Alabaster
An Interdisciplinary Study of the Sources and Uses of Calcite Alabaster in Antiquity
edited by Simon J. Barker and Simona Perna
Hardback (Forthcoming)
(October 2026)
ISBN: 9782503610665
Price: $207.00
On back order
This interdisciplinary volume will be the first of its kind, providing a standard reference point for alabaster in Antiquity and focusing on one material from source identification to quarrying and trade to its uses in architectural contexts and as artifacts and vessels.
With colours ranging from purest white to honeyed brown, texture of finest grains to undulating waves, and a translucent nature, alabaster has captured the imagination of patrons and craftsmen across the globe from Prehistory to the present. Yet, while calcite alabaster has been one of the most sought-after decorative stones throughout history, many aspects of its procurement and use are less well known. This volume provides the first comprehensive study of calcite alabaster from a comparative, interdisciplinary perspective. The 21 chapters – contributed by geologists, archaeologists, and art historians – cover a wide range of topics, including the quarrying, scientific provenance, use, and imitation of this stone, from a wide chronological perspective (covering over 6000 years from the Predynastic Period to the early medieval period) and geographic context (from the Near East, across the Mediterranean basin, to the Iberian peninsula). This is followed by a gazetteer of known calcite-alabaster quarry sites that is designed to unify the data on the disparate sources and varieties of this stone. This important compendium includes the known calcite-alabaster sources from the most important quarries in the ancient world as well as less well-known quarries. Overall this volume provides a tool for researchers interested in this ubiquitous stone resource.
- Edited by Barker, Simon J.
- Edited by Perna, Simona
Other Titles in this Series
Consumption, Ritual, Art, and Society
Interpretive Approaches and Recent Discoveries of Food and Drink in Etruria
Volume 2
Similar Books
A Collaborative Tapestry in Honour of Shirley Ann Brown / Une fresque brodée en l’honneur de Shirley Ann Brown
The Bayeux Tapestry Seen by her Colleagues and Friends / La Tapisserie de Bayeux vue par ses collègues et amis
Balthasar Caymox of Nuremberg
Early Modern German Print Publishers: Popular Prints of the Seventeenth Century
Caesar’s Visions and Impact on the Roman Empire
Revisiting the Archaeological and Historical Record of the 40s BC
Volume 2
Construction Processes in Historical Western Societies (5th c. BC – 10th c. AD)
Case Studies on Techniques, Models, and Costs
ENTANGLED AFRICA
Intra-African Relations Between Rain Forest and Mediterranean from Around 4,000 BCE to 1,500 CE
Etruscan and Roman Hellenistic Anatomical ex votos
Reassessing Popular Religious Expressions in Central Italy
Volume 8
Gold, Silver and Glass: Power Networks, Cultural Identities, Technology Transfers and Agency across the Old World (7th Century BC – 1st Century AD)
Proceedings of a Conference Held at the British Museum, 16–18 June 2023
Invisible Labour in Antiquity
Visualizing Obscure Work in the Ancient Mediterannean and West Asia
Volume 1
Late Antique villae in the Balkans (3rd–7th c. AD): Current Research Questions and Perspectives
HAEMUS Companion to the Late Antique Balkans 1
Volume 4
Legal Visuality
Exegesis, Ambiguity, and Dissimulation of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period
Listening to the Swan Song
More-than-Human Beings and Sounds in Literature and Culture Through the Ages
Monastic Manuscripts from the Eastern Mediterranean (Sinai, Jerusalem, Antioch)
Production, Use, and Contexts
