Marble Masons on Stage: Two Case Studies in the Working Procedures of the Byzantine Sculptural Ateliers

The massive production of carved marble in the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire and especially during the golden age of Justinian required the development of a rigorous planning system for the various stages of extraction, working and distribution of materials destined not only for the major and minor centres of the Empire but also for all territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In this chapter, we first consider the mode of maritime transport from marble production centres to their destination, especially in the light of the first results of the most recent excavations of the well-known Marzamemi II wreck (the so-called ‘Basilica church wreck’). In the last part of the chapter we present the results of a recent though partial examination of the marble revetments in the spandrels of the arches in Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, which revealed the systematic use of ‘utility marks’ for the assembly of marble elements.