Amphorae

[Lothia]

Ave Civitas,

While visiting a museum in Romania (or maybe Hungary) I saw a display of amphorae.

These amphorae were displayed to show that different cities produced different shaped jugs.

1. Is this true. That a city had a specific type of amphorae that, if that type were seen, everyone would know it was from that one city?

2. If this is true, when City A packaged one of their amphorae off to City B, the contents used. What happens to that amphorae?

2a: Is it shipped back to City A like a used milk bottle to the dairy?
2b: Is it sold to a used amphorae handler who does the return shipping
2c: Is it cleaned and used again (for something) produced in City B?

This was a thought that came up during writing a portion of my book and I want to keep the book as close to pure fact as I can.

Thanks again for your help.

Me.

[Publius Nonius Severus]

Salve Lothia-

I will try to answer your questions the best I can. I know amphorae have been found with the name and place of the manufacturer stamped or otherwise placed upon them but I am unaware of any evidence that shape was also a unique identifier. Although many different shaped amphorae have all be found so it is more than possible. Many different shapes have been found but most still contain the same internal volume (although there was a difference between the standard volume of Greek and Roman amphorae).

I have often heard that amphorae used to store/transport wine, oil, olives, or other goods were discarded after they were emptied (one time use). I believe amphorae used for fetching and storing water were re-used. I will look for definitive sources for this.

In the meantime, check out this entry on Lacus Curtius from William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities on amphorae: (The address has an * so it doesn't link properly...I will stry to fix it)

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/R ... phora.html

-Severus

[Susanna]

Normaly the manufacture put a name on it (by stamp) and one manufacture was associated with the town where it was.

[richsc]

Look also at the following site:

Potsherd

There are several books out on pottery which you may find useful

Pottery in Roman Britain by Guy de la Bedoyere/Shire Publishing
Roman Pottery by Kevin Greene, British Museum Press
Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery by John Hayes, British Museum Press

[Lothia]

Ave Civitas,

As always, you guys are great. I will go into storage and see if I can attach that photo I took. It has been a couple years now, and I don't remember if the labels from the museum display are legible.

Thanks again,

me.

[Dan Diffendale]

2. If this is true, when City A packaged one of their amphorae off to City B, the contents used. What happens to that amphorae?

Monte Testaccio in Rome is a hill composed almost entirely of chucked-out amphorae. It wasn't worth shipping back a rough earthenware object.

[Susanna]

You do not know if they only haven been out of order?

Thanks Dan, did not know that.

[Carlton Bach]

Coraseware pottery generally was a low-cost item in the ancient world (I don't have it handy, but the prices in the Diocletianic Edict are astoundingly low), so it is quite credible that they were discarded. That said, we have eviodence for secondary use as urns, building materials, and writing material even of damaged ones, so I doubt there was anything like a rule for this.

AS to specific shapes for specific cities, I doubt it was that organised. We AS was pointed out, amphorae could be markeed by stamps or writing (they are unglazed, so gum-based ink sticks well). I suspect the difference is rather like coly bottles vs. the bottles used by small vintners - large producers with their own potteries stamp their amphorsare before firing, small ones buy from potters and 'label' them. Also, because coarseware pottery was mainly a local product (almost universally available materials and skills, low value, high bulk), many shapes and types of ampghorae can be traced to a certain area. Thus we can trace the trade of Southern Spanish olive oil by finds of the fairly typical amphorae (Dressel 22, IIRC, but I'm lousy with typology). Similar studies have been undertakern for African olive oil, Italian and Greek wines, Greek oil, and several commodities in the MIddle East. Frequently we do not know what was shipped in a given amphora even if we have a reasonable idea where it comes from.