Eastern amphora imports in the Adriatic Sea: evidence from terrestrial and underwater contexts of the Roman Imperial age

The study we would like to present aims at drawing a well-structured picture of the imports of eastern amphorae in the Adriatic sea, during the roman imperial centuries, and particularly from the II to the IV centuries A.D. To achieve this objective, we make use of various contexts, terrestrial and submerged, some brought into focus through recent or current researches, that seem to be particularly appropriate due to their nature, position and their stratigraphic relations. Most of these contexts are urban, stratigraphically reliable, often “closed” or “sealed”, and offer a wide range of not selected materials. Other contexts under examination are represented by cargos of sunken ships, which are particularly significant and useful, as they enable the association of various productions, of which they give a snapshot. The analysis of these cargos, especially of miscellaneous cargos or “secondary constitution” cargos or, still, recycled materials’ cargos, and the observation of ancient sailing routes, allow us to define a maritime connectivity network, much more crowded and segmented than we can rebuild theoretically. Furthermore, the study of transport amphorae from these Adriatic sites shows common features and trends. Concerning the II-IV centuries A.D. it becomes possible to observe the supremacy of eastern Mediterranean amphorae and the increase of importations from North Africa, while italic productions vanish almost completely. These dynamics are part of an Adriatic Sea/Po Valley koinè that reflects a redistribution pattern where the protagonists are big ports of trade – for instance Aquileia and Brindisi along the western coast - with some others satellite landing-places.