Isotope-geochemical and mineralogical-petrographic characteristics of the Pergamon altar marble

We report preliminary results of our provenance study of marble from the Te lephos Frieze of the Pergamon altar. The emphasis here is on the stable iso tope geochemistry of marble. The obtained delta(13)C values (2.4 to 3.5 par ts per thousand) vary insignificantly. However, the delta(18)O values give two clusters. The isotopically light marbles (close to - 9.5 parts per thou sand) derive from panels 1-8 and the heavy marbles (- 3.5 to - 1.0 parts pe r thousand derive from panels 11-50. Mineralogical, petrographic and geoche mical investigations (accessory minerals, grain size distribution, rare ear th elements) further refined the marble characteristics. In spite of certai n differences observed (grain size distributions, isotopy and contents of c ertain elements) for the two marble groups, the present data support a comm on provenance. So far, east Aegean islands and the Marmara region an favore d.