UN METODO PER L’IDENTIFICAZIONE DELLA PROVENIENZA: IL TEMPIO DI ATHENA A CAMARINA

The collection of information relating to ancient monuments requires special care and attention especially for their rarity as well as their historical importance. Therefore, it is evident that the obtained information acquire a great value of representativeness and it is necessary to operate in order to make them easily transferable and useable in similar contexts. The analysis of a portion of a wall of the cella of the Athena temple, located in the archaeological park of Camarina (Ragusa, Sicily), allowed us to acquire data and information of considerable importance on the monument; they constitute a knowledge basis and a useful support for the preparation of a conservation program to be used also as a emblematic reference to other similar monuments belonging to Sicily. Specifically, a mineralogical characterization of the lithotype taken from the ruins of the Athena temple was carried out; in parallel, the same characterization has been carried out on rock samples taken from the Punta Braccetto quarry, identified as the probable quarry supply. The aim of the study consisted in applying a methodological procedure that allowed us to compare the characterization data related to specimens of the ashlar masonry of the temple with those taken from the quarry, indicated in the scientific literature as the one used to collect the material to build the edifice. In the case of the Camarina temple, the study, completed by a historical and geographical contextualisation and a photographic dossier, enabled to ascertain that the stone materials used to build the temple actually came from the Punta Braccetto quarry, situated not far from the monument, so confirming what reported by historical sources.