Lapis Lacedaemonius

thumb|right|Lapis Lacedaemonius '''Lapis Lacedaemonius''' ({{langx|la|stone from Lacedaemon}}), also known as '''Spartan basalt''',<ref name=wilson>{{cite book |last= Wilson|first= Nigel|date= 2013|title= Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8pXhAQAAQBAJ|publisher= Routledge|page= 449|isbn= 978-1-136-78800-0 }}</ref> is a form of andesite or volcanic rock known today only from a single source in the village of Krokees on the Peloponnese in Greece.<ref name=broodbank>{{cite book |last= Broodbank|first= Cyprian|year= 2014|orig-year= 2013|title= The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World|publisher= Thames & Hudson|page= 105|isbn= 978-0-500-05176-4}}</ref><ref name=cms>{{cite web |url= http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/fakultaeten/philosophie/zaw/cms/seals/glossary.html#L|title= Lapis Lacedaemonius|author= |website= Corpus der minoischen und mykenischen Siegel (CMS) – Glossary|publisher= Heidelberg University|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.<ref name=ISPRA>{{cite web |url= http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/museum-en/publications/marbles/cap-4.2.2|title= Cap. 4.2.2 – Species: Laconia "Antique Green" Porphyry (improperly named Serpentine) (Lapis Lacedaemonius)|author= |website= Ancient Decorative Stones: 'Federico Pescetto and Pio De Santis Collections'|publisher= Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (Institute for Environmental Protection and Research)|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> The stone has a dark green colour, speckled with elements shifting from yellow to light green.<ref name=cms /> Occasionally, the speckles have crystallised in a way that creates rosette-like patterns.<ref name=wilson /> It is rated as having a hardness of six or higher on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.<ref name=cms /> It appears in comparatively small blocks.<ref name=corsi>{{cite web |url= http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/stones/view/806|title= Porfido serpentino antico, porfido verde agatata, from Krokees (Levetsova), Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece|author= |website= Corsi Collection of Decorative Stones|publisher= Oxford University Museum of Natural History|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> It is known in Italian as ''porfido verde antico'' and in German as ''Krokeischer Stein''.

The stone is known to have been processed by Neanderthals.<ref name=broodbank /> In slightly more recent times, lapis Lacedaemonius has been used for making Minoan sealstones and vases, both Minoan and Mycenean. It also was used as an element in decorative elements created with opus sectile technique (with examples known from Ostia Antica and Nemi) during Roman times, as well as in several churches in Rome (e.g. Santa Prassede) and in the pavement of St. Peter's Square.<ref name=ISPRA /><ref name=corsi /> Its use is mentioned by Pausanias. During the Middle Ages it was employed in mosaics in e.g. Palermo, Constantinople, and Santiago de Compostela.<ref name=broodbank /> Furthermore, Roman and Byzantine decorative stones frequently were reused up until the eighteenth century. For example, in St. Mark's Basilica, Venice and also as far away from the Mediterranean Sea as in Westminster Abbey, London.<ref name=wilson />

The stone from Krokees comes from a lava dome approximately 230 million years old. Its light spots are plagioclase, which over time has turned into albite and epidote. In places, iron minerals have oxidized into hematite, giving it a reddish tone. Geologically similar rock, equally exploited during antiquity, may be found on Samothrace.<ref name=wilson />

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == {{Commonscat|Verde Antico}} * [http://www.architetturadipietra.it/wp/?p=3101 Porfido Verde Antico] Article about Lapis Lacedaemonius in ''Architettura di pietra''. (in Italian)

Category:Andesite Category:Geology of Greece Category:Laconia