Documenting Change in Late Antique Emerita through the Ceramic Evidence

Abstract

Ceramic materials from a large cross-section of Emerita’s late antique sites offer new details to augment the portrait of the city gleaned from late Roman and Visigothic written sources and architectural remains. The pottery market in late fifth- through seventh-century Emerita did not operate according to the same values that had driven the large-scale importation of goods from abroad in the late Roman period. The evidence shows a substantial decline in fineware imports in the course of the fifth century, but at no point does it indicate a complete loss of trade ties between Emerita and the Mediterranean world. Imported forms manufactured after the end of the fifth century still found their way to the city, though in much lower numbers than in the fourth and fifth centuries. Changing preferences among Hispano-Roman residents, or the arrival of new inhabitants, may have affected demand and production levels, in effect reducing the profitability of large-scale pottery operations. Emerita’s coarseware ceramics also underwent significant changes beginning in the late fifth century, possibly reflecting changing food preparation and consumption practices. All of these changes may be related to the destruction and abandonment of several sections of the city in the middle decades of the fifth century, when barbarian activities severed Hispania from the Roman Empire.

Housing in Late Antique Augusta Emerita: The End of The Peristyle House

“…). The specific chronology is suggested by the frequency of African Red Slip D (ARSD) forms dating to the first half of the fifth century – and the total absence of forms typical of the later fifth century – in destruction levels from numerous intramural sites (Hayes , ; Osland ).…”

“…Hayes 61A, 61B and 76) in foundation trenches and levelling fill. Imported finewares dating from the last third of the fifth century are relatively infrequent in Emerita (Osland , 332–5 with table 3), but those that do occur are unattested in contexts related to the late fifth‐century reconstruction.…”

“…Other symbols of status and wealth typical of the late Roman period also dwindled or disappeared in the immediate post‐Roman period. For example, the volume of imported fineware pottery gradually diminished across the fifth century, falling to a trickle by the early sixth century (Osland , 331–5). Wall paintings, marble decorations and mosaics are also absent from the domestic remains after the middle of the fifth century.…”

“…Yet these are not the only changes attested in the archaeological record. The ceramic evidence also indicates that dining habits of the Roman period inhabitants of Emerita were replaced by a completely new set of dining activities, which incorporated smaller bowls and dishes and a broad array of multi‐purpose pitchers and ollas (Osland , 335–42). Vessel forms used in this later period suggest a move away from formal communal dining contexts toward more intimate family‐centred or small‐group meals.…”