Naukratis: Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine amphorae and stoppers (2018) (original) (raw)
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2024
Since the 1980s, the study of amphorae in Asia Minor has gained increasing attention. Notably, research conducted at Klazomenai and on the Datça Peninsula has demonstrated intensive amphora production in these regions. Over the past decade, investigations into amphorae discovered in ancient settlements along Asia Minor’s Mediterranean coast have grown significantly. These studies reveal that, particularly in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., Karia, Lycia, and Cilicia produced both established forms, such as mushroom-rimmed amphorae in Karia, and unique local variations in Lycia and Cilicia. Research into amphora stamps has further highlighted the region's role within the eastern Mediterranean trade networks, enhancing our understanding of regional production and distribution patterns in antiquity. Among these coastal settlements, Patara stands out as a key site for understanding the production, distribution, and use of amphorae. Recent excavations at Patara have yielded critical insights into the chronology and regional preferences for local and imported amphorae during the 4th century B.C., particularly within a Lycian context. These findings also emphasize Patara’s pivotal role as a communication hub during the Macedonian Wars of Succession (322–279 B.C.), connecting the site’s material culture to broader geopolitical events. One of the most revealing discoveries at Patara is the destruction layer from a fire at the end of the 4th century B.C. that destroyed about a quarter of the settlement on Tepecik Hill. Strategically located north of Patara’s city center and harbor, Tepecik Hill provided defense for the settlement and is now offers a detailed glimpse into daily life under Macedonian control. Excavations have revealed rooms, kitchens, and storerooms with remarkably well-preserved in situ contexts. Among these finds have been a significant number of amphorae were discovered, representing both local and imported types, including mushroom-rimmed amphorae, and examples from Lycia, Chios, Kos, Cyprus, and the northern Aegean. These destruction layers not only provide a reliable chronological framework for the 4th and early 3rd centuries B.C. but also illuminate the amphora consumption patterns of the inhabitants of Patara. The diversity of amphorae found at Tepecik Hill highlights the mobility of goods and cultural preferences during this period. In addition, this evidence sheds light on the broader Lycian region, particularly the Xanthos Valley, an area whose archaeological record remains underexplored.
Naukratis: Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine pottery (2018)
In A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G. Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue, 2018
Thomas, R. I. 2018: Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine pottery. in A. Villing, M. Bergeron, G.Bourogiannis, A. Johnston, F. Leclère, A. Masson and R. Thomas, Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt. The British Museum, Online Research Catalogue. Pottery is by far the most common artefact group found at Naukratis, and the Ptolemaic to Byzantine pottery spans over 10 centuries of the settlement’s history, from 331 BC until around AD 650. For this reason it is of particular importance for our understanding of the changing communities living at and visiting Naukratis over this long and dynamic period. Even though the assemblage known to us today is a heterogeneous selection made by successive excavators with different sampling strategies, careful assessment of the abundant evidence enables us to investigate the three key questions often asked of such assemblages: date, origin and function. The chapter surveys the large and varied assemblage so as to provide the reader with a good understanding of these broad questions, whilst also investigating, where possible, the complex and nuanced role of pottery in the expression of identities within the cosmopolitan communities of Naukratis.
Leidwanger, J. 2014. "A Preliminary Archaeometric Analysis of the Late Roman 1 Amphoras from the Cargo of the Seventh-Century Yassıada Shipwreck, Turkey." In LRCW 4, edited by N. Poulou-Papadimitriou et al., 897-906. BAR-IS 2616. Oxford: Archaeopress.
The unusually large, well-preserved, and precisely dated amphora assemblage from the early 7th-century Yassıada shipwreck, excavated off the Bodrum Peninsula in Turkey between 1961 and 1964, presents an opportunity to study the dynamics of late Roman ceramic production within the context of large-scale maritime exchange. Detailed typological and metrological studies undertaken since the site’s 1982 publication have demonstrated a wide range of subtypes within each of the two broad amphora groups: the LR1 class and a globular family of amphoras that includes LR2 and other forms. This paper investigates cargo diversity from a complementary archaeometric perspective, namely ceramic petrography, focusing on a limited sample drawn from among the LR1 amphoras. The considerable formal diversity is here mirrored by fabric diversity, with perhaps as many as ten fabrics falling into three discrete groups. Though these fabrics or groups cannot yet be linked with certainty to individual production centers, their mineralogical differences point to origins in a variety of areas that may include Cilicia as well as other regions. Comprehensive analysis holds the potential to shed more light not only on the resources on which the dispatchers of the shipment drew, but also the mechanisms behind agricultural supply of the state and military during the economic and political crises of the early 7th century.
Due to their wide chronological and geographical distribution, amphorae hold a prominent place in the archaeological record. Over the course of several millennia, these utilitarian vessels were used to pack and transport goods over great distances. Their wide use can be explained by the low cost and ease with which mass production of these amphorae was possible. Because of this, they form a valuable source of information for archaeologists in terms of ceramic technology, ancient economies and trade patterns. This paper discusses a set of ten thin sections of Late Roman I amphora from the site of Sagalassos and what these thin sections say about the provenance and production methods of these amphora.