The Ancient Mediterranean Trade In Ceramic Building Materials A Case Study In Carthage And Beirut

This study addresses the level of interregional trade of ceramic building material (CBM), traditionally seen as a high bulk low value commodity, within the ancient Mediterranean between the third century BC and the seventh century AD.

Long-distance trade under Rome is well-understood. But the importance of local exchange has not been fully explored. The volume investigates how inland regions could become prosperous in late antiquity, especially when not integrated in long-range trading networks. Robust local economies emerge, stimulated by both taxation and local market systems.

Conference proceedings

The concept of a socially constructed space of human activity in areas of everyday actions, as initially proposed in the field of anthropology by Tim Ingold, has actually been much more applied in archaeology. In this wide-ranging collection of 13 papers, including a re-assessment by Ingold himself, contributors show why it has been so influential, with papers ranging from the study of Mesolithic to historic and contemporary archaeology, revisiting different research themes, such as Ingold’s own Lapland study, and the development of landscape archaeology. A series of case studies demonstrates the value and strength of the taskscape concept applied to a variety of contexts and scales across wide geographical and temporal situations. While exploring new frontiers, the papers contrast British, Nordic and Mediterranean archaeologies to showcase the study of material culture and landscape and conclude with an assessment of the concept of taskcape and its further developments.

This is the first monograph devoted solely to the ceramics of Cyprus in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. The island was by then no longer divided into kingdoms but unified politically, first under Ptolemaic Egypt and later as a province in the Roman Empire. Submission to foreign rule was previously thought to have diluted - if not obliterated - the time-honoured distinctive Cypriot character. The ceramic evidence suggests otherwise. The distribution of local and imported pottery in Cyprus points to the existence of several regional exchange networks, a division that also seems reflected by other evidence. The similarities in material culture, exchange patterns and preferential practices are suggestive of a certain level of regional collective self-awareness. From the 1st century BC onwards, Cyprus became increasingly engulfed by mass produced and standardized ceramic fine wares, which seem ultimately to have put many of the indigenous makers of similar products out of business - or forced them to modify their output. Also, the ceramic record gradually became less diverse during the Roman Period than before - developments which we today might be inclined to view as symptoms of an early form of globalisation.

Presents the results of the RACIIC International Congress (Roman Amphora Contents International Interactive Conference, Cádiz, 2015), dedicated to the distinguished Spanish amphorologist Miguel Beltrán Lloris. This volume aims to reflect on the current state of knowledge about the palaeocontents of Roman amphorae.

Late antique sites are often excavated badly and are hardly ever published in full, especially in the East. This volume seeks to provide a critique of this situation and exemplars of best practice. It will be an important reference work for scholars engaged in fieldwork and those seeking to use archaeological evidence in historical discussions.

Acta 46 comprises 64 articles. Out of the 120 scheduled lectures and posters presented at the 31st Congress of the Rei Cretariæ Romanæ Favtores, 61 are included in the present volume, to which three further were added. Given the location of the conference in Romania it seems natural that there is a particular focus on the Balkans and Danube.