Large column base from the Prokonnesian quarries.
This base is more finished than most of the roughed-out elements recovered from the quarries on Prokonnesos which are now on display in an open-air museum in Saraylar, the small harbour on the north side of the island. Most of these elements were probably abandoned because of faults in the stone or because they were surplus to requirements. Sometimes, however, faults have developed in the stone since antiquity, so that identifying exactly why these objects were never used is difficult. Whether these objects were produced in large quantities for stockpiling at the quarries or were produced to order remains debated but it is clear that the quarries contained skilled craftsmen, based there permanently or passing through, capable of preparing a range of forms for export.
