Much has been said in terms of methodo logies, theoretical approaches, possibilities, and pitfalls, as well as about comparative approaches, quantification, and qualitative studies. However, recent advances in archaeo logical and archaeo-scientific practices and methods, which have only fairly recently begun to make their ways into publications, now allow for studies of urban economic patterns -at least for some places and periods -and enable us to push the boundaries for what we can study and therefore conclude from the evidence, which at best is full of lacunae and always will be (Barfod and others 2018; 2022; Birch and others 2019; Orfanou and others 2020; Romanowska and others 2021).Crucial evidence pertaining to the study of the ancient economy comes from Palmyra (Raja and Steding 2021; Steding 2022), an oasis city located in the Syrian Desert between the Mediterranean Sea and the river Euphrates, which flourished in the first three centuries ad (Figs 3.1-3.3) (Gawlikowski 2021; Raja 2022a). The city held a pivotal role in the organization of long-distance trade between the Roman Empire, Parthia, the Persian Gulf, the