Papers by Scott Pike
A Hellenistic greek marble statue with ancient polychromy reported to be from Knidos
Archaeological and scientific materials research on a high quality Hellenistic Greek marble statu... more Archaeological and scientific materials research on a high quality Hellenistic Greek marble statue of a naked male youth in the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, has clarified the sculpture's little-known ancient coloration. A yellow iron oxide pigment preserved on the flesh areas of the statue is identifiable as the preliminary painting of a more complex flesh coloration. This ancient polychromy provides an extremely rare example of preserved pigmentation on the skin surfaces of a Greek marble statue, hitherto a controversial subject in such studies. The statue is reported to come from the Greek city of Knidos in Asia Minor. This heretofore-unexamined historic provenance merits serious consideration based on similar excavated finds from the site and the statue is plausibly recontextualized as a youthful athletic victor monument from one of the Urban sanctuaries of Hellenistic Knidos
Ness of Brodgar, as it stands
The Orcadian, Nov 18, 2020
American Journal of Archaeology 129 (1), 2025
This article presents data from the stable isotope analysis of marble from five fragments of scul... more This article presents data from the stable isotope analysis of marble from five fragments of sculpture and a massive base that together are said to comprise the remains of the statue on Delos known as the Naxian Colossus. This key work in the early history of monumental Greek marble sculpture has attracted the attention of travelers since the 15th century (Buondelmonti Cyriacus of Ancona). Plutarch’s testimony that the great
andrias of the Naxians was knocked down by the bronze palm tree of Nicias in a storm promoted the belief that all or some of the pieces identified with the colossus belonged to a later replacement for the original Archaic-period statue (dated ca. 600 BCE). The data
from stable isotope analyses, in combination with the evidence from a recent analysis of style and proportions, now points to the conclusion that the fragments and base likely belong to at least three different archaic colossal statues. We explore the present limits in our interpretation of marble isotope analyses. We argue that this evidence is currently
the best available means of understanding the highly debated inscription on the east side of the base: “I am of the same stone, statue and base.”
ASMOSIA 5: Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, 2002
A stable isotope provenance study was performed on 31 ancient marble sculptures from the Archaeol... more A stable isotope provenance study was performed on 31 ancient marble sculptures from the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. The sculptures all come from northern Greek contexts and date from the Classical through Roman Imperial periods. The relatively large number of samples provides a unique opportunity to investigate the use and procurement of sculptural marble in northern Greece during antiquity. The tests were performed in two separate installments, and the results of only the first group have been incorporated (partially) in the first volume of the catalogue of marble in the museum (Despinis et al., 1997).
When the stable isotope ratios of the clacitic marbles are coupled with macroscopic observations of each sample it becomes clear that a very substantial portion of the marble comes from the Pentelic quarries and a relatively small share comes from the Paros 1 (Lychnites) and Paros 2 (Chorodaki) quarries. Several other ancient quarries are also represented, including Cape Vathy on Thasos, Prokonnesos, perhaps Afyon, and possibly a regional quarry at Mount Bermion near Veria in west-central Macedonia. As a final exercise, stylistic and archaeological data for the sculptures are related to the quarry allocations to shed light on the exploitation, trade history, and utilization of marble in northern Greece.
ASMOSIA XI, Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, Proceedings of the XI International Conference of ASMOSIA, 2018
A Hellenistic greek marble statue with ancient polychromy reported to be from Knidos
Archaeological and scientific materials research on a high quality Hellenistic Greek marble statu... more Archaeological and scientific materials research on a high quality Hellenistic Greek marble statue of a naked male youth in the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, has clarified the sculpture's little-known ancient coloration. A yellow iron oxide pigment preserved on the flesh areas of the statue is identifiable as the preliminary painting of a more complex flesh coloration. This ancient polychromy provides an extremely rare example of preserved pigmentation on the skin surfaces of a Greek marble statue, hitherto a controversial subject in such studies. The statue is reported to come from the Greek city of Knidos in Asia Minor. This heretofore-unexamined historic provenance merits serious consideration based on similar excavated finds from the site and the statue is plausibly recontextualized as a youthful athletic victor monument from one of the Urban sanctuaries of Hellenistic Knidos
The Delos Colossus project
17 page(s
Revisiting the Origin and Destination of the Late Antique Marzamemi ‘Church Wreck’ Cargo
Initially explored by Gerhard Kapitan in the 1960s, the famous 6th c. AD ‘church wreck’ at Marzam... more Initially explored by Gerhard Kapitan in the 1960s, the famous 6th c. AD ‘church wreck’ at Marzamemi (Sicily) - with its cargo of prefabricated r
New Evidence for Ancient Gilding and Historic Restorations on a Portrait of Antinous in the San Antonio Museum of Art
ASMOSIA XI: Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone. Proceedings of the XI ASMOSIA Conference, Split 2015, 2018
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dec 14, 2010
Although commonplace in human disease genetics, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have only r... more Although commonplace in human disease genetics, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have only relatively recently been applied to plants. Using 32 phenotypes in the inbreeding crop barley, we report GWA mapping of 15 morphological traits across∼ 500 cultivars genotyped with 1,536 SNPs. In contrast to the majority of human GWA studies, we observe high levels of linkage disequilibrium within and between chromosomes. Despite this, GWA analysis readily detected common alleles of high penetrance. To investigate the ...
Diego Peirano 15 17 25 33 45 65 79 89 95 101 109 117 123 6
The Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora (159-38 BC) was one of the largest stone buildings ever... more The Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora (159-38 BC) was one of the largest stone buildings ever built in the ancient city. Furthermore, its construction comes at a time when the Pentelic quarries were increasing their production of architectural marble after a long period of neardormancy. Stable isotope analysis of marble elements from the Stoa supports a local origin for the building stone: the blue-grey marble derives from Mt. Hymettos,
while the white marble was quarried at Mt. Pentelikon. The results moreover demonstrate that at least two distinct Pendeli quarry pits (Group 1 and Group 2) were employed for the construction of the building, and that both pits were possibly worked simultaneously and were capable of providing identical architectural elements. The concluding section considers the historical ramifications of these results for our understanding of the organization of quarry operations on Mt. Pentelikon in the Hellenistic period.
Stable Isotope analysis of the plinth and foot from a colossal statues of the Naxians on Delos (B... more Stable Isotope analysis of the plinth and foot from a colossal statues of the Naxians on Delos (British Museum B 322). The results fall between known Naxian and Parian fields.
The Practical Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean Archaeology
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2002
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information N... more Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Editor: Pike, Scott; Gitin, Seymour Title of Source: The practical impact of science on Near Eastern and Aegean ...
Recent Presentations by Scott Pike
Revisiting the Origin and Destination of the Late Antique Marzamemi ‘Church Wreck’ Cargo
Initially explored by pioneering underwater archaeologist Gerhard Kapitän in the 1960s, the famou... more Initially explored by pioneering underwater archaeologist Gerhard Kapitän in the 1960s, the famous “church wreck” at Marzamemi (Sicily)—with its cargo of prefabricated religious architectural elements—has long held a special place in discussions of the ancient stone transport and late antique exchange more broadly. Building on Kapitän’s work, renewed investigations of the wreck since 2012 have aimed to shed light on the broader socioeconomic and historical circumstances surrounding the shipment. Together, the vessel and its cargo offer insight into the character and patterns of maritime connectivity between the divergent east and west Mediterranean worlds, and the possible roles of imperial agency and local patronage in the ambitious architectural programs across the 6th-century Mediterranean world. Fundamental to answering these and other questions are the identifications of the most likely origin and destination for the cargo. Stable isotope analysis of marble samples collected from the site now offers a window into the geographic range of resources available for such an architectural program and, by extension, clues to the organization of materials, labor, and sponsorship behind such a shipment. Analysis of contemporary churches and other structures that incorporate similar materials along with an examination of corresponding primary textual sources allows for a reassessment of the most plausible destination of this complex cargo. This study, in turn, opens new possibilities for interpreting the social and political world of 6th-century exchange and consumption, including the individuals and institutions involved, and a re-evaluation of the multifaceted relationship between Justinian and the recently acquired imperial lands during his program of renewal.
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Papers by Scott Pike
andrias of the Naxians was knocked down by the bronze palm tree of Nicias in a storm promoted the belief that all or some of the pieces identified with the colossus belonged to a later replacement for the original Archaic-period statue (dated ca. 600 BCE). The data
from stable isotope analyses, in combination with the evidence from a recent analysis of style and proportions, now points to the conclusion that the fragments and base likely belong to at least three different archaic colossal statues. We explore the present limits in our interpretation of marble isotope analyses. We argue that this evidence is currently
the best available means of understanding the highly debated inscription on the east side of the base: “I am of the same stone, statue and base.”
When the stable isotope ratios of the clacitic marbles are coupled with macroscopic observations of each sample it becomes clear that a very substantial portion of the marble comes from the Pentelic quarries and a relatively small share comes from the Paros 1 (Lychnites) and Paros 2 (Chorodaki) quarries. Several other ancient quarries are also represented, including Cape Vathy on Thasos, Prokonnesos, perhaps Afyon, and possibly a regional quarry at Mount Bermion near Veria in west-central Macedonia. As a final exercise, stylistic and archaeological data for the sculptures are related to the quarry allocations to shed light on the exploitation, trade history, and utilization of marble in northern Greece.
while the white marble was quarried at Mt. Pentelikon. The results moreover demonstrate that at least two distinct Pendeli quarry pits (Group 1 and Group 2) were employed for the construction of the building, and that both pits were possibly worked simultaneously and were capable of providing identical architectural elements. The concluding section considers the historical ramifications of these results for our understanding of the organization of quarry operations on Mt. Pentelikon in the Hellenistic period.
Recent Presentations by Scott Pike