Methodology of analytical study for provenance determination of calcitic, calcite-dolomitic and impure marbles from historical quarries in the Czech Republic

The present provenance study was focused on marbles from historical quarries of one geological unit (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic) exhibiting complex polyphase geological evolution. A combination of mineralogical-petrographic, geochemical and physical methods has been tested i.e. optical microscopy (OM) of the whole rock, X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the insoluble residues, petrographic image analysis (PIA) of carbonate grains, cathodoluminescence (CL) of microfacies, stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) of carbonates in the groundmass and secondary veins, Raman microspectrometry (RM) of the carbonaceous matter and bulk magnetic susceptibility (MS) of the whole rock. Based on the results of historical quarries and the artefacts from Pernstejn Castle and Prague Castle, the most effective way for provenance determination of marbles seems to be a combination of petrographic methods (including quantitative approaches), cathodoluminescence, and stable isotope study. Less conventional methods (e.g. Raman microspectrometry or physical properties like bulk magnetic susceptibility) are very useful for provenance studies on impure calcitic and dolomitic marbles that include carbonaceous matter, magnetic minerals or silicates. For the first time, Raman data on reduced carbonaceous matter permitted differentiation amongst marbles of different origin. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.