Ancient Trade and Networks

ÖZET: Bizans ve Sâsânî İmparatorlukları arasında akdedilen barış antlaşmalarındaki iktisâdî hükümlerin değerlendirilmesi, bu savaşların arkasında yatan, ticâret yollarının kontrolünden kaynaklı iktisâdî sebeplerin de anlaşılmasını sağlayacak mahiyettedir. 562 yılında akdedilen Dara Antlaşmasının tam metni günümüze ulaştığından, antlaşma metni temelinde inceleme yapılabilmesi mümkündür. Antlaşmanın başlıca iktisadî hükümleri, devletlerarası ticaretin sadece belirli şehirlerle sınırlandırılması, elçilere ve diplomatik heyetlere verilen ticâret izni, her iki devletin tabiyetindeki Arap tüccarların ve tüm diğer tüccarların da Nisibis ve Dara üzerinden mutabık olunan ticari yolları takip etmeleri ve yeni ticari yollar denememeleridir. Bu hükümler, eski antlaşmalar ve yasal düzenlemeler temelinde tetkik edileceği gibi, Iustinianus döneminde yeni ticâret yolları tesis etme çabası, Bizans İmparatorluğunda ipekli dokuma sektörünün teşekkülü gibi girişimler, Sâsânîlerin İpek Yolu’nun ana ticârî güzergâhlarını kontrolünde tutmasının yarattığı sorunlar göz önüne alınarak tarihsel bağlamda değerlendirilecektir. Bu çalışmada, ticari ilişkilerin eski durumuna geri döndürülerek restore edilmesi çabasının Bizans-Sâsânî savaşlarının bir bir boyutunu teşkil etme ihtimali de tartışılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Bizans-Sâsânî Savaşları, Bizans-Sâsânî İktisâdî ve Ticârî İlişkileri.

ABSTRACT: An evaluation of the economic clauses of the peace treaties that were concluded between Byzantine and Sāssānid Empires, can make us understand the underlying economic factors that was based on controlling the trade routes. Since we have the full text of the treaty of Dara that was concluded between the Byzantine and Sāssānid Empires in 562 AD, it is possible to make a research based on this text. The main economic clauses in the treaty contains the limitation of the interstate commerce by certain cities, the permission to trade of the ambassadors and the diplomatic envoys, and the constraint of the Arabian merchants and all other merchants that are subjects of either state for trying new trade routes and their enforcement to follow the agreed trade routes by Nisibis and Dara. These clauses will be examined on the basis of older treaties and legal regulations,  on the historical context of the effort to establish new trade routes and the attemp to establish the silk weaving industry in Justinian’s times and regarding the problems caused by the Persians' controlling of the main trade routes of the Silk Road. In this work, the possibility of the restoration effort of the commercial relations to its previous state as one of the aspects of the Byzantine-Sāssānid wars, will also be discussed.

Keywords: Byzantine-Sasanian Wars, Byzantine-Sasanian Economic and Commercial Relations.

ABSZTRAKT: A Bizánci és a Sāssānid Birodalom között megkötött békeszerződések gazdasági záradékainak értékelése segíthet megérteni a mögöttes gazdasági tényezőket, amelyek a kereskedelmi útvonalak ellenőrzésén alapultak. Mivel rendelkezésünkre áll a Bizánci és a Sāssānid Birodalom között Kr. u. 562-ben kötött dárai szerződés teljes szövege, lehetőség van arra, hogy a szöveg alapján kutatást végezzünk. A szerződés főbb gazdasági záradékai tartalmazzák az államközi kereskedelem korlátozását bizonyos városok által, a követek és diplomáciai követek kereskedelmének engedélyezését, valamint az arab kereskedők és minden más, bármelyik állam alattvalójának számító kereskedő korlátozását új kereskedelmi útvonalak kipróbálására, és a Nisibis és Dara által megállapított kereskedelmi útvonalak követésére való kényszerítését. Ezeket a záradékokat a régebbi szerződések és jogi szabályozások alapján, az új kereskedelmi útvonalak létrehozására irányuló törekvések és a selyemszövőipar létrehozására tett kísérletek történelmi kontextusában vizsgáljuk meg Jusztiniánusz idejében, valamint a Selyemút fő kereskedelmi útvonalainak perzsák általi ellenőrzése által okozott problémák tekintetében. Ebben a munkában a kereskedelmi kapcsolatok korábbi állapotának helyreállítására irányuló erőfeszítések lehetőségét, mint a bizánci-sāssānid háborúk egyik szempontját is tárgyaljuk.

Kulcsszavak: Bizánci-szaszanida háborúk, bizánci-szaszanida gazdasági és kereskedelmi kapcsolatok.

АБСТРАКТ: Оценка экономических положений мирных договоров, заключенных между Византийской и Сасанидской империями, может помочь нам понять экономические факторы, которые лежали в основе контроля над торговыми путями. Поскольку у нас есть полный текст Дарийского договора, заключенного между Византийской и Сасанидской империями в 562 году н. э., можно провести исследование на основе этого текста. Основные экономические пункты договора содержат ограничение межгосударственной торговли определенными городами, разрешение на торговлю послам и дипломатическим посланникам, а также ограничение арабских купцов и всех других купцов, подданных обоих государств, на новые торговые пути и их принуждение следовать согласованным торговым маршрутам Нисибиса и Дары. Эти положения будут рассмотрены на основе более древних договоров и правовых норм, в историческом контексте попыток установления новых торговых путей и создания шелкоткацкой промышленности во времена Юстиниана, а также в связи с проблемами, вызванными контролем персов над основными торговыми путями Шелкового пути. В этой работе также будет обсуждаться возможность восстановления торговых отношений до прежнего состояния как один из аспектов византийско-сасанидских войн.

Ключевые слова: Византийско-сасанидские войны, византийско-сасанидские экономические и торговые отношения.

The question of trans-Saharan trade in antiquity has recently been illuminated by the results of new fieldwork, principally the Fazzan Project and Desert Migrations Project directed by David Mattingly in the Libyan Fazzan, and the excavations and survey work directed by Mario Liverani around Ghat. The results show an unexpected quantity of Roman imports to Garamantian sites in the Fazzan, and to a rather lesser extent to ancient sites around Ghat, demonstrating cultural contact between the Mediterranean coast and the Libyan Sahara from the 4th c. BC to the 6th or 7th c. AD, with a period of particularly intense contact from the late 1st century  AD onwards, where the quantities of imports are sufficient to allow one to speak of something like a regular caravan trade.
So far however it has largely been the easily recognisable and datable Roman imports that have allowed us to sketch a picture of this trade. Much more enigmatic is the question of what the Garamantes exported to the Roman world from the Sahara, or through the Sahara originally from further south, in return. This chapter reviews what we currently know or might deduce about such Saharan exports, and proposes some avenues for future research. Using a combination of ancient written sources and comparative models from better documented periods, it concentrates particularly on the question of the trade in slaves, carnelian/”carbuncle” gemstones, natural resources such as natron, and foodstuffs including dates and grain. The paper will suggest some archaeological approaches to tracing Saharan exports in the Roman world, and review what ancient written sources suggest about their reception and social/economic significance in the Mediterranean world.

Transport amphoras are exceptional sources for understanding ancient networks. Their frequency and recognisability allow them to visually represent spatial and temporal networks across the ancient world. A case study based on Rhodian, Cnidian and Coan amphoras attributed to the Hellenistic period will show that amphoras can be used as material evidence of networks in the ancient Greek world. However, the transformation of amphoras into network data can result in a distorted picture of such networks if adequate attention is not paid to non-stamped amphoras, different stamping practices and fluctuating volumes of amphoras, which all can have a major impact on the number of amphoras. The pivotal point of the article is its methodological consideration, which intends to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the use of amphoras in network studies.

Sauer, N. 2018. Transport Amphoras as Interlinks in the Ancient World, Skyllis 18.1: 33–41.

The present study discusses the effects of cross-cultural contact between lower and upper Mesopotamia, during so-called “Uruk expansion” (widespread distribution of southern Uruk-style material culture at sites at the North) in the 4th millennium BCE. 1- This paper claims that Uruk expansion was an actual colonial phenomenon, involving the emergence of Mesopotamian trading enclaves among preexisting local polities. 2- There was a symmetrical exchange between southern city-states and northern non urban societies. This long-distance trade, however, was particularly beneficial for more complex societies of the southern alluvial lowlands, because of the positive effect of trade on the emergence of more centralized states. 3- There was not a kind of world-system in which the core dominates an underdevelopped periphery politically and exploits it economically, rather a peaceful colonization/acculturation was.

The paper studies the networks of Hellenistic Rhodos, Knidos and Kos based on around 200,000 amphoras and amphora fragments found in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area. The archaeological finds of Rhodian, Knidian and Koan amphoras are being studies as evidence of links between the amphora production centres and the findspots, which jointly demonstrate the exchange networks of the southeastern Aegean amphora producers. Using methods from network analysis, the first part of the study examines these networks at local, regional, and interregional levels together with the separate shares of the amphora market. The second part of the study investigates the underlying mechanisms of the networks, taking into consideration political, economic, religious, social, and biological factors. Overall, the study illuminates how it was possible for Rhodos, Knidos, and Kos to profit substantially from the same amphora market in the Hellenistic period.

Sauer, N. 2021. Tracing Networks of the Hellenistic Amphora Market: A Study Based on Rhodian, Cnidian and Coan Transport Amphoras. In Karia and the Dodekanese: Cultural Interrelations in the Southeast Aegean vol. II, edited by B. Poulsen, P. Pedersen and J. Lund, 125–139. Oxford: Oxbow.

This study focuses on the distribution of early bronze drums from their centres of production in north Vietnam throughout Mainland and Island Southeast Asia, as evidence of cultural contact and cross-regional exchange along river and maritime routes during the late Metal Age and the proto-historic period. This is the period just prior to, and overlapping with, the first Chinese and Indian influences in the region. The exchange of bronze drums established alliances between early centres favouring the trade of other goods, and defining early cultural spheres which set the stage for the process of state formation in the historic period. Adopting a synoptic view over the entire distribution across national boundaries, I analyse what types of drums are found where by identifying a series of regional clusters. Each cluster of drums highlights and clarifies specific questions regarding chronology, routes of transmission, the geographical extent of trade networks, and new local bronze casti...

A myriad of cuneiform texts indicate that Dilmun was one of Mesopotamia’s principal Bronze Age trading partners. In this contribution an alternative explanation will be proposed on how and when it seized control over the maritime Gulf trade at the beginning of the second millennium BC. Dilmun’s route to dominance is captured in three steps, all closely linked to key changes in its social formation process. Evidence suggests that after a formative phase, during which Bahrain was colonized and eventually became Dilmun’s core area, it took two to three generations for Dilmun to establish full control over the waters of the Lower Sea, thereby not only generating a lot of wealth but also transforming this polity into a regional superpower.

Keywords: Dilmun, Bahrain, Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf, maritime trade, Bronze Age


!!!!!!!!!! I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FINAL PRINTING PROCESS BUT I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE QUALITY OF FIGS. 1-4. HIGH QUALITY RESOLUTION FIGS 1-4 ARE UPLOADED IN A SEPARATE FILE !!!!!!!!!!

In the past decades migration has been the dominant explanation employed by scholars to explain how the Kharosthi script and other innovations from North-West India spread to the Tarim Basin region during the first centuries CE. This article is a case study which seeks to challenge this migration scenario, based on a close study of the textual and material evidence available from the Krorainian Kingdom which occupied parts of the Southern Tarim Basin in antiquity. First evidence
which challenges the migration scenario is presented, looking both at linguistic and literary evidence, as well as evidence for continuity in local practice and belief. An alternative scenario based on exchange and interaction is proposed towards the end of the article, arguing that to suppose large scale migration is unnecessary to explain the phenomenon at hand. For this alternative the article draw upon
ideas from recent archaeological studies on the pre-historic Central Eurasia.

Στους ύστερους αρχαϊκούς χρόνους όταν ξεκινά η δραστηριοποίηση των μεγάλων οινοπαραγωγικών κέντρων του βόρειου Αιγαίου, της Θάσου και της Μένδης, και η οποία εντείνεται στους κλασικούς και ελληνιστικούς χρόνους, ανάμεσά τους σημαντική θέση κατείχε και αυτό της Ακάνθου, στο μυχό του κόλπου της Ιερισσού. Η Άκανθος, μία από τις τέσσερις αποικίες της Άνδρου στο βόρειο Αιγαίο, ήταν άλλωστε φημισμένη για την παραγωγή του επονομαζόμενου Ακάνθιου οίνου. Τα ευρήματα των ανασκαφών που διεξάγονται από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '70 έχουν φέρει στο φως σημαντικά ευρήματα που πιστοποιήσουν την παραγωγή εμπορικών αμφορέων από τα τοπικά κεραμικά εργαστήρια. Τα εργαστήρια αυτά βρίσκονται εγκαταστημένα στη βιοτεχνική συνοικία της πόλης που αναπτύσσεται εκτός των τειχών. Επιπλέον, η χωροθέτησή τους κοντά στο αρχαίο λιμάνι διευκόλυνε την ταχύτερη διακίνηση των προϊόντων τους, εξασφαλίζοντας χαμηλό κόστος παραγωγής. Μέσα από την μελέτη των εμπορικών αμφορέων εξετάζονται ζητήματα που αφορούν την οργάνωση και λειτουργία των εργαστηρίων παραγωγής τους, τα οποία βρίσκονται σε άμεση συνάρτηση και με τον τρόπο οργάνωσης της αρχαίας πόλης, την έκταση της υπαίθρου που είχε στη δικαιοδοσία της και την οικονομική της ευμάρεια.

Depuis l' archaisme tardif, commence l' activité des grands centres de production de vin sur le îles de la mer Egeé du nord, à Thasos et à Mendée et de facon intense à l' époque classique et hellénistique. Entre-eux, l' atelier d' Akanthos, au fond du golfe d' Ierissos, tenait une place importante. La ville d' Akanthos, une parmi les quatres colonies de l' île d' Andros au nord de la mer Egée, était d' ailleurs renommée pour la prouduction du vin réputé d' Akanthos. Les fouilles effectuées depuis le début des années 1970, ont mis à la lumiére d' importantes trouvailles qui attestent la production d' amphores d transport de la part des ateliers locaux. Ces ateliers étaient instaleés au quartier industriel qui s' est developpé en dehors de la ville. En plus, leurs emplacements, proche du port antique, a facilité la circulation des leurs produits, en assurant un prix bien bas. À travers l' étude des amphores de transport, se posent des questions qui concernent l' organisation el le fonctionnement des ces ateliers, qui en plus, se trouvent en relation directe avec celle même l' organisation de la ville antique, l' étendue de la χώρα qu' elle avait a sa disposition et son aisance économique.

Starting from two socketed axes of the Armorican type, which were so far mistakenly attributed as chisels of local production to the hoard from Şpălnaca, Romania, the author discusses finds of Armorican axes from eastern and southeastern Europe. A number of pieces published as authentic finds can be suspected to be modern imports. Armorican axes circulated widely as gifts between researchers or through the art market especially in the late 19th and early 20th century following the big discoveries in France. Until now, this fact has not been taken into consideration in several important publications of finds. Only for Poland and Bohemia there are finds which could be the result of Early Iron Age contacts. But even their authenticity remains doubtful to some degree, as there are no finds which were discovered after 1950.

The Early to Middle Bronze Age transition in Northern Mesopotamia has received great attention for the apparent concurrence of aridification, de-urbanisation, and the end of the Akkadian empire around 2200 BCE. Our understanding of the "crisis" has been almost exclusively shaped by ceramics, demography, and subsistence. Exchange and the associated social networks have been largely neglected. Here we report our sourcing results for 97 obsidian artefacts from Urkesh, a large urban settlement inhabited throughout the crisis. Before the crisis, six obsidian sources located in Eastern Anatolia are represented among the artefacts. Such a diversity of Eastern Anatolian obsidians at one site is hitherto unknown in Mesopotamia. It implies Urkesh was a cosmopolitan city with diverse visitors or visitors with diverse itineraries. During this crisis, however, obsidians came from only two of the closest sources. Two to three centuries passed before varied obsidians reappeared. Even when an obsidian source reappears, the raw material seems to have come from a different collection spot. We discuss the likely exchange mechanisms and related social networks responsible for the arrival of obsidians at Urkesh and how they might have changed in response to climatic perturbations and regional government collapse.

Sea routes and travel in the Mediterranean during historic times.
From antiquity until the invention of railroads in modern times, the sea offered the most convenient travel route, and also the fastest and most practical means of commercial transport. The Mediterranean Sea, with its mild climate and numerous small and large harbors or sheltered refuges dotting its coastline, was the primary area in which the trade networks of Greece and Rome developed. During antiquity it emerged as the main route of movement for various population groups and the cradle from which goods and ideas of many different cultures were generated, dispersed and mingled.
For the purposes of the temporary Exhibition Odysseys of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (2016-2017), this paper attempts to offer views into ancient sea travel, "Greek colonial" or trade expeditions attested by the sources in historic times, as well as to comment on a small number of transport goods of the Mediterranean, such as wine and culinary products. The paper also briefly presents related NAM exhibition artefacts that depict maritime stories.

An unexpected new source of tin was recently located at Hisarcık, in the foothills of the Mount Erciyes volcano in the Kayseri Plain, close to the Bronze Age town of Ku ̈ltepe, ancient Kanesh and home to a colony of Assyrian traders. Volcanoes in Turkey have always been associated with obsidian sources but were not known to be a major source of heavy metals, much less tin. X-ray fluorescence analyses of the Hisarcık ores revealed the presence of minerals suitable for the production of complex copper alloys, and sufficient tin and arsenic content to produce tin-bronze. These findings revise our understanding of bronze production in Anatolia in the third
millennium BC and demand a re-evaluation of Assyrian trade routes and the position of the Early Bronze Age societies of Anatolia within that network.

Scholarship traditionally situates the social lives of NT gospel writers exclusively within the Jesus movement and local Christ groups, showing inadequate consideration for how the gospel writers’ literary abilities might have provided the basis for social interaction and group formation with Greeks, Romans, and Judeans of common occupations and/or cultural interests. In order to provide a fuller portrait of the social and historical setting of gospel literature, this article explores the ranges of social activities practiced, and networks developed, by comparable writers – broadly, Greek historiographers. Data about historiographers’ social practices from the epigraphy help to provide controls for speculations about the setting of NT gospel composition, and raise new questions about this literature possibly emerging from networks and guilds forged between people of similar scribal professions and/or cultural interests that cut through ancient Christianity rather than from within the Jesus movement exclusively. Recent scholarship on the social setting of the Q Gospel (i.e., scribal networks) and the Gospel of Thomas (i.e., philosophical formations) has made arguments in this direction on the basis of other evidence, and that model appears most historically plausible for the narrative gospels, as well.

The archaeological project in Sungai Batu discovered more than 90 mounds  (sites) that may contain monumental archaeological findings. SB2B and SB2D are two of those  sites unearthed nearby ancient  river which connected to the Sungai Batu riverine network. The findings in those two sites include brick  structure  with possible floor  features, potsherds, beads, stone tools and  iron  slags. Based on the radiocarbon dating on  charcoal sample, the site dated from the 5th CE. These sites might have been a remnant of an ancient  jetty  used to load and unload trade
commodities that may include iron ores. These sites can be used as an evidence of the existence of an upriver-downriver economical interaction.  The discovery of these two river jetties may affirm the complexity of the Site of Sungai Batu not only  as a centre for religious and production activities, but also the exchange of commodity, namely the iron based trade. This paper discusses the result of preliminary research done on those two sites, in terms of forms and its functions, and  relation to the history of Sungai Batu.

This research focuses on the challenges that the landscape posed in the exchange of goods in the North Sea coastal region, and the possible solutions and techniques that people developed to overcome
these obstacles. The archaeological evidence on Neolithic shipping is presented first, which sheds light on the techniques used to construct boats and the advantages and limitations of the boats designs. Flint transport form Helgoland will serve as case-study. Secondly, the navigability of the German Bight, the area of the North Sea were Helgoland is situated, is assessed. Finally, the data presented is combined to propose a model for Neolithic maritime transport in the German Bight region.

Classical Archaeology
University of Copenhagen, The SAXO Institute
Supervisor: Lone Wriedt Sørensen
Grade: 12 (A+)

Abstract: 
The thesis aims to investigate how it was possible for Rhodes, Cnidus and Cos, three large and seemingly similar Greek city-states and transport amphora manufacturers, to profit from the same amphora market in the Hellenistic Period. Given that they had the same geographical position and trade links, all were assumed to have produced wine, besides being part of a common historical, political and religious region. The question of how all three city-states could profit substantially can be partly answered through three examinations: the study of the three amphora types and their contents; the analysis of the interrelations and connections of the three city-states within the Hellenistic market and a consideration of the five main sectors in which networks emerged. The examinations have been conducted partly by means of study of amphorae and related archaeological objects and partly through the study of literary and epigraphical sources. The main investigation was undertaken by a network analysis, which is based on data provided mainly by the archaeological finds of Rhodian, Cnidian and Coan transport amphorae scattered throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The investigation will show that Rhodes, Cnidus and Cos were able to profit from the Hellenistic market by separate shares of it, differentiated by geography and periods of time. The separate market shares were caused by political, economic, religious, social and biological mechanisms. In addition, the amphorae contained different commodities: for instance, the wine from each city-state had its own individual flavour. Finally, the three city-states probably enjoyed positive mutual relations. Given these facts, the thesis thus shows that the interrelations and connections of Rhodes, Cnidus and Cos constituted a macro network and offer a new and far more complex interpretation of the amphora market in the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the Hellenistic Period.

In Rahmen einer breiteren monographischen Untersuchung zur Proxenie im pontischen Raum versucht der Autor mit dieser Gelegenheit zwei weitere Aspekte zu besprechen – Verleiher bzw. Empfänger der Proxeniedekrete. Die systematische Erforschung der 173 Belege von ateleia, proxenia und politeia in den ionischen und dorischen apoikiai des Schwarzmeerraumes ermöglicht die Formulierung von glaubwürdigen Bemerkungen zu den Verleihern (gewöhnlich der Rat und die Volksversammlung) und Empfängern (proxenoi) der Proxeniedekrete. Neben den allgemeinen-griechischen Eigenschaften und vor allem dem von Athen ausgeübten Einfluss gibt es viele lokale Besonderheiten. Diese bezeugen, dass eine von außerhalb des Schwarzmeerraumes übergenommene Institution während der ca. sechs Jahrhunderte ihrer Existenz die Unterscheidungsmerkmale in Abhängigkeit von der Art und Intensität der Kontakte jeder städtischen Gemeinschaft mit der Außenwelt entwickelt hat.

The Early to Middle Bronze Age transition in Northern Mesopotamia has received great attention for the apparent concurrence of aridification, deurbanisation, and the end of the Akkadian empire around 2200 BCE. Our understanding of the "crisis" has been almost exclusively shaped by ceramics, demography, and subsistence. Exchange and the associated social networks have been largely neglected. Here we report our sourcing results for 97 obsidian artefacts from Urkesh, a large urban settlement inhabited throughout the crisis. Before the crisis, six obsidian sources located in Eastern Anatolia are represented among the artefacts. Such a diversity of Eastern Anatolian obsidians at one site is hitherto unknown in Mesopotamia. It implies Urkesh was a cosmopolitan city with diverse visitors or visitors with diverse itineraries. During this crisis, however, obsidians came from only two of the closest sources. Two to three centuries passed before varied obsidians reappeared. Even when an obsidian source reappears, the raw material seems to have come from a different collection spot. We discuss the likely exchange mechanisms and related social networks responsible for the arrival of obsidians at Urkesh and how they might have changed in response to climatic perturbations and regional government collapse.

This contribution gives a succinct interpretation of the factors that acted in the Phoenician commercial diaspora, particularly in its early days. Among them stands out demand, whose nature, evolution, and ways in which it took place marked the phases of that expansion. The intention of these pages is not to go into the nature of pre-classical trade, although demand, whatever the theoretical approach used, is its cause. Nor it is to propose a model; on the contrary, an interpretation is inferred of the existing data. These are, in short, some thoughts that I would have liked to share and discuss with you, Paolo.

The archaeological project in Sungai Batu discovered more than 90 mounds (sites) that may contain monumental archaeological findings. SB2B and SB2D are two of those sites unearthed nearby ancient river which connected to the Sungai Batu riverine network. The findings in those two sites include brick structure with possible floor features, potsherds, beads, stone tools and iron slags. Based on the radiocarbon dating on charcoal sample, the site dated from the 5 th CE. These sites might have been a remnant of an ancient jetty used to load and unload trade commodities that may include iron ores. These sites can be used as an evidence of the existence of an upriver-downriver economical interaction. The discovery of these two river jetties may affirm the complexity of the Site of Sungai Batu not only as a centre for religious and production activities, but also the exchange of commodity, namely the iron based trade. This paper discusses the result of preliminary research done on those tw...

Early in the Ptolemaic era, Egyptian cults, particularly those of Isis and Sarapis, spread successfully to ports across the ancient Aegean Sea. Leading researchers in the field claim that the spread of these cults was influenced by multiple factors, ones that were mainly economic or political in character. However, the question of which factors had more weight or impact than others in the process of the early spread of Egyptian cults has not yet been answered in academic discussion. This could be related to the fact that the issue of the spread of religious innovations in the ancient Mediterranean has been addressed mainly by established historiographical methods such as the collection and critical analysis of archaeological and literary sources. Hypotheses and conclusions derived from these methods are, however, often unable to reflect the complexity of historical processes. A possible solution can be found in supplementing this established methodological apparatus by formalized me...

This paper focused on the Princely tombs found in Campania and argued against the widely held view that these were the result of external impetus. Taking its lead from from new understandings of the ancient Mediterranean (Hodos, 2009 & 2010; Riva 2010) and wider theoretical approaches to the movement of goods and people, such as Networks (Castells, 2001; Malkin et al, 2007; Brughmans, 2010), this paper re-examined these tombs and their contents against the idea of strong and weak ties (Granovetter, 1973).

Early in the Ptolemaic era, Egyptian cults, particularly those of Isis and Sarapis, spread successfully to ports across the ancient Aegean Sea. Leading researchers in the field claim that the spread of these cults was influenced by multiple factors, ones that were mainly economic or political in character. However, the question of which factors had more weight or impact than others in the process of the early spread of Egyptian cults has not yet been answered in academic discussion. This could be related to the fact that the issue of the spread of religious innovations in the ancient Mediterranean has been addressed mainly by established historiographical methods such as the collection and critical analysis of archaeological and literary sources. Hypotheses and conclusions derived from these methods are, however, often unable to reflect the complexity of historical processes. A possible solution can be found in supplementing this established methodological apparatus by formalized me...

The present study aims to contribute to the investigation of the role of Phoenicians in the spreading and trade of the grapevine through the morphometric analysis of grape pips. Waterlogged and charred samples were selected from three Iron Age sites in the Western Mediterranean: Motya (Sicily, Italy), Nuraghe S’Urachi (Sardinia, Italy) and Huelva (Andalusia, Spain). While only Motya is a Phoenician foundation, all three were nevertheless associated with Phoenician expansion and cultural interaction. Ten cultivars from the “Vivaio Federico Paulsen” in Marsala (western Sicily) were chosen as modern reference material.
The key challenge was the comparison of archaeological pips preserved through different fossilization processes, which was overcome using two reference datasets of the same modern cultivars, one uncharred and one charred.
Statistical analyses of pip outlines show that archaeological remains from these sites is morphologically comparable to that of modern varieties, suggesting that the archaeological finds represent domesticated grapevines.
PCA analyses allowed an inter-site comparison, showing that samples from the three sites are clearly distinguishable based on their morphology. This indicates the use of different varieties which may be due to different factors.
Our analysis represents a first step towards a better understanding of diachronic and synchronic relationship between vines grown in the ancient West Mediterranean, which could be expanded by analysing grape pips from more contexts and more sites, compared against a wider selection of modern cultivars.