late roman amphorae in britain
TRANSCRIPT
LATE ROMAN AMPHORAE IN BRITAIN R. Tomber & D. Williams
One of the more common finds of pottery recovered from Roman sites in Britain are sherds of Mediterranean amphorae. These large container jarsJ normally two-handledJ were an important form of trade-packaging used over a long period in the Mediterranean and outlYing areas. Unl ike most other classes of Roman potterYJ it was the content s they carried which were prizedJ rather than the vessels themselves . . A detailed study of amphoraeJ thereforeJ c~n provide us with valuable evidence of economic activity and trade routes not easily obtained elsewhere. They supply direct evidence of the movement of a number of valued commodities which played an important role in the Roman way of 11feJ such as wlneJ olive-oil and fish products.
Although Britain was a northern frontier province far
away from the principal amphorae producing areas, it is
nevertheless clear that throughout the Roman period it re
ceived large supplies of amphora-borne products. Sherds of
the globular Dressel 20 olive-oil amphora from Baetica in
southern Spain are, for example, a common feature on many
sites from the first century AD to at least the early third
century, perhaps longer, when their numbers show a decline
from a peak in the second half of the second century
(Williams and Pe ac o ck , 1983). This apparent shortfall in
olive-oil amphora supplies to Br itain seems to ha ve been
taken up to some extent by ol i ve-oi l amp hor a e f r om North
Africa, which seem to have arriv e d in Bri tain ma inly in the
late fourth and early fifth centuries AD (P eacock, 1977a).
It is clear, however, that the numb ers of such ve sse l s reach
ing Britain were considerably fewe r than t he ear li er sup plies
from Spain ( Wi lliams and Peacock , 1983 ),
At about this time t here was a s teady increase of eastern
..-- 42
c
--- ..... '-~ -- ... \ .
\ \ \ \ \ Irc . ,
I
~B -----~
....
F
FIG. 7 Principal types of late Roman ribbed amphorae found in Britain.
A. Bi (tram Bottger, 1974 B. Bii (from Fulford and Peacock, 1984) C. Bii (from Riley, 1979 D. Biv (trom Annis, 1975) E. Biv (from Cunliffe, 1969 F "Gaza amphora" (from Zemer, 1978) . (Scale 1:10)
43
---------
Mediterranean amphorae throughout the western provinces. In Britain
this shift in the emphasis of amphora-borne supplies is apparent from
the small but growing numbers of eastern Mediterranean amphorae found in
late Roman and post-Roman contexts. These amphorae are relatively
common throughout the Mediterranean area from the late fourth/early
fifth century AD, and are found in large numbers at many sites. Several
of these eastenn Mediterranean types belong to a loose stylistic group
of ribbed amphorae which in Britain are generally referred to as "B"
wares (Thomas, 1959), and include the Bi, Bii, Biv and Gaza types. Not
all ribbed amphorae found in Britain are late Roman in date of course,
nor can it be taken for granted that all late Roman ribbed amphorae
sherds found here automatically belong to the forms mentioned above.
The enigmatic "carrot amphora," for example, is primarily a first cent
ury AD ribbed type (Reusch, 1970), while petrological analysis of late
Roman ribbed sherds from Lincoln shows a range of fabrics quite differ
ent from the "B" forms and the Gaza type, though perhaps belonging to
the same general tradition (Williams, 1984).
It is clear, however, that the "B" wares and Gaza types do form
the majority of ribbed amphorae found in late Romanand' post-Roman
Britain. Charles Thomas' (1981) catalogue of imported post-Roman pott
ery found in Britain lists the growing number of new examples found
since his original work in 1959. Much of our understanding of these
types has benefitted from recent excavations around the Mediterranean,
where eastern Mediterranean amphorae are common. Studies at Carthage
(Riley, 1981; Tomber, forthcoming), Benghazi (Riley, 1979), Ostia
(Panella, 1973; Manacorda, 1977), Naples (Arthur, 1985), and Rome
(Whitehouse et al, 1982), have provided good dated examples. Increased
application of scientific analYSis, especially thin sectioning and heavy
mineral separation, has allowed fabrics to be characterized and indic
ated likely source areas (Williams, 1982; Fulford and Peacock, 1984;
Peacock and Williams, forthcoming; see Fig.8).
Interestingly, petrological analysis has shown that not all of the
"B" ware and Gaza sherds examined conform to the classic prototypes of
their class, and that there is a certain variability of fabric within
each type. In some cases this may be represented by different typ~s
of inclusions present in the clay, or in others simply be due to differ
ences of texture, affecting the size and proportions of a restricted
44
---
Biv
. ....~.......;.:~.:".:.::.
.\ ••••••;.:•. ......:'i~.'":
FIG.B. Possible source areas of late Roman Amphorae.
suite of minerals. This has been particularly noted at Carthage, where
a certain amount of fabric variability has been found amongst the large
numbers of "B" wares present (Williams, 1982). On the face of it, this
would seem to suggest that a number of production centres were involved
for each type. However, given the similarity of forms met with within
each class, this may only mean a dispersed localised production in some
cases rather than production centres situated some distance from each
other.
It is interesting to note that this hypothesis is analogous with
Peacock's (1982) rural workshop industry, combining characteristics of
both isolated and nu·cleated types. The case of the "B" wares and Gaza
amphorae can perhaps be seen as a number of production centres for each
45
class, producing basically the same vessel form within a restricted
geographical area to transport the local liquid commodity. These pott
eries would not necessarily have been nucleated in the sense of working
together or being under a "single management," but they would be bound
together under a shared tradition. A comparable situation is indicated
in Tripolitania, where neutron activation studies of cylindrical
amphorae suggest that fabric variations within a general class represent
the output of different estates (Riley, 1983). In an earlier period the
production of the late republican amphora Dressel 1 in Italy clearly
represents a similar mode of production, with widely dispersed kilns all
producing the same type of amphora (Peacock, 1977bj Peacock and
Williams, forthcoming).
In Britain, it is unfortunately true that the majority of finds of
late Roman ribbed amphorae occur as smallish bodysherds, making macro
scopic identification at times difficult. However, it is to be hoped
that the following detailed descriptions of the major late Roman ribbed
amphorae types found in Britain will be of some help in this matter. In
the last resort petrological analysis should be able to tie down a sherd
to a particular type, though as we have stressed inthi; paper, with
allowances made for some variability of fabric.
Br i t i sn Bi (Thomas, _ 1959;. Carthage LR2 j Benghazi LR2; Keay LXV). FIG.7, A:
This type has a globular body with a small basal knob, a short conical
neck with a high everted rim and bowed handles from the shoulder to the
neck. The upper part of the body contains deep horizontal grooves
closely set together; these are normally straight but a wavy version,
apparently later in date, also occurs.
The fabric is .usually hard, fairly fine-textured and smooth where
undecorated. The colour tends to be light buff (10YR 8/4) to light red
(2.5YR 6/6), often with large white inclusions of limestone clearly vis
ible on the surface. Thin sectioning normally reveals subangular grains
of quartz, cryptocrystalline limestone with occasional pieces of fossil,
strands of muscovite mica and a little chert, plagioclase felspar and
metamorphic quartzite (Peacock, 1971). This range of inclusions clearly
46_.-
indicates a source area dominated by sedimentary rocks, and numerous
areas would qualify on this basis. A small number of thin Sectioned Bi
sherds from Carthage and Tintagel were also found to contain a few frag
ments of volcanic glass (Williams, 1982).
Bi amphorae are widely distributed around the Mediterranean sea
board (Riley, 1981; Fulford and Peacock, 1984; Keay, 1984; Robinson,
(1959), and are also present in Britain (Thomas, 1981), Roumania
(R'i:i'dulescu, 1976), Italy (Arthur, 1985), and Istanbul (Hayes, 1968).
The numbers fdund in the northern Aegean and Black Sea area may suggest
a possible source in this region. The volcanic areas of the Aegean
situated near to the coast include many of the Greek Islands, northern
Greece, north-west Turkey and the Bodrum region, while volcanic rocks
are also to be found on the Bulgarian coastline of the Black Sea. The
kiln at Oltina in Roumania (Irimia, 1968), mentioned by Alcock (1971),
is likely to be a brick kiln containing extraneous debris, rather than a
production site for Bi. Recently, a suspected kiln site for Bi amphora
has been suggested near Kounoupi in the Argolid (Munn, 1985). It is
worth noting that at Athens there are coarse pottery forms in similar
fabrics to the Bi, which seems to add weight to the idea of a reasonably
local source (eg Robinson, 1959, M226, M321 , M371).
British Bii (Thomas, 1959; Carthage LR1; Benghazi LR1; Keay LIII). FI G. 7, B an d C
This form has two versions, a larger and a smaller type. Both have
ovoid bodies with rounded bases, broad neck with thickened rim and thick
stumpy handles. Widely-spaced ribbing appears at the middle of the
body, gradually narrowing at the shoulder and base of the vessel. These
ribs are paralleled by distinctive grooves on the interior. Red dipinto
marks in Greek cursive script are sometimes found on the shoulder.
The fabric is hard and sandy, with noticeable white limestone
fragments on the surface. The normal colour is cream to yellow-cream
(10YR 8/3), but can range from pinkish-cream (7.5YR 8/2-4) to reddish
yellow (5YR 7/6). In thin section the most prominent inclusions are
grains of quartz, fr,agments of cryptocrystalline limestone, serpentine
and some pyroxene grains. These can vary in size and sorting, with
47
samples showing different proportions of each type. This range of
inclusions suggests a source area which has ultra-basic as well as
sedimentary rocks. Heavy mineral separation has produced residues of
frequent pyroxene grains, mostly diopdide and enstatite, to the virtual
exclusion of other minerals, suggesting derivation from peridotite, an
ultra-basic rock (Williams, 1982).
Egypt has been put forward as a possible source area for the Bii
amphora on account of the large numbers found there (Hayes, 1976), but
this appears unlikely on petrological grounds (Williams, 1979). Ultra
basic rocks have a fairly restricted distribution in the eastern
Mediterranean and are hardly to be found at all around the Black Sea
area. Small outcrops are present on Cyprus, Lesbos and Euboea, while
larger formations occur along the south-west coast of Asia Minor and
northern Syria. Some vessels have painted inscriptions of the Cypriot
modius (Lang, 1976, 55-56), one of the areas that would qualify petrol
ogically, but the form is not particularly common on the island (inform
ation L Nehru). Instead, a more attractive source is the Antioch region
of northern Syria, an area which had a robust contemporary olive-oil
export trade (Liebeschuetz, 1972, 79-81). It has been suggested that
the Bii form carried olive-oil (Thomas, 1959, 92), and it is thus tempt
ing to contemplate an origin near Antioch, rather than say North Africa,
one of the traditional suppliers of this commodity to the west. The
latter area can be ruled out because of the petrology of the Bii fabric.
Bii amphora have a wide distribution and are commonly found in
Egypt (Adams, 1962), Athens (Robinson, 1959), and the Aegean (Hayes,
1976). They are also found in some numbers in Tunisia and Cyrenaica
(Riley, 1979; Fulford and Peacock, 1984), Italy (Whitehouse et aI, 1982;
Arthur, 1985, Spain (Keay, 1984), the Black Sea region (Barnea et aI,
1971), and to a lesser extent Britain (Thomas, 1981). They date from
the early fifth to the mid-seventh centuries AD, reaching a peak in the
later fifth and early sixth centuries AD (Riley, 1979; Fulford and
Peacock, 1984). It is not possible at present to suggest a separate
chronology for the larger and smaller forms.
48
--"
British Biv (Thomas, 1959; Carthage LR3; Benghazi LR10). FIG.7, D and E
This form appears in two versions, the earlier type has one handle and
the later two. Both types have a long slender neck with one (or two)
short strap-handles, high rounded shoulders and a tapering foot, which
is convex in the earlier form and more concave in the later. A broad
shallow ribbing covers most of the vessel, which is fairly thin-walled
(for photographs of both forms see Robinson, 1959, Pl.41).
The fabric is hard and smoothish, with a slight soapy feel, norm
ally appearing highly micaceous. The colour is usually a deep reddish
brown (2.5YR 5/4 or 5YR 5/4). However, many samples of the early form
from Carthage can be as light as buff (7.5YR 7/4) in colour. Thin sec
tioning can show some textural variation, but the dominant minerals are
always abundant flecks of muscovite and biotite mica and some grains of
quartz, sometimes with fragments of metamorphic quartzite and rarer
quartz-muscovite-schist. A heavy mineral separation of samples of Biv
fabric from Tintagel produced a practically monomineralic suite of
dahllite grains, while a sample from Carthage contained amounts of gar
net and kyanite (Williams, 1982). Taken together, the -jJetrological
results suggest an origin in an area of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
On this basis, an origin for Biv amphorae in western Turkey
(Hayes, 1976, 117) appears attractive, for this region has a great var
iety of igneous, volcanic and metamorphic formations. While other
suggested source areas such as Byzantium (Thomas, 1976, 246) or Egypt
(Grace, 1961, fig.67) have less to commend them. The Byzantium region
consists mainly of Devonian rocks, while northern Egypt is composed pre
dominantly of sedimentary rocks (assuming a source near to the coast).
Of course there are many other areas than Turkey in the eastern
Mediterranean which contain igneous and metamorphic rocks, and further
work is needed before the Biv source can be confidently tied down.
The one-handled form first appears in the late first century AD
(Lang, 1955, 277-278; Panella, 1973, 460-462), while the earliest two
handled version is found in late fourth century contexts at San Sisto
Vecchio in Rome (Annis, 1975, 31, nos and 2), and also at Carthage
(Riley, 1981). Two complete examples of the one-handled form from Bath
and Ospringe predate the late fourth century (Peacock, 1977c). At
49 .-_ ...
Carthage there was a peak in numbers of Biv during the Vandal period,
c.AD 475, followed by a reduction until the sixth century when the
numbers increase again (Fulford and Peacock, 1984).
Like the Bi and Bii types, there is a widespread distribution of
Biv amphorae around the Mediterranean (Robinson, 1959; Riley, 1979;
Fulford and Peacock, 1984; Whitehouse et aI, 1982; Arthur, 1985),
stretching to Britain (Thomas, 1981), Roumania (Barnea, 1966) and the
Black Sea region (Zeest, 1960). Contents analysis has identified olive
oil residues in a sample of Biv fabric, although more analyses are
needed to confirm that this was the main item carried (Rothschild
Boros,1981; Passietal, 1981).
"Gaza amphora" (Almagro 54; Carthage LR4; Benghazi LR3) FIG.7, F
This distinctive "cigar-shaped" amphora has a small everted rim with
roughly-made loop handles on the shoulders and a narrowish cylindrical
body tapering to a rounded or flat base. Heavy ribSing~ommonly appears
on the shoulder and between the handles, with accretions of clay around
the rim and on the shoulder.
The fabric is hard, thick and sandy, with a scatter of small frag
ments of white limestone. The typical external colour is drab "choco
late" brown (5YR 5/6), although reddish-brown (2.5YR 5/8) examples are
known, and a greyish core (10YR 5/1) sometimes occurs. Thin sectioning
shows varying amounts of well-sorted grains of quartz and fragments of
cryptocrystalline limestone with some fossil remains, small grains of
pyroxene are commonly present, as well as some plagioclase felspar and
tourmaline.
The form is generally believed to come from Gaza in Palestine
(Zemer, 1978; Riley, 1975; 1979). This view has been strengthened by
the thin sectioning results obtained by Peacock (1975), who found that a
modern sample of fired clay compared well with the fabric of an Almagro
54.
This amphora form is common throughout the south-eastern
50
Mediterranean from the fourth to the sixth centuries AD, while also
reaching Britain (Thomas, 1981), Italy (Whitehouse et al, 1982; Arthur,
1985), North Africa, western Europe and the Black Sea region in small
numbers (Riley, 1919). If a Gaza origin is correct, then this form may
well have carried the famous wine of the region (ibid). However, recent
contents analysis research has suggested that olive-oil and sesame oil
were carried in these amphorae, though this remains to be substantiated
(Rothschild-Boros, 1981; Passi et al, 1981).
ADAMS W Y 1962
ALCOCK L 1911
ALMAGRO M 1955
ANNIS MB 1915
ARTHUR P 1985
BARNEA I 1966
BARNEA I, ILIESCU 0 & NICOLESCU C 1911
BOTTGER B 1914
CUNLIFFE B 1969
FULFORD M G & PEACOCK D P S
GRACE V R 1961
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"An introductory classification of Christian Nubian pottery," Kush, 10 (1962),' 245-288.
Arthur's Britain, London.
Las Necropolis De Ampurias, Vol.II, Barcelona.
"Amphora sixti, II "Festoen" 'Opgedragen ann AN Zadoks-Josephus Jitta bij haar zeventigste verjaardag, Scripta archaeologica groningana, 6 (1975), 29-40.
"Naples: notes on the economy of a Dark Age City," in Malone C and Stoddart S (eds), Papers in Italian Archaeology, BAR Int.Series 246, 247-259.
"L1Incendie de la Cite de Dinogetia au VIe Siecle, II Dacia, 10 (1966), 231-259.
La Culture Byzantine en Roumanie, Bucharest.
"Die importkeramik aus dem Spa'tantiken Donaulimeskastell latrus in Nordbulgarien," in Pippidi D M (ed), Actes du IXe Congres International d'Etudes sur les Frontieres Romaines, Bucharest and Koln, 131-136.
Roman Bath, Oxford.
The Avenue du Pnesident Habib Bourguiba, Salammbo: The pottery and other ceramic objects from the site. Excavations at Carthage: The British Mission, Vol.l,2, Sheffield.
Amphoras and the ancient wine trade, Princeton.
51
\ . \' )
l
.
HAYES J W 1968
HAYES J W 1976
IRIMIA M 1968
KEAY S J 1984
LANG M 1955
LANG M 1976
LIEBESCHUETZ J H W G 1972
MANACORDA D 1977
MUNN M L Z 1985
PANELLA C 1973
PASS! S, 1981 ROTHSCHILD-BOROS M .C, FASELLA P NAZZARO-PORRO M & WHITEHOUSE D
PEACOCK D P S 1971
PEACOCK D P S 1975
PEACOCK D P S 1977a
PEACOCK D P S 1977b
PEACOCK D P S 1977c
"A seventh century pottery group," Dunbarton Oakes Papers, 22 (1968), 203-216.
"Pottery: stratified groups," in Humphrey J H (ed), Excavations at Carthage 1975 conducted by the University of Michiga~, TuniS, 47-123.
"Cuptoarele Romano-Bizantine de ars ceramica de la Oltina (Jud. Constanta)," in Pontice, Studii si materiale de istorie, archaeologie si muzeografie, Muzeul de Archeologie, Constanta, 379-407.
Late Roman amphorae in the western Mediterranean. A typology and economic study: the Catalan evidence, BAR. Int. Series, 136 .
"Dated jars of early Imperial times," Hesperia, 24 (1955), 277-285.
The Athenian Agora, Vol.XXI, Princeton.
Antioch: city and imperial administration in the later Roman Empire, Oxford.
"Anfore," Ostia IV, 117-254.
"A late Roman kiln site in the Hermionid, Greece," Amer. Jour. Arch., 89 (1985), 342'343". "Appunti su un Gruppo di Anfore della Prima, Media e Tarda Eta Imperiale," Ostia III, 460-633.
"An application of high performance liquid chromatography to analysis of lipids in archaeological samples," Jour. of Lipid Research, 22 (1981), 778-784.
"Imported pottery," in Rahtz P, "Excavations on Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, 1964-6," Arch. Jour., 127 (1971),65-67.
"A petrological note on certain amphoras from Caesarea," in Riley J A, "The pottery from the first session of excavation in the Caesarea Hippodrome," Bull . of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 218 (1975),30.
"Roman amphorae; typology, fabric and origins," ColIn. de L'Ecole Francaise de Rome, 32 (1977), 261-278.
"Recent discoveries of Roman amphora kilns in Italy," Antiq. Jour., 57 (1977),262-269.
"Late Roman amphorae from Chalk, near Gravesend, Kent," in Dore J and Greene K (eds), Roman Pottery studies in Britain and beyond, BAR Supp. Series 30, 295-300.
52 ---_.-.
PEACOCK D P S 1982
PEACOCK D P S & 1986 WILLIAMS D F
RADULESCU A 1976
REUSCH W 1970
RILEY J A 1975
\ ) RILEY J A 1979
RILEY J A 1981
RILEY J A 1983
ROBINSON H S 1959
ROTHSCHILDE-BOROS, 1981 M C
THOMAS A C 1959
THOMAS A C 1976
THOMAS C 1981
TOMBER R (forthc..oming)
'" WHITEHOUSE D 1982 BARKER G,REECE R & REESE D
WILLIAMS D F 1979
WILLIAMS D F 1982
_.-._-_.
Pottery in the Roman world: an ethnological approach, London.
Amphorae and the Roman economy: an introductory guide, London.
"Amfore romane si romano-bizantine din Scythia Minor ,,,"' Ponti ca, 9 (1976), 99-114.
"Kleine, Spitzkomische amphoren," Saalburh Jahrbuch, 27 (1970 ), 54-62.
"Pottery from the first session of excavation in the Caesarea Hippodrome," Bull. American Sch. of Or iental Res., 21s-TT975), 25-63.
"The coarse potte'j from Benghazi," in Lloyd J A (ed), Sidi Khl e i sh Excavations, Benghazi (Berenice), Vol.II,Tripoli, 91-497.
"The pottery from the cisterns 1977.1, 1977.2 and 1977.3," in Humphrey J A (ed), Excavations at Carthage conducted by the Univ. of Michigan, Vol . VI, Ann Arbor, 85-124.
"Pottery analys i s and the reconstruction of ancient exchange systems," in Aspinall A and Warren S E (eds ), The Proceedings of the 22nd Symposium on Archaeology held at the Univ. of Bradford, 1982, Bradford, 316-322.
The Athenian Agora, Vol :V,~rinceton.
"The determination of amphora contents," in Barker G and Hodges R (eds), Archaeology and Italian Society, BAR Int. Series 102 , 79-89.
"Imported po t t er y i n Dark Age weste r n Britain," Med. Ar ch., 3 (1959), 89- 111.
"Imported late Roman Me dite rranean pottery in Ireland and western Br itain: chronologies and implications, " Proc . of the Royal Irish Academy, 76 (1976 ), 245- 255 .
A provisional list of imported pottery in post-Roman wes t er n Brita in and Ireland, Redruth.
"Chap.5: pottery f rom the 1982 Ci rcus excavations ," in Humphrey J H (ed), The Roman Circus at Car t hage , Vol.I, Uni~of Michigan.
"The Schola Praeconum I: the coins, pottery, lamps and faun a," PBSC, 50 (1982),53-1 01.
"The heavy mineral separat ion of ancient ceramics by centrifugation: a preliminary report," Archaeometry, 21 (1979), 177-182.
"The petrology of certain Byzantine amphorae: some suggestions as to origins," in Colloque Sur La Ceramique Antique. Carthage 23-24th
53
WILLIAMS D F 1984
WILLIAMS D F & 1983 PEACOCK D P S
ZEEST I B 1960
ZEMER A 1978 \,
June 1980 (Dossier 1 Cedac), 99-110.
"Amphorae from East Bight and Temperance Place, Lincoln," in Darling M J, Roman pottery from the upper defences, Lincoln Arch. Trust, Vol.XVI-2, 75-77.
"The importation of olive-oil into Roman Britain," in Blazquez J and Remesal J (eds), Prod. Y Com. de Aceite en Ian Antiguedad. II Congresso, Madrid, 263-280.
"Keramicheskaya Tara Bospora," MateriaIi, (1983), 83.
Storage Jars in Ancient sea trade, Haifa.
54 .--------