A First Report of the White Marble From The Sangri Valley in Southern Naxos

Stable isotope analysis of Early Cycladic marble artifacts recovered from the recent archaeological excavations by Renfrew and Boyd on Keros and Dhaskalio, as well as published studies of other Early Cycladic material (including the Keros Hoard), indicates that the marble was typically sourced from southern Naxos. As there are no known ancient white marble quarries in this part of the island, however, it has been proposed that these Cycladic artifacts were perhaps carved from well-rounded beach cobble collected along the shore. Interestingly, Sheedy and Pike in an accompanying paper at this conference, present data that suggests that the marble used to make the colossal marble statue of Apollo dedicated to the god by the Naxians in his sanctuary on Delos ca. 600 BC may also have originated in southern Naxos. The well-known quarries of Melanes and Apollonas that contain surviving larger-thanlife unfinished archaic kouroi are to the north and their geochemical signatures do not match those of the Bronze Age figurines from Keros and Dhaskalio or the Naxian Apollo on Delos. Is it possible then that there is at least one white marble source on southern Naxos that has so-far escaped detection?
The paradoxical question of geochemically sourcing white marble artifacts to quarries that have yet to be recognized led to a pedestrian survey of southern Naxos in the Summer of 2019 with the aim of identifying potential white marble sources in the region. The survey found and identified several white marble outcrops in the Sangri Valley that share the same textural and stable isotope signature as those of artifacts identified as being from southern Naxos. Our limited survey revealed at least one abandoned quarry pit within the white marble outcrops. It is highly likely that these white marble outcrops are the source for many of the well-known Cycladic figurine sculptures and possibly the Naxian Colossus of Apollo on Delos. However, before a definitive answer can be given and to get a sense of the extent of the marble resource, a thorough and proper geoarchaeological survey of the Sangri Valley is being planned for the near future.