Production and Circulation of Palermitan Amphoras in Medieval Mediterranean (original) (raw)
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The Early Roman Gallo-Belgic Regional ‘Amphorae’
in: Carreras Monfort, C., & J.J.H. van den Berg (eds.), Amphorae from the Kops Plateau (Nijmegen): trade and supply to the Lower-Rhineland from the Augustan period to AD 69/70 (Oxford 2017) pp.151-160, 2017
SOMA 2012 Identity and Connectivity. Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Florence, Italy, 1-3 March 2012 (L. Bombardieri, A. D'Agostino, G. Guarducci, V. Orsi and S. Valentini, eds.), vol. 2, pp. 1023-1032. Oxford: Archaeopress. ISBN 9781407312057, 2013
The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of the distribution of Eastern Mediterranean Late Roman amphorae in the current Catalan coastal territory, based on a review of the main archaeological contexts that have been excavated to this date. In particular, evidence recovered in major urban centres (Tarraco, Emporiae, Barcino, Iluro) and in several rural settlements is examined, analysing the changes that took place during Late Antiquity regarding the volume of eastern amphorae imports (as themselves and in relation to other imports), the different eastern regions from which these products came and the typological repertoires that existed at each moment in those sites. In this paper it is also proposed the need for archaeometric studies on materials found in the Catalan area, in order to address some issues that are problematic in the current state of research, such as the provenance area of some amphorae types and the meaning of the diversity represented in these consumption centres. These analyses are expected to provide, among other, new evidence for the understanding of trade interactions between this territory and the Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.
Petrographic analysis of a globular amphorae assemblage from the settlement of Rocchicella (Mineo)
2018
The ceramic assemblage of Rocchicella, dated to the 6 th-7 th and 9 th century, has been analysed for the PhD project: Ceramic technology and social change in Sicily from the 6 th to the 11 th centuries A.D. (Testolini Forthcoming). One hundred and twenty-four samples were selected and thin sections prepared and analysed with a polarising microscope by the author at the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield. The 124 samples were grouped on the basis of type of clay and inclusions and described using Whitbread's (1995) method. This section presents only the analysis of 17 globular amphorae found in Rocchicella in contexts dating to the 9 th century (Arcifa 2016; Arcifa et al. 2015), and sheds new light on two Sicilian fabric groups (Fabric 2 and 3) present in a large proportion of the pottery dated to this 9 th century phase. Eleven fabric groups were identified for Rocchicella 9 th century phase, and 8 groups include globular amphorae samples (Testolini Forthcoming), demonstrating that these amphorae, although small in number, came from different Sicilian and extra-insular workshops. Sicilian geology includes a sedimentary area in the west, important igneous outcrops in the east, and a metamorphic area in the northeast corner (Messina area) (Lentini et al. 2016). Such a combination of geological formation is comparable to several places in the Mediterranean, and for this reason it is difficult to establish where ceramic products are produced merely on a geological basis. Therefore, it was essential to take into account not only geological literature or comparisons, but also archaeological parallels to provenance the globular amphorae. Archaeological thin sections were compared with clay source thin sections (Montana et al. 2011), published thin sections analyses regarding Sicilian production centres (
The amphorae of Kapitan II type in Dacia
Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautorum Acta, 2003
The study of amphorae in Roman Dacia is still at its beginning. In recent decades several articles and studies have been published, 1 but the majority of this category of pottery is still unpublished. In this article we present the known Kapitän II amphorae discovered in Dacia, and some unpublished examples. 2 Typology (figs. 1-2) For a long time the Kapitän II amphora was considered as only one type, without any variants. 3 Its shape is well known. It has a slender ovoid body, vertical rim, tubular neck and base. The handles are usually higher than the rim level. Detailed analyses shows that the body can be more or less curved, the shoulder more or less rounded and the base may range from cylindrical to conical. These details could be useful in future for the identification of production centres. A.1 Popilian IV (no. 1) The biconical body is shorter and more curved than the norm; the rim is vertical and has an internal seating; the neck is shorter than usual; the ears are below the level of the rim; the bottom is tubular and vertical; there are broad corruga-tions on the neck and body. The paste contains gravel and is brick-red in colour. The only example, almost intact, was found in Romula, 4 where it was dated between the end of the 2 nd century AD and the first half of the 3 rd. This type of amphorae has no parallels in Dacia. A.2 (nos. 2-17) This comprises amphorae with a slender ovoid body; the maximum diameter is close to the top of the body; the ears rise above the rim; the neck and bottom may be cylindrical or conical. Some differences in the shapes of necks and body may provide the means to divide this type in two subtypes and variants. A.2.1 Brukner XV, pl. 163,70 (nos. 2-4) The body is slightly ovoid; the ears rise above the rim; the rim is very small in diameter; the neck is cylindrical. One example has conical hollow base. They have a paste that contains sand and mica; the colour is brick-red. Examples of this kind were found at Enoºeºti-Acidava (2) 5 and Romula (3-4). They were dated at the end of the 2 nd century AD and the first half of the 3 rd (3-4), and in the 2 nd-3 rd centuries (2). Similar examples were discovered in Pannonia at Sirmium. 6
Investigating the origins of two main types of Middle and Late Byzantine amphorae
Unlike Late Roman/Early Byzantine amphorae, Middle and Late Byzantine amphorae have been little studied and their origins and contents are still largely unknown. Out of the four main types distinguished by Günsenin, two were investigated in the present research: types Günsenin II (10th–11th century AD) and Günsenin III (12th–13th century AD). Samples taken from various excavations and find spots in central Greece, located in Thebes, Chalcis, and the countryside of Euboea were investigated for their provenance by chemical analysis. Thanks to previously established reference groups, samples of amphorae Günsenin III, of part of amphorae Günsenin II and of transitional types could be attributed to Chalcis, whose harbor played a major role in the Aegean at the medieval period.