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Roman ornamental stone in North-Western Europe

Natural resources, manufacturing, supply, life and after-life

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Published on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Abstract

Le colloque « La pierre ornementale d'époque romaine dans le Nord-Ouest de l'Europe » se veut une plateforme d’échanges interdisciplinaires sur le commerce des pierres architectoniques et sculptées dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Europe (Belgique, Nord de la France, Angleterre, Luxembourg, Pays-Bas, Allemagne et Suisse) entre géologues, archéologues et historiens. Il vise à proposer une vue globale sur le marché de la pierre, de son extraction jusqu’à sa récupération au profit de nouvelles constructions souvent situées à proximité. La réflexion sera donc menée au travers de quatre grands thèmes : leur provenance, leur diffusion commerciale, leur traitement artisanal / artistique, leur emploi ainsi que leur éventuel remploi.

Announcement

Argument

During Roman times particular rock types have been selected for the manufacturing of religious and funeral sculptures, others have been carefully chosen for composing architectural and ornamental pieces. The latter were restricted to public buildings or the largest private houses. This taste for ornamental stones, part of which were derived from the Mediterranean area, has generated an important supply activity of products derived from provincial quarries. Where are these materials coming from? What is their geographical distribution? What kind of social and economic mechanisms are playing here? What kind of decorative elements have they been used for? What happened after abandonment of the buildings? Have the quarries still been active during post-Roman times? What is the importance of recycling?

The conference offers an interdisciplinary and international exchange platform for archaeologists, geologists and historians interested in the provenance and distribution of ornamental stones, their extraction, processing and recycling in the Roman provinces of North-Western Europe. It will be held at the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren (BE), winner of the European Museum of the Year Award in 2011. You will have the opportunity to visit the Gallo-Roman Museum’s permanent exhibition.

Researchers are invited to submit short abstracts of oral presentations (15 minutes) or poster exhibits on topics related to one of the following four conference themes: 

  1. Origin and  provenance of the raw materials;
  2. Socio-economics of stone extraction and distribution;
  3. Carving the stone;
  4. Use and re-use : the life and after-life of stones.

Objective


This conference offers an interdisciplinary and international exchange platform for archaeologists, geologists and (art)historians, heritage and restoration specialists,… interested in the provenance and distribution of ornamental stones, their extraction, processing and recycling in the Roman provinces of North-Western Europe. We invite you to submit short abstracts of oral presentations (15 minutes) or poster exhibits on topics related to one of the following four conference themes.

Note: A special session will be devoted to the presentations of young researchers such as young graduates, Ph.D. students and post-doc researchers. They are invited to submit the results of ongoing research in order to exchange information and stimulate discussions with professionals.

Theme 1: Origin and provenance of the raw materials


Here the raw material is the central issue. Although certain Mediterranean rock varieties are well known, the stones extracted in North-Western Europe are not so easy to identify because of the large spectrum of available local rock types, the lower frequency of their use and their wider pattern of distribution. In order to pinpoint their origin it is therefore essential to establish the mineralogical fingerprint or
« identity card » for each of the used rock types. This will allow to properly assess their exact geological provenance and to locate probable extraction areas.

Theme 2: Socio-economics of stone extraction and distribution


We want to focus on the different issues related to the import or extraction of stones. The study of their diffusion will help to better figure out the chronology of the extraction of the resources, the place this activity occupies within the economy of the Roman towns and the commercial networks. This will allow to suggest particular scenarios dealing with the supply to and from the workshops or consumption areas, taken into account the various (fluvial, marine and road) transport routes and modes. Amongst the identified stone varieties, some will have a larger distribution than others within the studied areas whereas others have still been extracted during medieval times: in what conditions and for which uses?

Theme 3: Carving the stone


This theme will concentrate of the variety of the encountered decorations and on the conditions of their manufacturing: to locate the workshops, to understand the know-how of the quarry craftsmen and sculptors, to unravel the applied mechanical processing (not only the stone dressing techniques but also the use of protecting coatings or paintings) depending on the destination of the stone materials. What is the decorative spectrum of the identified stone types within the consumption areas and what is their frequency within a same decorative production?

Theme 4: Use and re-use : the life and after-life of stones


Particular attention will be paid to the final destination of the sculptured/dressed pieces and to the identification of their public/private consumers. Even if the different geological aspects of the raw materials and their use within a particular sculpture or decorative element, will allow to define the esthetical preferences and the wealth of the sponsors, their retrieval and further recycling, correspond to completely different contingencies. Moreover, the buildings in which they have been re-used, represent additional information sources: under which form do these recycled materials occur within the new constructions ? Why and how have the materials been recycled and who are the « new consumers »?

The presentations should reflect recent archaeological findings of decorative units or unpublished studies of ancient collections, where geological characteristics and provenances have been taken into account. Preference will be given to review papers with a regional character or to studies showing a diachronous overview. This will allow to feed reflections on the possible links between production and consumption areas through time.

Authors are also invited to bring along samples of historical building rocks or ornamental stones to be shown during the stone workshop in order to stimulate further discussions and exchange mutual experiences.

Key note speakers

  • Prof. L. Lazzarini (University IUAV in Venice, Italy),
  • Dr. B. Russell (University of Edinburgh, UK),
  • Dr. J.-C. Bessac (CNRS, France)
  • Prof. Catherine Coquelet (SPW/UCL, Belgium).

Submission guidelines

http://www.hands.be/grm/index.php?page=submit-abstract

Selected abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. Selected papers will be submitted to a scientific journal (details will be given in the Second Circular).

After registration please note that only abstracts in English and submitted before August 15th will be accepted.

Scientific Committee

  • W. De Clercq, Professor of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium
  • G. Fronteau, Professor of the University of Reims, Champagne, France
  • L. Lazzarini, Full Professor of Applied Petrography and Mineral Earth Resources, University IUAV Venice, Italy
  • J. Poblome, Professor of Archaeology, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • H.-J. Tolboom, natural stone specialist, Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, The Netherlands

Organizing committee

  • C. Coquelet, Archaeologist, Service Public de Wallonie and Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
  • G. Creemers, Curator, Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren, Belgium
  • R. Dreesen, Senior geologist, Geological Survey of Belgium, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels & Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren, Belgium.
  • E. Goemaere, Senior geologist, Geological Survey of Belgium, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.
  • L. Verslype, Professor of Archaeology, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Conference fee

The participation fee is 150 EUR or a reduced fee of 100 EUR for master, Ph.D. and Postdoc students. This fee covers coffee breaks, lunches, book of abstracts and additional activities (3 days). Payment details will be sent by e-mail following registration.

Places

  • Musée Gallo-romain de Tongres - Kielenstraat, 15
    Tongeren, Belgium (3700)

Date(s)

  • Saturday, August 15, 2015

Keywords

  • décor architectonique, sculpture, géologie, artisanat, remploi, pierre, ornement

Contact(s)

  • Linda Bogaert
    courriel : Linda [dot] bogaert [at] limburg [dot] be

Information source

  • catherine coquelet
    courriel : catherine [dot] coquelet [at] gmail [dot] com

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Roman ornamental stone in North-Western Europe », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, June 30, 2015, https://doi.org/10.58079/syk

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