A. Kouveli - E. Manoli, The Amphorae from the Wells of an Athenian House, 2nd–6th Centuries AD. Exploring Trends, Trading Routes, and Contacts (original) (raw)

2021, BYZANTINE ATHENS. PROCEEDINGS OF A CONFERENCE. Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens. Edited by HELEN SARADI In collaboration with AIKATERINI DELLAPORTA Byzantine and Christian Museum

In 2003, during the excavation for the New Acropolis Museum, at the Makrygianni plot, in Athens, we excavated the fillings of two well-shafts dug in the bedrock, Well 114 and Well 20, which served a middle/late Roman residence, House A. This house was in use from the late 2nd to the 6th century AD with modifications, reconstructions and refurbishments1. The closed deposits of Wells 114 and 20 yielded a large amount of pottery, basically common ware, amphorae and lamps and scant fine-ware (red-slip) and cook-ware. The complete or almost complete vessels, stratigraphic details, the classification of the finds, and the dating evidence from coins and lamps from both wells, as well as a brief presentation and quantification of the amphorae of Well 114 have been discussed elsewhere. This paper focuses on the transport amphorae of Well 114 in comparison to those from Well 20: our aim is to identify the types of amphorae that reached the house during its lifetime, their provenance and respective quantities, and compile a sequence from the late Roman period to Late Antiquity. Although this is a specific case study, we think that studies of deposits under this viewpoint and the combination of their outcomes may offer valuable information on the imports, trade contacts (local, regional and long-distance) and trends in the city of Athens over this period.