left bank of the river Sado on the southwestern Atlantic coast of Portugal. Archaeometric analyses were carried out to determine the origin of the marble. A multi-method approach was applied to combine polarisedlight microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray powder diffraction, and stable C and O isotope analysis in order to determine the marble features. After their checking with the available analytical data-base, they perfectly match with the most important regional marble, the Lusitanian Estremoz Anticline (Portugal). The article aims to present the art historical study of the mithraic bas-relief and to contribute to a better understanding of how the identification of the marble can clarify and support questions about the workshop that would have produced the piece.

Language: Portuguese

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

Notes: Special Issue: 43rd International Symposium on Archaeometry (Lisbon 18-22 May 2022): https://irispublishers.com/oajaa/special-issue.php

No. of pages: 15