Economy of Pre-Roman Adriatic Communities: amphora production and trade patterns in a changing world

Project Information

EPRAC

Grant agreement ID: 796652

DOI

10.3030/796652

Project closed

EC signature date 18 April 2018

Start date 1 September 2018

End date 31 August 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 183 454,80

EU contribution

€ 183 454,80

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EPRAC (Economy of Pre-Roman Adriatic Communities: amphora production and trade patterns in a changing world)

Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Research into the ancient trade in the Adriatic has largely neglected its eastern coastline due to a relative lack of data compared to the Italian side and the diversity of languages and cultures, which have led to more fragmented local picture. This has made it difficult to identify Pre-Roman regional trade patterns and cultural developments in this area, as well as inter-regional connections with the rest of the Mediterranean. The investigation of the multiple archaeological sites along the Eastern Adriatic maritime trade route, filled the gap our understanding of trade connections in the Pre-Roman times. By using a materials science-based approach for the provenance and movement of amphorae and using them as a proxy for the studying trade, exchange and the nature of the emerging economy of the region at the end of the first millennium BC.
Identifying the origin of the transport amphorae from the shipwrecks, as well as from the indigenous Iron Age settlements in Dalmatian region, we were able to reconstruct their movements and commercial activities in the region. This shed a new light on the involvement of the Adriatic communities in the web of the ancient Mediterranean connections. As the results show, the indigenous Eastern Adriatic communities established trading contacts with Hellenistic kingdom in the northwester Greece, with Corfu, and on mainland Greece with Corinth. On the opposite side of the Adriatic, commercial connections were strong with communities in the ancient Apulian, present day Puglia in Italy. This lead to more nuanced understanding of how and why communities in the Adriatic were connected, and how it influenced the social and cultural developments in the lives of indigenous people during the period of Greek influences prior to the consolidation of Roman power in the 1st c. BC.
The objectives of the EPRAC project were fourfold. Firstly, to identify workshops of transport amphorae and to characterize in detail the nature of their production in the Adriatic region. Directly comparing microstructure and composition of amphorae from workshops with amphorae from shipwrecks and consumptions sites, we achieved the second objective of the EPRAC project, the reconstruction of the trade patterns and circulation of liquid commodities transported via amphorae. Third objective was mapping the movement of amphorae the Adriatic and using them as a proxy to trace movement of liquid commodities they transported.
This shed light on important economic and social developments taking place in this region from the 4th till the 1st c. BC. Finally, by identification of workshops and trade patterns, the project answer questions about the role that Adriatic communities played in the economy of the region in the period of the of major political sift in the region. Trade connections and maritime trade routes, established by the Hellenistic communities in the region were interrupted but the emerging Roman power in the period of Late Republic.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The EPRAC project was divided into seven Research Activities (RA) within four Work Packages (WP).
WP 1, RA 1. Sampling of amphorae from 15 targeted archaeological sites long the Dalmatian coast. A total of 300 samples of amphorae were selected for analysis.
WP 1, RA 2. Macroscopic analysis of sampled transport amphorae consisted of typological classification, detailed fabric descriptions and macro photo documentation of each sample.
WP 1, RA 3. Compositional analysis consisted of ceramic thin section petrography of 300 amphorae at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and bulk chemical compositional analysis of 264 amphorae at the Missouri University Research Reactor. Due to sample size, 36 amphorae were not suitable for both analysis. The results of the two techniques were evaluated by the multivariable statistical analysis using R Studios software. Integrating the results of both techniques we established in detail the compositional and technological characteristics of analysed transport amphorae.
WP 1, RA 4. Compositional analysis of amphorae from shipwrecks induced also thin section petrography and bulk chemical analysis, but we preformed elemental mapping of 10 amphorae cross-sections and point analysis of fresh amphorae breaks by the Scanning Electron Microscope at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and 20 mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction ay the UCL Institute of Archaeology on 6 amphorae cross sections. These analyses allowed us to detect possible compositional alterations in amphorae due to influence of seawater.
WP 2, RA 5. The multiple site investigative approach of the EPRAC project allowed, for the first time, to directly compare amphorae of the same origin, but buried for over 2000 years in different environments, buried in soils and submerge on the seabed. This permitted mapping of the distribution and movements of amphorae, identify markets and changes within distribution patterns in the region.
WP 3, RA 6. The results of the scientific analysis, combined with mapping of amphorae movements, permit to shed much needed light on the economy of the Pre-Roman Adriatic, and provide a much-needed new perspective on role of different communities in the Adriatic region in economy.
WP 4, RA 7. Dissemination of project’s result included presentations at the major conferences for archaeological material science, at the European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics in 2019 in Barcelona, and at the two Ceramic Petrography Group meeting in 2018 in Tübingen and in 2019 in Athens. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 pandemic, all conference attendances planned in the spring 2020, such as International Symposium on Archaeometry, was cancelled.
In autumn 2019, from October till December, within the project dissemination activities, the series of lecture on Adriatic Connections were organised. In included talks from colleagues from University of Bologna, University of Split, University of Zadar and Underwater Archaeology Department at the Conservation Institute in Zagreb. The series brought together scholars from Adriatic region to discuss current state of research and possibilities of new collaborations.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The multiple sites investigative approach, combined with scientific-based methods for analysis of archaeological ceramics, applied in the EPRAC project set a new research frameworks for study ancient trade in the Mediterranean and maritime archaeology. For the first time, we were able to identify movements of transport vessels, amphorae from workshop to their consumers, as well as reconstruct their trading route with analysis of amphorae from shipwrecks. This approach also allowed, for the first time, direct comparisons of amphorae of the same origin, but exposed to different environmental conditions, for identification of alterations in archaeological ceramic material due to influence of different burial environments.
The result of the project transformed our understanding of connections between Adriatic communities, and the role they had in the ancient Mediterranean economy. Besides being producers, Dalmatian Greeks also redistributed goods, imported from wider Mediterranean regions to the neighbouring Iron Age communities as intermediaries. The EPRAC project showed that ancient trading system was very complex and different communities may have had different roles, being producers and consumers at the same time, as well as producers and intermediaries of imported goods.

Chemical clusters of 4 fabric groups of amphorae