This paper presents for the first time chemical data on the ancient (Antiquity period) marble quarries of Delos Island and some architectural marbles from its famous and exceptionally well-preserved archaeological site. Delos geological substratum is mostly composed of granite, including very few decametric marble enclaves. However, ancient Delian architecture is dominated by gneiss and marbles. A large quantity of marble had thus to be imported from neighbouring Cycladic Islands and continental Greece. Their provenances remain mostly unknown. Several analytical methods have been developed in archaeometry for years to determine the origin of marbles, but they are generally destructive. This paper reports a methodology based on a hand-held portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyser to detect major and trace elements often used in provenance studies. Drawbacks of using those elements for marble provenance and analytical limitations attached to portable instruments were frequently discussed. Here the usefulness of pXRF for marble provenance research was tested in association with principal component analysis (PCA). Two artefacts of presumed Delian origin were selected and the results showed that one of them came undoubtedly from a Delian quarry while the other one was not of local origin. This protocol appeared to be a powerful tool when conventional destructive analyses are precluded.

中文翻译：

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Delos 考古大理石：一项基于地球化学的初步采石场来源研究

本文首次介绍了提洛岛古老（古代）大理石采石场的化学数据，以及来自其著名且保存完好的考古遗址的一些建筑大理石。Delos 地质地层主要由花岗岩组成，包括极少数十米大理石飞地。然而，古代提利安建筑以片麻岩和大理石为主。因此，必须从邻近的基克拉迪群岛和希腊大陆进口大量大理石。他们的出处大多仍然未知。多年来，考古学已经开发了几种分析方法来确定大理石的起源，但它们通常具有破坏性。本文报告了一种基于手持式便携式 X 射线荧光 (pXRF) 分析仪的方法，用于检测来源研究中经常使用的主要和痕量元素。经常讨论将这些元素用于大理石来源的缺点和便携式仪器的分析限制。在这里，结合主成分分析 (PCA) 测试了 pXRF 对大理石来源研究的有用性。选取了两件推定为提连产地的文物，结果显示其中一件无疑来自提连采石场，而另一件并非本地产。当排除传统的破坏性分析时，该协议似乎是一个强大的工具。在这里，结合主成分分析 (PCA) 测试了 pXRF 对大理石来源研究的有用性。选取了两件推定为提连产地的文物，结果显示其中一件无疑来自提连采石场，而另一件并非本地产。当排除传统的破坏性分析时，该协议似乎是一个强大的工具。在这里，结合主成分分析 (PCA) 测试了 pXRF 对大理石来源研究的有用性。选取了两件推定为提连产地的文物，结果显示其中一件无疑来自提连采石场，而另一件并非本地产。当排除传统的破坏性分析时，该协议似乎是一个强大的工具。