TRAC 2011 by Maria Duggan Darrell J. Rohl Frances McIntosh

Author:Maria Duggan, Darrell J. Rohl, Frances McIntosh [Maria Duggan, Darrell J. Rohl, Frances McIntosh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781842178522
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Published: 2012-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Methodology – the usefulness of micro-details

The analysis is based on independently dated, largely contemporary deposits from various different regions in order to reveal any chronological reasons for differences or conformities in the supply of samian, focussing on the Antonine period.

Here, ‘independently dated’ denotes sites or deposits that have been chronologically assessed with the help of historic and epigraphic sources, stratified numismatic evidence or dendrochronological dating and ideally a combination of some of these. Any deposits that rely purely on samian finds for dating have been omitted from the analysis to avoid circular arguments.

Unfortunately we have few sites fulfilling these criteria: for Roman Britain, examples would include the Antonine Wall and deposits with numismatic termini post quos such as the Verulamium Antonine fire deposits (Frere 1972: 89–98), the Castleford pottery shop assemblage (for the full reports see Cool and Philo 1998; Abramson et al. 1999; Rush et al. 2000) or the Wroxeter gutter group (see especially Bushe-Fox 1913; Atkinson 1942; Barker et al. 1997; Ellis 2000; Webster et al. 2002).

Roughly contemporary sites on the continent are more difficult to discern and our best equivalent to the aforementioned British sites would be the Inner and subsequent Outer limes forts in Germania Superior and Raetia. Military fortifications along the inner stretch of this frontier were largely built during the later years of Trajan’s reign (see Kortüm 1998) and abandoned by the army with the advance of the frontier to the Outer limes around A.D. 160.

The aforementioned method builds up a reliable, relative chronology and depiction of supply patterns in and to different regions. Provincial differences in supply with samian should thus become obvious in a comparison of the British and German markets and enable a theoretically informed assessment of the economic decisions that caused these patterns.

The potter’s stamps themselves are of utmost importance for this comparison as they allow the exact identification of respective origin of both decorated and plain samian ware. Instead of focusing purely on decorated samian, hence forfeiting large parts of the samian assemblages per site, the stamps are of utmost interest to illustrate more detailed patterns based on individual potters’ products.

As it would be impossible to discuss every site in the aforementioned areas on the following pages, I will concentrate on just a few examples from the Antonine period, namely the Castleford pottery shop assemblage and the Wroxeter gutter group. These will be set against the general background of samian supply to Antonine sites in Roman Germany and the Danube provinces. The artefactual evidence will consequently be used to challenge our understanding of the practicalities that influenced samian supplies to different provinces, such as trade networks, consumption or consumer preference.

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