! " # ) %& & *+ , '&,'- $ '& ( Moshe L. Fischer Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview | Résumé : Des sculptures en marbre ont été trouvées en grand nombre dans les sites de la Palestine romaine, principalement dans les espaces architecturaux de la période des Antonins à Caesarea Maritima, Ascalon, Scythopolis, Caesarea Philippi (Paneas) et Samaria-Sebaste. Cet article se concentre sur une vue d’ ensemble des principaux aspects des œuvres d’ art importées en marbre, et de leur impact sur le marché local. Quelques sculptures seulement ont été créées pendant l’époque hellénistique et elles ont subi des destructions importantes causées par les Macchabées. Ainsi, nous pouvons mentionner par ex., que l’art de la période romaine était entièrement basé sur l’importation et que aucune école spécialement artistique, ou atelier n’était établi ou développé. Cependant un impact local, ou même personnel, sur les copies importées dans le pays peut être souligné, impliquant des grandes différences dans le dessin, les détails de finition et la compréhension des sujets représentés, qui peuvent être déduits de ces copies. L’ examen des œuvres en marbre nous autorise à dire que la Palestine romaine était principalement un importateur de sculptures en marbre achevées, ou presque. La Palestine romaine, comme de nombreuses autres provinces de l’ Empire, est devenue un consommateur d’ objets d’ art en marbre importés, sans même avoir une réelle activité de copiste en utilisant le marbre. D’ autre part, des prototypes importés ou bien des principes artistiques, étaient utilisés dans l’ art local pendant un temps relativement court. We will focus here on an overview of the main aspects of imported marble art into Roman Palestine and its impact on the local market. The main sculptural findings will be presented as a data base of the discussion. At a glance some important points can be emphasized from the beginning. Due to the specific development of the geographical area in discussion and its ethnic background only a few sculptural art has been created during the Hellenistic period and even that underwent strong destructions caused by the Maccabees. Thus, we may state for example that Roman period art was definitely based on import and no special artistic schools or workshops were established or developed. But a local, even personal impact on copies imported into the country may be emphasized implying great differences in design, finish of details and understanding of the subject may be inferred from those copies. Sculptures were imported partly in an unfinished state, and they were finished either by itinerant sculptors or, presumably, also by local marmorarii as evidenced by some inscriptions. One of the intriguing aspects of use actes du xe colloque international sur l’art provincial romain, p. 401 à p. 415 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview of marble sculpture in Roman Palestine is the origin of the marble itself, since there is no natural marble in the country. Contrary to architectural decoration, the marble analysis of sculptures points to a greater variation of sources, such as the quarries of Pentelikon, Thasos, Paros, Hymmetus/Carrara, Afyon/Aphrodisias and Marmara. A comparison between the different centers makes it evident, however, that the contribution of each quarry to the sculpture of Roman Palestine is different pointing to different preferences also following differences in artistic and programmatic taste. The examination of the marble items enables us to state that Roman Palestine was mainly an importer of finished or semi finished marble items. For all of them, no special, locally impregnated features could be recorded. On the contrary, they bear clear features which are in common with artifacts produced by the main centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. Only a few marks of “artistic independence” could be emphasized. Almost all of them are limited to attempts at finishing some of the details (and even then it was done in a naive way) or to adapt them to their location in the sites. It is reasonable to assume that large deliveries were accompanied by marble specialists, but, on the other side, this did not create a base for a local development of marble art. Roman Palestine, like many other provinces throughout the Empire, became a consumer of imported marble art, without even dealing with a real activity of copying this art by using marble. On the other side, artisans working with local stones became during this time the main copyists of imported marble art. The latter definitely created a strong impression, since its prototypes and principles were “translated” into local art in a relatively short time. Roman Palestine : Historical and Architectural Background Ancient Israel entered the framework of Roman monumental civic and religious architecture and sculpture, marble industry and marble trade included, after the two Jewish Revolts against the Romans, that of 66-70 CE (the First Jewish Revolt) and 132-135 CE (the Bar Kokhba Revolt). During the consolidation of Roman Imperial power under Hadrian and the Antonines, which reached its peak under the Severans, the reorganized and renamed province Syria-Palaestina underwent changes in almost all domains of life. During the Severan period all these changes were officialized, some towns even obtained city-status, and the status of others was upgraded. In fact, monumental architecture and artistic activity carried out according to Hellenistic and Roman principles was not new to Palestine, since it was introduced in this area already by Herod’s the Great building program in the second half of the first century BCE. The new architectural concept was based on civic centers including the ”forum and basilica’ concept, often with a temple replacing earlier (in our case, mainly Herodian). Theaters have been identified/unearthed in the majority of Palestinian main towns. Thermae, palaestrae and aqueducts became regular parts of the latter, as well as amphitheaters and hippodromes1. A network of roads with milestones and road-installations linked all the cities of the country. These changes affected not only the pagan inhabitants, apparently the only ones interested in Roman stability, but it seems that to a certain degree this stability was more or less equally enjoyed by the Jewish and Samaritan inhabitants, at least those living in larger cities and within the limits of political fluctuations and intermittent crises. 1. See Segal 1985-1988 ; Segal 1995. 402 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie One of the main characteristics of this monumental architecture was the use of marble, mainly for decorative purposes, in some cases, however, even for tectonic components (bases, columns). Since no natural sources of marble are located in Palestine it is obvious that marble had to be imported. Thus, architectural details, revetment slabs, statues, sculptures and sarcophagi were imported to Palestine. This was one type of linkage with the Imperial system (fig. 1). Ο Fig. 1. Map of marble diffusion in Roman Palestine (All rights reserved). 403 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview Sculpture of Hellenistic Palestine Our emphasis on the “revolution” occurring in the field of plastic art after the consolidation of the Roman rule in the area is due to the fact that contrary to many other regions the area of ancient Israel has very scanty remains of this kind originating in previous times. The sculpture of ancient Israel is to be differentiated according to Jewish and non-Jewish background. In general, figurative sculpture is not to be expected among Jews until the radical changes occurring in their attitude towards the interpretation of the Second Commandment : “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…” (Exodus 20 : 4,5 : Deuteronomy 5 : 8,9). And, in fact, for the periods starting with King David, figurative sculpture was found mainly in aberrant complexes, such as the Phoenician determined Palace of Ahab at Samaria. Even the Persian rule over the country following the Assyrian and Babylonian destructions did not yield any real valuable sculptural material. Some outstanding items are a Totenmahlrelief from Apollonia-Arsuf made of Pentelic marble of the well-known fourth century BCE Attic type (fig. 2)2. During the Hellenistic period, Hellenized cities of Palestine probably cultivated “regular” Greek sculpture, but unfortunately the finds are rather scanty. Several inscriptions, which can be related to sculptural activity and some scattered fragments, however, attest to such activity3. Beside this, a few examples of some sculptural works could be noted, such as the marble headless male and the kourotrophos female torso from Samaria, and the recently discovered marble male figure (a priest ?) from Akko (Ptolemais)4. An outstanding example, however, is the colossal marble head from Scythopolis (fig. 3), presumably of Alexander the Great. It was unearthed at Tell Beth She’ an (Tell el Hosn), not far from the remains of a temple.5 Other fragments of destroyed sculptural works such as the head of a marble herm from Dor and the fragment of a head of a marble statuette from Yavneh-Yam found in the Hasmonean destruction layer make it rather attractive to link them with the sources referring to Simon the Hasmonean’ s activity, saying : “[The Maccabees] were removing every pollution purifying the houses in which idols stood”) (I Maccabees 13 : 47)6. The Herodian architectural “boom” following the short intermezzo of the gentile revival of Pompeius and Gabinius was carried out in general without the use of figurative sculpture, a fact which is worthy to be noted : no images of the king are known, neither from coins nor from other artifacts ; there was no figurative art retrieved from the Herodian complexes at Masada, Jericho or Herodium. Flavius Josephus stresses the anti-iconic attitude of his time (Ap. II, 12 ; bell. II, 75) but largely describes the use of colossal statues erected in the Temple of Augustus and Roma at Caesarea (bell. I, 21,7 [414])7. Under the king’ s descendants, however, things seem to have changed. 2. The site of Apollonia-Arsuf lies on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, at a distance of 17 km north of Joppa (Yafo) and 34 km south of Caesarea ; see Fischer, Tal 2003, with bibliography. 3. For a still valuable review see Wenning 1983. 4. Reisner et al. 1924, I, p. 383 ; II, pls. 76aa, 79g (Samaria) ; Stern 1991, p. 104 (Akko). 5. For Beth Shean-Scythopolis sculptural history see Romano, Fischer in this volume. 6. Fischer 2006. 7. A rather strange story is that regarding the Golden Eagle required by Herod to be attached to the Temple in Jerusalem (ant. 17,6,1, 149-163 ; bell. 1, 648-655). 404 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie Ο Fig. 2. Apollonia Totenmahlrelief (All rights reserved). Ο Fig. 3. Beth Shean-Scythopolis colossal head (All rights reserved). 405 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview Thus, Josephus mentions that after the death of Herod Agrippas (in 44 CE) the Caesarea mob looted “the images of the king’ s daughters”(ant. 19, 9, 1 [356-357]. Marble Sculpture in Roman Palestine Marble statues and sculptures are found at a great number of sites of Roman Palestine following the changes occurring there in the second and third centuries CE, as described above. Among them the main harbor cities of Ascalon and Caesarea, was well as some inland cities such as SamariaSebaste and Beth Shean-Scythopolis played an important role both in using and diffusing marble sculpture. On the other side in Palestine, an independent school of art did not developed after the Hellenistic period, so that we may expect a sculpture depending almost completely on imports of copies or, at most, the finishing of such copies. These are, with very few exceptions, not real replicas of famous Greek statues. Perhaps the lost colossal statues of Augustus, imitating the Olympian Zeus and that of Roma, copying the Hera of Argos, which adorned the temple of Augustus and Roma erected by King Herod at Caesarea were the single opera nobilia of Palestine. In addition to these, there are some statues having much in common with rather famous prototypes, without being real copies of them, for example : the Zeus of Gaza (fig. 4), the Hadrian of Caesarea (fig. 5), the Crouching Aphrodite of Ascalon Ο Fig. 4. Zeus from Gaza (All rights reserved). 406 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie and Caesarea and others. On the other hand, adaptions of prototypes for local purposes are evident, such as the Amazon or Fortuna representing the Tyche of Caesarea. Nevertheless, the examination of items and their tentative attribution to original structures follow the same principles as were usual for Roman sculpture. It seems likely that the customary employment and location of sculpture in Roman Palestine were similar to those in other parts of the Empire. About 40 % of the marble sculpture of the Roman period recorded in Israel originated in Caesarea. Since Caesarea was founded by Herod as a new city, and the Emperor’ s cult was from the beginning propagated as the main cult, it seems likely that sculptures were created for the purposes of this cult. Oxyrhynchus Papyrus No. 1380 (“The Invocation of Isis”), lines 93-99, mentions the worship of Isis at Caesarea8. The lack of traditional gods was compensated at Caesarea by the Imperial cult, which was strongly emphasized. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to state that a part of the varied pantheon of gods represented at Caesarea should be attributed to the Imperial cult. Although ca. 25 % of Caesarean sculptures may be identified as representations of gods9, since all are headless it is difficult to state whether they were cult-statues and thus reflect the cults worshipped at Caesarea. The following gods are depicted : Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Asclepius, Athena, Hygeia, Isis, Kybele, Mithras, Serapis and Tyche. In fact, only two temples have been identified at Caesarea : the Temple of Augustus and Roma, erected at the foundation of the city by Herod and unearthed in the early sixties10 and the Late Roman Mithraeum, which was set up in one of the southern warehouses of the Herodian harbor11. On the other hand, we have some indications of the existence of an Hadrianeum12 and a Tibereum, as revealed by the well known inscription of Pontus Pilatus 13. As for the Hadrianeum, Avi-Yonah’ s identification of the large porphyry statue (fig. 5) as the Emperor Hadrian makes Ο Fig. 5. Hadrian‘s porphyry statue from Caesarea Maritima (All rights reserved). 8. Grenfel, Hunt 1915. 9. Gersht 1987, p. 138. 10. BJ I, 21, 7 (414) ; Levine 1975, p. 19 ; Ringel 1975, p. 40-42. 11.. Bull 1974. 12. Levine 1975, p. 21-22 ; Ringel 1975, p. 44-45. Another Hadrianeum was probably erected at Tiberias, at least according to Christian sources and coins. 13. Frova 1965, p. 217-220 ; see also Levine 1975, p. 20-21. 407 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview it likely that it was the cult-statue of this temple. The cult statues of Augustus and Roma are lost, but signs of the Imperial cult may be seen in connection with statues of Tyche of the Amazon type (fig. 6).14 Oriental gods are represented at Caesarea, as was usual throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. Partly because of their origin and history, these gods were better received in the East than in other regions, but we should remember that they are represented as Hellenized or even Romanized deities. The only one which could be identified was the Mithraeum, represented by its cult-object, the marble-medallion depicting a Mithraic scene. The outstanding statue of Artemis Ephesia, however, seems also to have been connected with the Ephesians, who were scattered throughout the Empire and as such were presumably also active at Caesarea. A great share of the statues and sculptures found at Caesarea obviously decorated the theater, where they were discovered : muses, deities, masks, etc. Frequently they do in fact match the character of the buildings they adorn, but often it appears, however, that they were not intended to fulfill a programmatic plan15. Ο Fig. 6. Caesarea Tyche (All rights reserved). 14. Fischer 1991, n° 4, with further references. 15. Reminding Cicero’ s famous almost hopeless question,“Bacchis vero ubi est apud me locus?” (Ad Familiares VII, 23,2). 408 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie Iconographic sources of sculptures a. Cult-statues At Caesarea, it is reported by Flavius Iosephus that the cult-statues of Augustus and Roma in the temple erected by Herod were respectively copies of Zeus Olympios and Hera of Argos. Unfortunately these statues have not been preserved. Statues of the sitting Hadrian from Caesarea (of porphyry) and of Zeus or Demos also from Caesarea are, obviously, less monumental copies of the Zeus type. Zeus of Gaza, however, represents a rather monumental copy of this type. Judging from its characteristics, it may be considered the cult-statue of a temple. Ascelpios was one of the popular gods copied several times from various prototypes. The statues of Asclepios from Ascalon and Caesarea have some common features, that of Shuni – an eastern outskirt of Caesarea Maritima – , however, is unique in its depictions of this god. Statues of Asclepios may also represent ordinary citizens, but unfortunately, their most important anatomical feature is lacking, namely the head. Oriental gods, especially Isis, Serapis and Kybele, are represented according to their Hellenized image, since they had already become popular in the Hellenistic period. One of the most puzzling issues is that of the statue of Artemis Ephesia found in the area of the Caesarea theater16. It seems beyond any doubt that this is a cult-statue, having as its model one of the many statues existing at Ephesus, although we are uncertain as to whether it was part of a temple dedicated to the goddess or of a shrine of Ephesians living at Caesarea. We are justified in assuming that, as elsewhere, in Palestine, gods represented in sculpture may also have been worshipped together with two or three other deities, e.g. Asclepios, Hygeia and another god or Zeus, Athena with others, etc. It is a rather accepted that even in the Classical period worship was not confined to a single god, which in the Hellenistic and Roman periods became a tendency to worship groups of gods at the same time. b. Imperial cult Cuirassed statues, nude statues, large civilian statues dressed in abundant togas and colossal statues represent the main sculptural repertoire of Imperial cult 17. Tyche represented the city’ s essential elements as linked with the Imperial power. At Ascalon, Isi-Tyche is probably connected with other representations of Imperial victory. At Caesarea, the representation of diverse types of Tyche doubtlessly signifies the varied beliefs associated with the cult of Tyche. As already mentioned, this goddess was very often portrayed on coins and gems. Her representation as both patron of the city and its harbor and, by holding a protome of the Emperor, reflection of the linkage with the Empire and its main cult, are relevant as well. A statue of Tyche unearthed at Scythopolis may be added to the list of sculptural representations of this goddess18. 16. Fischer 1998, fig. 119. 17. Price 1984, p. 156-162 ; 181-188 ; Stemmer 1978, p. 147-148. 18. That at Scythopolis the image of Tyche was of enduring significance is evident from her fine representation in the mosaic pavement of a Byzantine house, see Archaeological Neewsletter 91, 10, fig. 8. 409 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview Location of sculptures Civic centers The forum and its adjacent structures represented the main location of statues in a Roman city19. At present, however, the only example from Roman Palestine is the basilica of Ascalon. Here the upper storey of the façade of the doorways between the central hall of the basilica and its apse were embellished with four figured pilasters (fig. 7) decorated by Victoriae and Isi-Tyche in high relief and ranging to a height of 3,60 m (fig. 8)20. It seems likely that in continuation of the policy of furthering the Imperial and civic idea that started with Augustus, cities of the Empire used their civic centers as a demonstration of loyalty by displaying sculptures reflecting the ideology of the principate and portraying the princeps, personifications of his political program or outstanding citizens 21. Temples The evidence for the attribution of sculptures to temples is rather scanty. However, sculptures of gods found in Palestine may be tentatively attributed to them. Their identification must be based on their depiction in both architectural decoration and coins and gems. Some aspects of this have been examined in chapters dealing with Ascalonite and Caesarean sculptures. Theaters In the Roman Near East, theaters often represented the most elaborated buildings of the cities22. They served as “exhibition” centers, both for official cults, the Imperial cult included, and artistic representations of subjects related to the Greek and Roman theatre itself. The two main theaters excavated until now in Israel, namely those of Caesarea and Scythopolis, were richly decorated with sculptures of all kinds, as is evident from the material presented above. Both architectural sculpture (such as the supporting telamons of Caesarea) and statues were used. Certainly, various artistic representations relating to the theater23 should be mentioned : muses and masks, satyrs, nymphs, genre-sculptures, dramaturges and philosophers, etc. Thermae Thermae were among the most popular establishments of the Roman Empire and places for venerating both traditional gods and the Emperor. Statues like those of Asclepius, Hygeia, Hermes, the Nymphs, but mainly Aphrodite, may be easily attributed to bathhouses. That baths were often named after deities and adorned with their statues and sculptures is well known24. The controversy concerning the role played by sculpture in thermae is still going on. Do sculptures have an educational character or do they represent merely decorative aspects25 ? For 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Zimmer 1989, p. 52. Fischer 1995. Following Zimmer 1989, p. 52-53 ; cf. Zanker 1988 ; Zanker 1987. Segal 1985-1988. Bieber 1961. For the decoration of Roman theaters, see Fuchs 1987. Dunbabin 1989, p. 15-16 ; 32, with some Christian sources concerning Roman baths filled with idols. Manderscheid 1981, p. 28-46. 410 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie this point it would be of interest to recall the Jewish attitude towards the use or refuse of thermae, as revealed by a dispute between the Greek Peroqlos and Rabban Gamaliel II of Akko (Ist-IInd cent. C.E.) preserved in the Mishnah (The Order of Damages (neziqin), Abodah Zarah 3 : 4) (A New Translation by J. Neusner, New Haven 1988, 665) : “A. Peroqlos b. Pelosepos asked Rabban Gamaliel in Akko, when he was washing in Aphrodite’ s bathhouse, saying to him, “It is written in your Torah, And there shall cleave nothing of a devoted thing to your hand (Dt. 13 : 18). How is it that you’ re taking a bath in Aphrodite’ s bathhouse ?” B. He said to him, “They do not give answers in a bathhouse.” C. When he went out, he said to him, “I never came into her domain. She came into mine. They don’ t say, ‘Let’ s make a bathhouse as an ornament for Aphrodite’ . But they say, ‘Let’ s make Aphrodite as an ornament for the bathhouse.’ D. “Another matter : Even if someone gave you a lot of money, you would never walk in your temple of idolatry naked or suffering a flux, nor would you piss in its presence. E. “Yet this thing is standing there at the head of the gutter and everybody pisses right in front of her.” F. It is said only, “...their gods” (Dt. 12 :3)-that which one treats as a god is prohibited, but that which one treats not as a god is permitted.” Private complexes (Villas) There are only a few remains of villas in and around the larger towns of Roman Palestine, and so we do not know if marble was also used there for architectural purposes. Assuming that the provincial elite of Palestine held the same attitude towards Classical art and its use in interior decoration as their Western colleagues, several pieces uncovered in Roman Palestine may have belonged to villas. Thus for example, smaller objects, such as statuettes of gods, muses, heroes, etc. could be attributed to this category. Also portraits and busts of both “famous” persons and “ordinary” citizens were presumably also used to decorate villas. Portraits of Euripides, Sophocles and Olympiodoros may be assigned to richer villas of Caesarea26. It is perhaps worthy of mention that a statuette of Jesus Criophorus was found at Caesarea south of the Crusader wall in an ordinary Christian house without any signs of a church or other “official” Christian structures. Portraits of Ascalonite women or that from the “Jordan Valley” were probably admired by the inhabitants of such villae urbanae. Perhaps some representations of gods were also part of this interior decoration. As mentioned several times above, since in almost all cases we are not in the possession of the heads of the statues, it is impossible to state whether they were cult or decorative statues. A last point should also be considered in this context : since in antiquity the practice of representing private persons as gods, their attributes included, was popular, it would not surprise that a share of the statues of gods, presented here, at least the smaller ones, represented ordinary mortals. “Ordinary” mortals represented as Asclepios/ Aesculapius are common27. Perhaps such representations which resembling Asclepius, which occur at Ascalon or Caesarea may be assigned to this category. In this case, however, they also could have been displayed in private complexes. On the other hand, the statue of Asclepios from Shuni is so outstanding in character and design that, although a small 26. Fischer 1998, fig. 138-140 ; cf. Richter 1965, II, p. 162. 27. Wrede 1981, p. 195-196, n° 3, pl. 1,2 and 4. 411 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview statue, it can be identified as part of the decoration of the “Asclepeion” unearthed there, even if it was not the main cult-statue. Concluding remarks In conclusion, the sculpture presented here seems to point towards a rather general use for both larger sites and smaller structures. Lacking any basis for either artistic origin or attribution, we can only try to form a picture either by comparison with other regions or appraisal of the archaeological circumstances. We tried to show that one should not seek the cult-places or temples for all the gods represented in sculpture, since a major portion of them were probably housed in larger structures such as gymnaseia, colonnades, gates, porticos, etc. Contrary to architectural decoration, the analysis of sculptures points to a greater variation of sources, such as the quarries of Paros, Pentelikon, Thasos and Hymmetus/Carrara28. It seems that these quarries supplied marble exclusively for statuary purposes, at least outside their region. Furthermore, beside Proconnesus, additional Asia Minor quarries also supplied marble for sculpture, such as Afyon and Ephesus29. As already concluded by us in 2002, the isotopic and chemical composition of sculptures from the main importation centers of Roman Palestine correspond to six marble sources, namely Pentelikon, Thasos, Paros, Hymmetus/Carrara, Afyon/Aphrodisias and Marmara. A comparison between the different centers makes it evident, however, that the contribution of each quarry to the sculpture of Roman Palestine is different. Thus, for Caesarea the quarries of Afyon/ Aphrodisias, Pentelikon, Marmara and Thasos are the major suppliers, whereas Hymmetus/Carrara and Paros are rare. Compared with Scythopolis, it seems that this distribution is similar, but with one important exception. No Marmara marble sculptures have been noted at Scythopolis, which is in contradiction with Caesarea, where five such sculptures have been unearthed. For Ascalon, Proconnesian marble was preferred, but a light tendency towards import of Pentelikon marble for sculptures is also visible. Thus, one of the figured pilasters of the Ascalon basilica is of Pentelic marble, contrary to the others which seem to be of marble from Marmara/Carrara or Marmara/Thasos, such as those from Leptis Magna30. Also of some interest is the attribution to Carrara of a cuirassed emperor’ s statue from Samaria-Sebaste. Corroborating these data, it seems that the examination of the sculptural items made of marble enables us to state that Roman Palestine was mainly an importer of finished or semi finished marble items of the main kinds diffused at that period. For all of them, no special, locally impregnated features could be recorded. On the contrary, they bear clear features which are in common with artifacts produced by the main centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. Only a few marks of “artistic independence” could be emphasized. Almost all of them are limited to attempt at finishing some of the details (and even then it was done in a naive way) or to adapt them to their location in the sites. Is the work of marble-specialists, namely marmorarii needed for such works ? One of the main questions still remaining is whether marble workers joined the transports or even settled in the countries 28. Fischer 2002. 29. It is worthy of noting that the colossal marble head of “Alexander the Great” / Dionysos from Scythopolis, which may be dated in the Hellenistic period, seems to be of marble from Afyon/Aphrodisias ! The latter became more popular during the Roman Imperial period, being linked with the flourishing of the famous School of Aphrodisias ; for the quarries and their history see Monna, Pensabene 1977. 30. Walda 1985. 412 Les ateliers de sculpture régionaux : techniques, styles et iconographie Ο Fig. 7. Ascalon basilica, drawing of inner facade (All rights reserved). Ο Fig. 8. Ascalon basilica, figured pilasters in an poposed arrangement (All rights reserved). 413 M. L. Fischer • Sculpture in Roman Palestine. Import and Local Production : An Overview of destination (such as the famous Aphrodisieis), or work was carried out and finished by local specialists31. It is reasonable to assume that large deliveries were accompanied by these specialists, but, on the other side, this did not create a base for a local development of marble art. Roman Palestine, like many other provinces throughout the Empire, became a consumer of imported marble art, without even dealing with a real activity of copying this art by using marble. On the other side, artisans working with local stones became during this time the main copyist of imported marble art. The latter definitely created a strong impression, since its prototypes and principles were “translated” into local art in a relatively short time. BIBLIOGRAPHIE Bieber 1961 : Bieber (M.), The History of the Greek and Roman Theater (2nd ed.), New Jersey. Bull 1974 : Bull (R.J.), “A Mithraic Medallion from Caesarea”, IEJ, 24, p. 187-190. Dunbabin 1989 : Dunbabin (K.M.D.), “ ‘Baiarum Grata Voluptas’ : Pleasures and Dangers of the Baths”, PBSR, 44, p. 7-46. 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