Loading, please wait...
![Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]](https://timelineauctions.com/zoom_images/zoomthumb/2/2/228198_900x900.jpg "Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]")
![Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]](https://timelineauctions.com/zoom_images/zoommap/2/2/228198_200x200.jpg "Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]")
![Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]](https://timelineauctions.com/upload/images/items/228198.jpg "Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]")
LOT 2292
Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]
4 1/2 - 5 1/4 in. (375 grams total, 11.4-13.3 cm).
Large cut and polished sections, mined in Greece, cut and polished on both sides, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Greece.
Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK.
Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.
Also known as Lapis Lacedaemonius and Porfido Verde Antico, a type of green porphyry quarried in Greece. Spartan basalt 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. In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of Lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 2292
Historic Roman 'Spartan Basalt' Cut & Polished Green Porphyry Sheet Group [3]
Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
-
Fossil Otodus Shark's Tooth in Display
Eocene Period, circa 56-33 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Comprising an Otodus obliquus tooth in a display frame. 15.5 grams, 50 mm (52 grams total, 12.7 cm including stand )
From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection. -
Multiple Knightia Fossil Fish in Matrix
Eocene Period, circa 58-36 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A rounded matrix with multiple Knightia alta specimens. 135 grams, 12.2 cm
From Wyoming (Green River Formation), USA. From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.
In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah) in the Green River Formation are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Ulinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time. -
Fossil Extinct Crocodile Skull
Palaeocene Period, 66-56 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
The upper part of a fossil Argochampsa krebsi crocodile skull on a sandy matrix wrapped in a plaster field jacket. 4.94 kg, 45 cm
From Morocco, North Africa. From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
Argochampsa or 'Argo crocodile' is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph, usually regarded as a gavialoid crocodilian, related to modern gharials. It lived in the Paleocene of Morocco. Described by Hua and Jouve in 2004, the type species is A. krebsi. Argochampsa had a long narrow snout, and apparently marine in its behaviour.
