How the Ancient Greek Amphora Interconnected the World

Greek amphora from Attika 550 – 520 BC. Credit: MatthiasKabel / CC BY-SA 3.0

The ancient Greek amphora was utilized arsenic the main transport instrumentality for goods crossed the Mediterranean and the Black Sea for implicit 2 millennia from astir 1500 BC to 500 AD.

The large fig of past Greek amphorae discovered successful respective parts of southeast Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa attests to extended commercialized enactment among cities. This makes them a large root for knowing past commercialized networks and taste exchange.

The past Greek amphora interconnected city-states successful the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Photo of amphorae discovered connected Delos island. Credit: Bernard gagnon Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

In a survey entitled Transport Amphorae arsenic Interlinks successful the Ancient World, based connected Rhodian, Knidian, and Koan amphorae of the Hellenistic period, Dr. Nikoline Sauer argues that amphorae tin beryllium utilized arsenic worldly grounds of networks successful the past Greek world.

The etymology of the past Greek connection “amphora” (αμφορεύς) reflects the intent of the container: to transportation goods. It is simply a contraction of the connection “amphiphoreus” (αμφιφορεύς), with “amphi-” (αμφί) meaning “on some sides” and “phoreus” (φορεύς) meaning “bearer.”

Transport amphorae were the astir commonly utilized containers for the large-scale question of goods successful antiquity. They were wide distributed betwixt trading cities, transporting commodities specified arsenic wine, olive products, honey, food products, fruits, nuts, and cereals.

As a nautical people, the Greeks transported goods acold and wide by sea, trading with the full known past world. The transport amphora was utilized extensively from 1500 BC to 500 AD. During that period, amphorae were mass-produced astatine levels comparable to those of the concern age. Their extended usage makes amphorae immoderate of the astir communal archaeological finds astatine past sites and successful shipwrecks.

Mapping the spot of root and destination of past Greek amphorae

This frequency, unneurotic with the information that amphorae usually remained astatine the constituent of importation—since they were of small worth erstwhile emptied—makes it imaginable to behaviour a broad mapping of the places wherever amphorae person been found, the researcher argues. It is besides casual to find the root of past Greek transport amphorae owed to their signifier and the stamps placed connected astatine slightest 1 of their handles. These indicated the names of the makers and were dated, making it imaginable to found a wide chronology.

This allows researchers to hint links betwixt senders and recipients, arsenic good arsenic ascertain the timing of amphora arrivals astatine their destination, thereby outlining the spatial and temporal networks of exchange. With the disposable data, a ceremonial investigation of the connections betwixt cities oregon ports tin beryllium made. Further investigation tin assistance researchers reconstruct the networks of the past world.

Network investigation emerged successful the 1980s, but its usage has expanded importantly with bundle susceptible of handling the ample amounts of information required for specified studies. These programs are utilized to make maps and visualize links, highlighting relationships betwixt objects and radical and helping researchers amended recognize quality interactions successful the past world.

The method reveals connections successful the past satellite that would different stay invisible. Network investigation has led to an upsurge successful studies connected past Mediterranean networks and connectivity implicit the past decade.

Hellenistic amphorae from Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos

Sauer’s survey focuses connected amphorae from Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos, each autonomous city-states of the Hellenistic play located successful the southeastern Aegean Sea. These were selected due to the fact that they were the main Greek centers of amphora accumulation astatine the time. The intent of the survey is to place connections with different cities and ports successful the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

A survey of information yielded astir 200,000 amphorae and stamped handles, including 151,998 from Rhodes, 41,874 from Knidus, and 5,257 from Kos, collected from 361 sites and 18 shipwrecks, dating to the Hellenistic play (323–31 BC).

The ample information acceptable made it imaginable to found aggregate links betwixt the places wherever amphorae were recovered and their producers. It besides serves arsenic the ground for web analysis, helping to reply cardinal probe questions. In the peculiar study, web investigation demonstrated however Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos could each nett from the aforesaid amphora marketplace during the Hellenistic play adjacent though they shared the aforesaid geographical position, commodity (likely wine), and overlapping commercialized links.

The researcher utilized Rhodian, Knidian, and Koan amphorae to representation retired however the 3 city-states were connected done commercialized and society. She treated the amphorae arsenic stand-ins for people’s interactions and arsenic clues to their relation successful some the Greek amphora marketplace and the wider Hellenistic economy.

The GIS programme MapInfo was utilized to visualize the interrelation betwixt Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos connected the 1 manus and the assorted sites successful the Mediterranean connected the other, with the sizes of symbols indicating the grade of enactment betwixt sites based connected the full fig of amphorae.

Links to local, regional, and interregional levels

In a person examination, the connections betwixt the 3 city-states were analyzed astatine local, regional, and interregional levels. Locally, a important stock of amphorae—especially the Rhodian and Koan—circulated wrong their section area. This apt indicates that the request for amphorae was precocious successful the home marketplace oregon that determination were restrictions, specified arsenic the Thasian Wine Law, which hindered overseas amphorae successful the section market.

The connections astatine the determination level amusement that Rhodes had a monopoly connected the amphora marketplace successful Egypt, the Black Sea, the Levant, Cyprus, and Anatolia. The 100,000 Rhodian amphorae recovered successful Alexandria unsocial are grounds of peculiarly beardown commercialized relations betwixt Rhodes and the Ptolemaic Kingdom, whose superior was Alexandria.

Meanwhile, Knidus dominated the amphora marketplace successful Greece and the Cyclades, distributing astir 25,000 amphorae to Athens, 2,000 to Argos, and astir 5,000 amphorae to Delos, on with different Cycladic islands specified arsenic Tenos, Andros, Amorgos, Antiparos, Kea, Naxos, and Rineia.

Kos ne'er dominated the amphora marketplace of an full geographic country astatine the determination level. However, the land inactive distributed a comparatively ample fig of amphorae to Greece, Egypt, and the Black Sea, portion besides serving arsenic the main supplier of amphorae successful its section area.

Ancient Greek amphorae successful Hellenistic shipwrecks

The predominance of Rhodian amphorae is besides evident successful Hellenistic-era shipwrecks. As galore arsenic seventeen Hellenistic shipwrecks contained Rhodian amphorae, compared to lone 2 shipwrecks with Knidian amphorae and 1 shipwreck containing Koan amphorae. Based connected this evidence, the researcher argues that Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos held separate, geographically chiseled shares of the amphora market.

In addition, a wide survey of the stamps from the Rhodian, Knidian, and Koan amphorae reveals that the networks of the amphora marketplace were besides temporally structured. The organisation of Rhodian amphorae took spot chiefly successful the archetypal portion of the Hellenistic period, peaking betwixt 220 and 160 BC.

From that constituent on, the import of Rhodian amphorae astir ceased, with the objection of Alexandria, which continued to person a ample stock of Rhodian amphorae during the 2nd fractional of the 2nd period BC. Knidus had its main export play from the 2nd period BC to the opening of the 1st period BC, whereas Kos saw its commercialized highest successful the 2nd period BC until the mediate of the 1st period BC. This indicates that Kos was the sole progressive amphora accumulation halfway during the past portion of the Hellenistic period.

From the information analysis, it becomes wide that past Greek amphora transport demonstrates that Rhodes, Knidus, and Kos were capable to nett from the Hellenistic marketplace owed to a operation of spatial and temporal differences. This suggests that the 3 city-states profited from the aforesaid amphora marketplace arsenic a effect of communal commercialized relations, apt supported by shared spiritual beliefs and governmental ties, a geographically advantageous location, resources, and the accumulation of vino with chiseled flavors.

The wide investigation of amphora links indicates the beingness of a decentralized network—one with respective cardinal sites that interact with each different arsenic good arsenic individually with different sites. Material grounds repeatedly shows that bidirectional exchanges were conducted betwixt sites during past times.

Complex methodology

Using amphorae arsenic a mode to survey past commercialized is an highly analyzable task. The main interest erstwhile moving with Rhodian, Knidian, and Koan amphorae is the quality successful stamping customs. Few city-states successful the Hellenistic play really stamped their amphorae, and among those, the stamping practices varied considerably. For instance, the ratio of stamped to unstamped amphorae was astir 100 percent connected Rhodes during its highest trading play but lone astir 15 percent connected Knidus and 1 to 10 percent connected Kos.

The assorted stamping practices person undoubtedly affected the full numbers of amphorae assigned to each city. Additionally, the Koan amphorae were lone stamped connected 1 of their 2 handles, whereas astir Rhodian amphorae and immoderate Knidian amphorae had stamps connected both. This is simply a important difference, since a stamped amphora grip is often taken to correspond a implicit amphora successful inventories.

Another origin to support successful caput is the varying measurement of southeastern Aegean amphorae. In the Hellenistic period, the Koan amphora could clasp astir 44 liters (about 12 gallons), compared with 22 to 29 liters (about 6 to 8 gallons) for the Rhodian amphora and 11 to 38 liters (about 3 to 10 gallons) for the Knidian amphora.

The considerably larger Koan amphora whitethorn explicate the smaller fig of amphorae from Kos, which is praised for its good vino successful literate sources. Thus, the greater capableness of Koan amphorae whitethorn person contributed to little demand—and consequently, reduced production—of these amphorae during the Hellenistic period.

Archaeologist Yvon Garlan noted a 3rd methodological information regarding Rhodian amphorae. He states that “certain handles interruption much easy than others (those of Sinope, for example, successful examination with those of Rhodes); therefore, Rhodian amphorae are apt overrepresented successful catalogued findings.”

Challenges successful past Greek amphora commercialized studies

The broader challenges successful utilizing amphorae arsenic grounds of commercialized networks overlap with the circumstantial issues associated with Hellenistic amphorae from the southeastern Aegean. The main underlying occupation is the reliance connected amphora information from ample collections of stamped amphora handles. Stamped amphora handles person agelong attracted the involvement of creation collectors, immoderate of whom person amassed thousands of them.

These ample collections present a important bias successful the survey of amphorae, arsenic they exclude unstamped examples and often favour a peculiar type. This absorption connected stamped amphorae is besides evident successful galore archaeological excavations, which often analyse lone stamped handles oregon amphora bases.

Finally, the fig of amphorae should beryllium interpreted cautiously, arsenic the archaeological grounds is ne'er implicit and the standard and scope of excavations powerfully power the full fig of amphorae discovered astatine sites and subsequently published.

Leading scholars connected Greek amphorae and past commercialized item 5 main challenges successful amphora studies:

1. the deficiency of excavation reports, collection, and probe connected non-stamped amphorae and handles;

2. the nonstop equation of stamped handles with implicit containers;

3. the chronological organisation of amphorae;

4. the differing stamping practices; and

5. the varying volumes.

These 5 issues person the top interaction connected the estimated fig of amphorae attributed to a tract and should beryllium fixed peculiar information erstwhile utilizing amphorae successful web studies, arsenic good arsenic successful amphora probe much generally.

Other challenges tin further complicate the usage of amphorae arsenic information successful web studies. For example, the section imitation of overseas amphora types tin marque identifying amphorae much difficult.

Another facet is the grade to which an amphora recovered astatine a definite tract indicates a “direct connection” betwixt the amphora shaper and that site. Such connections could easy person been disrupted by the reuse and refilling of amphorae, indirect commercialized with mixed vessel cargoes, oregon transactions via backstage merchants.

The distortion of tract grounds is evident successful the lawsuit of Koan amphorae, which were transported from their archetypal constituent of importation to Nessana and reused arsenic h2o containers—a signifier noted by the Greek historiographer Herodotus. Alternatively, amphorae whitethorn person been transported with nary contents for different purposes astatine their destination.

Network studies are utile contempt the challenges

Some past Greek amphora scholars person challenged the bare instrumentality theory, arguing that the worth of amphorae laic chiefly successful the contents, and their reuse seems to person been constricted to areas adjacent their archetypal constituent of importation.

Sauer argues that researchers should besides analyse the motivations and influencing factors down the connections revealed by amphorae to summation a deeper knowing of the networks involved. Political, economic, religious, social, and biology factors each look to person been influential successful the constitution and continuation of commercialized connections.

Amphorae are often studied successful the discourse of past commercialized and economy, but researchers should besides see that their transport whitethorn supply grounds of different types of connections, including payments to soldiers, gifts, taxes, oregon looting.

In summary, the archaeologist’s survey offers a systematic appraisal of the benefits and limitations of utilizing amphorae successful web research. The study’s scope whitethorn look contradictory: it some encourages the usage of amphorae successful web investigation and highlights the limitations of this approach. However, the findings corroborate continuous interchange betwixt city-states crossed a wide area, careless of the precise fig of amphorae discovered astatine each site.

To deduce meaningful results successful studies of connections and exchanges betwixt past Greek sites successful the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, researchers indispensable use meticulous methodology erstwhile utilizing transport amphorae arsenic evidence.