Dalla latomia al cantiere. Il trasporto nautico della pietra

We consider various topics about the naval transport of stone in antiquity: professions involved; type, shape and capacity of ships; specific harbour infrastructures and equipment, as bollards, capstans, etc. A few wrecks, some comparisons between cultivation areas and monumental complexes and petrographic analyzes provide useful clues about the route of the stone, from coastal quarries to its destination. 'New' clarifications come from epigraphic and literary sources. Greek epigraphic accounting records about temple constructions contain clues on use of specific ships for the transport of great building stones. A drastic revision is proposed on the transport of Egyptian obelisks, which have been scientifically ‘damaged’ by its intrinsic property in stimulating suggestion: while an Egyptian inscription tells that the obelisks of queen Hatshepsut were both carried jointly on a single ship, somebody has proposed imaginary "double hull" ships, simply originated from misreading of a (however clear) Pliny's passage. From these early experiences, the Roman system for nautical trasporting great columns from Egyptian quarries to Rome was developed in imperial age.