Provenance determination of lava flagstones from the Roman 'via Consolare Flaminia' pavement (Central Italy) using petrological investigations

Trachyte lava flagstones from the northernmost stretch of the Roman 'Via Consolare Flaminia' pavement and trachyte lavas from the most exploited quarries in Roman times were compared from a petrological point of view. 'Via Consolare Flaminia' was the most important route used by the Romans to reach northern Italy and all the northern provinces of the Empire. A provenance for the flagstones as coming from the trachyte quarries of the Euganean Hills (Veneto region, northern Italy) is suggested by the similarity of both the fundamental mineral assemblage and the major trace element geochemistry. The location of the quarries of the Euganean Hills next to the harbours of the northern Adriatic Sea strongly supports the hypothesis that the Romans carried the flagstones by ship towards the coasts of the central Adriatic Sea.