Amphorae from Baetica and Standarization Processes. Models and Trends
Southern Spain was the area of the Iberian Peninsula where the largest quantities of amphorae were produced during the Roman and Late Antique periods. This vast production is not only evidenced in the huge amount of south Hispanic or Baetican amphorae found in their reception markets but also in the...
| Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | book part |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repository: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:recercat.cat:2072/536845 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2072/536845 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Àmfores romanes -- Andalusia Andalusia -- Arqueologia romana 90 |
| Summary: | Southern Spain was the area of the Iberian Peninsula where the largest quantities of amphorae were produced during the Roman and Late Antique periods. This vast production is not only evidenced in the huge amount of south Hispanic or Baetican amphorae found in their reception markets but also in the archaeological evidence related to its production in Baetica itself. The number of amphora workshops documented to date from the Punic period to Late Antiquity in the in land and coastal areas finds no comparison in any other ancient region. Those workshops produced many different amphora types used for the commodities exported by the Baetican territories, with olive oil and fish sauces being the most important among them. In this paper, it is our aim to analyze the evolution of their standardizing process, from new forms and the formal success of some of them, seen in the maintenance of cert a in volumetric, formal, and petrographic characteristics, to some of the most important amphora types of the Roman period, always having in mind the influence of the historical, economic, and social changes suffered by the Roman and Late Antique world. Two essential moments de serve special attention: The Augustan- Tiberian era as the foundation of the early imperial Baetican economy, based on Baetica as the main supplier of the state, and the Tetrarchy as an early step toward a new role for Baetica within the Late Antique economic system. In the following pages, the most important south Hispanic amphora types are described and selected as case studies for the decisive historical periods. Origin and cause of changes informal and volumetric characteristics, as well as of scale of production and diversity of markets, are analyzed and seen from the perspective of the close relationship between content and container, with both being necessarily transformed in highly standardized commodities, easily recognizable, and able to penetrate any external market. |
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