New research on Aegean & Pontic transport amphorae of the ninth to first century BC, 2010–2020

Abstract

Research on transport amphorae in the Aegean and the Black Sea regions during the past decade has progressed significantly, both accumulating, synthesizing and interpreting new and old data, and increasing attention given to previously neglected areas and periods. Much work has been done on identifying places of production, defining typological development and refining chronologies. Greece and Turkey are achieving greater prominence in the field, as is attention to the Early Iron Age. Old debates – such as on the purposes and the meanings of amphora stamps – have been reignited with new ideas and the roles of transport amphorae in socio-economic systems continue to draw attention. Another emerging trend is the effort to consider amphorae in the longue durée. As material grows and the field becomes more cosmopolitan, amphora studies increasingly face the challenge of aggregating and synthesizing data in a way that can encourage participation in the broader dialogues of economic historians.

Dating Mediterranean shipwrecks: the Mazotos ship, radiocarbon dating and the need for independent chronological anchors

“…Moreover, maritime archaeologists have been cautious in their use of rare organic material for radiocarbon dating, since unmodelled dates on single samples often yield wide, imprecise date ranges (>50 years: Pomey & Rieth 2005: 140). As a result, the unavoidably uncertain and uneven relative chronologies of transport amphorae (Lawall & Tzochev 2020) have been widely accepted as the basis for dating Mediterranean shipwrecks.…”