La sculpture de l'Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge, matériaux et analyses : les marbres blancs

Abstract

Thanks to archaeometry, the study of early medieval sculpture has changed profoundly over the last thirty years. In addition to the formal, typological and contextual data of works that are sometimes isolated or fragmentary, the analysis of materials adds the possibility of tracing the history of the major extraction and distribution centres. According to a methodology based on innovative techniques, these analyses make it possible to distinguish materials that are very similar in appearance, especially white marbles, and thus to determine their provenance, marketing and use. Systematically applied in certain regions (Occitania, Aquitania), they have provided vital data for the study of the materiality of sculptures, opening new perspectives for research.

Keywords

• Late Antiquity
• Early Middle Ages
• France
• sculpture
• quarries
• white marble