Marble is not readily available especially in the vicinity of Rome and was seldom ever utilized there before to Augustus, who is renowned for having claimed to have discovered brick-built Rome and left it made of marble —albeit primarily as facing for brick or concrete. The oldest extant exception in Rome is the Temple of Hercules Victor, which dates to the late 2nd century BC. Beginning with Augustus, the quarries of the capital at Carrara were heavily developed, while other sources around th ... (Read More)