Dear Participants,

The Executive Committee of ASMOSIA together with the Organizing Committee has the pleasure of inviting scholars to participate in the XII^th International Conference of the Association, which will be held in Izmir, Turkey. The Conference will deal with various fields of research on stone promoted by ASMOSIA with the aim of creating an interdisciplinary discussion, which should include contributions reflecting different scientific and archaeological approaches.

It will be a great honor for us to welcome you to the “ASMOSIA XII - Association for the Study of Marble & Other Stones in Antiquity XII. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE”, which will be held at Dokuz Eylül University in İzmir, Turkey, 8–14 October 2018. The conference will present the results of research and aims at stimulating exchange among its members in all fields related to marble and other stones of art historical or archaeological interest.

Asia Minor/Anatolia, (the modern Turkey), has been home of many civilizations in antiquity. Stone was extracted from many marble quarries in this area for the construction of the ancient cities and to produce artistic objects. White and colored decorative stones obtained from Asia Minor were used not only in local cities but also exported to different pars of Europe, Asia and Africa, especially during the Roman Empire. Because of the unique ancient cultural and geological history of Asia Minor, we believe that Turkey is one of the most appropriate places to organize an ASMOSIA conference.

During the conference, oral and poster presentations will be presented based on the topics of provenance identification (marble and other stones); advances in provenance techniques, methodologies and databases; quarries and geology; stone properties; weathering effects and restoration, as related to diagnosis problems, matching of stone fragments, authenticity, pigments and paintings on marble. The special theme session of ASMOSIA XII conference is designated as “The role of Asiatic marble in the ancient world.”

We believe that during this meeting, new advances in our knowledge of marble and other stones will be discussed extensively and the outcomes of the conference will encourage the collaboration of scientists from different countries in international scientific endeavor.

Our best wishes…

Prof.Dr. Ali Bahadır YAVUZ
On behalf of the Organizing Committee of ASMOSIA XII - 2018
Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir/TURKEY