Primi elementi per l’identificazione dei bacini di approvvigionamento dei materiali lapidei locali a disposizione dei pavimentarii ostiensi

The Ostia Marina Project of the University of Bologna has been carrying out archaeological investigations for more than a decade aimed at gaining a better understanding of Ostia’s maritime suburbs. During the excavation campaigns, which are still in progress, numerous mosaic floors have been identified in at least four buildings, dating between the 2nd and 5th centuries AD. The complex issue of the provenance of mosaic tesserae is focussed on in this paper. Archaeometric analyses allow us to recognize the petrographic characteristics of some samples of black and white tesserae and to identify the quarries. In this way it is possible to reconstruct the various production and commercial circuits within which the workshops of Roman pavimentarii operated.