Panel 5.17 – New approaches to seaborne commerce in the Roman Empire


Organiser/Chair:

  • Thomas Schmidts (RGZM)
  • Martina Seifert (Universität Hamburg)

Panel abstract

Empire Seaborne commerce in the Roman Empire is characterized by an outstanding performance and efficiency. Archaeological remains testify trade routes reaching from Egypt to Britain. Roman traders also stretched out to India and Sri Lanka in order to profit from a lively spice trade. Principally well informed by literally and epigraphic sources, our knowledge about the functioning and structural organization of the seaborne commerce structures admits us to address important players, e.g. the navicularii / naukleroi. On the one hand, Roman legal texts are attesting much information about comestible goods like agricultural products, especially grain used to support the city of Rome. On the other hand, the ancient testimonies miss details about the more practical aspects and the effectiveness of the seaborne commerce in the Roman Empire. According to the annona Urbis, imperial public commerce was of great importance, but in general trade and shipping probably more or less organized according to the rules of private commerce. The relation between social networks and commerce might have played a dominant role not only regarding the impact of migration but also regarding the tradesmen's community building over a long period in the Roman provinces and beyond. The high quantity of preserved shipwrecks, cargoes and harbors datable in Roman imperial times strengthen the meaning of archaeology by providing answers to crucial research desiderata, trying to understand the principles of ancient Roman seaborne commerce. One main issue in understanding Roman sea trade would be to define the parameters for sea routes, shipping capacities and cargoes. In order to present new approaches to seaborne commerce in the Roman Empire, the panel mainly contributes to the archaeological records regarding to the reconstruction of ancient ships and their containers and the use of GIS-based data analyses to follow ancient sea routes. In general, the archaeological discussions are dominated by pottery, metal and stone finds. On the other hand important merchandises as grain or textiles are unconsidered due to the preservation conditions. Also the reuse of amphorae that has been discussed during recent years should not be underestimated. Finally, the role of the seaborne commerce for understanding the ancient economy should be discussed in this panel, with special attention to the "new institutional economics".

 

Paper abstracts

1. Ronald Bockius (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum)

Cargo capacity & reach of voyage of ancient ships: some thoughts on interrelations of tonnage and shipshape as factors of economic seaborne trade
Research of the 1960ties to 70ies has shown that standardization of hold capacity was unknown to ancient Mediterranean shipbuilding whereas size of freighters and loads respectively had been rated by units of weight (e.g. talenta) or volume (e.g. amphorae, modii). From a fragment of harbor regulations issued on Hellenistic Thasos as well as from Roman measures of subvention or imperial edict it becomes clear that capacity of ancient cargo ships was valuated at categories related to economic aspects by nominating minimum rates: were vessels of minimum 70 to 80 metrical tons burden granted by municipal authorities and by the Roman treasury to be just profitable, modern underwater archaeology provides us with a number of partly well preserved wrecks of ancient freighters whose cargo capacity turned out to be on a distinct lower level.
This paper focusses a series of “small” merchantmen dated to 500 BC to AD 500 which will be discussed as to their shipbuilding concept and their supposed nautical qualities and reach of voyage. They are estimated as vessels designed predominately for inshore navigation with riverine ports of destination or such to be reached on shallow waters.

 

2. Emilia Mataix (University of Southampton)

A bird's-eye view: the legal side of Imperial seaborne commerce
This communication intends to study the commercial activities taking place in these sites linked to both the infrastructures and materials associated. This method is labelled as juridical archaeology, and it focuses on archaeological sites where legal activities took place occurred (e.g. contracts, taxation), and it attempts to analyse and explain the causal links between the legal facts reconstructed through the material remains. My work is based on the study of the epigraphy of merchandise (e.g. amphorae, barrels, etc), which reflects the commercial cycle in which the artefact was involved since it was bought (e.g. kilns, workshops) and until it arrived to a destination (e.g. port, market). These inscriptions, which reflect data such as product, or quantity, shape a record and provide essential information about the agreements of sale and transport by sea performed by the parties involved in trade. The model do not just depicts the activity of the ports of the Mediterranean, since when considering other regions of the Roman world, a number of these distribution stages can be identified in the different sources, materials and port structures.Consequently, this approach considers trade from a bird’s-eye view, focusing on the people involved in the transactions performed along the shores and understanding them as interacting activities between the privates, the imperial and provincial authorities.

"A bird's-eye view: the legal side of Imperial seaborne commerce" (Fulltext)

 

3. Thomas Schmidts (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz)

The inscribed seaborne commerce
Cargoes are an excellent source for the study of the ancient seaborne commerce. Amphorae, pottery of all kind, metal ingots etc. are primary proves of the trade of food, metals and other goods. Nevertheless, until now the great potential of the cargoes for the understanding of ancient economy is not yet exploited satisfactorily. Some obstacles, such as unclear provenances of goods and containers or the possibility of the reuse of amphorae, are causing difficulties for the interpretation.
The paper is focused on stamps and graffiti on goods which were parts of the cargo. The inscribed wares deliver more information than uninscribed one. They are suitable to reconstruct transportation routes in detail as well as formation of a cargo. The paper intends to provide an overview of instrumentum domesticum from the sea and to present examples that demonstrate the potential of inscribed wares for the understanding of seaborne commerce.

"The inscribed seaborne commerce" (Fulltext)

 

4. Martina Seifert and Julia Daum (Hamburg University)

Commerce and trade: the role of social networks and resources
After the establishment of the province of Dalmatia by Augustus in AD 9 and the decrease of piracy, many Italic families expanded into the port cities and the hinterland of the eastern Adriatic. Related with local elites, their economic activities contributed significantly to the prosperity of the region. Favourable environmental conditions, established technological know-how and the possibility of logistical connections to seaborne commerce as well as to terrestrial trade routes were just as important as regional and inter-regional political developments and trans-Adriatic family contacts in establishing an ‘Adriatic communication area’. The project within the DFG SPP 1630 seeks to analyse and establish the relative importance of these different factors with a focus addressing the role that coastal ports in the east and west Adriatic played in regional and inter-regional trade. The paper presented here will give a special view on the role of allocable Roman familiae as actors in the process of migration and decision-making with a focus on their access to resources in the surrounding areas and to seaborne commerce in the Roman Empire. The project is embedded in current research on network theories and discuss the scientific implication given by studying social networks and resources in archaeology.

"Commerce and trade: the role of social networks and resources" (Fulltext)

 

5. Joan Rodríguez Segura (Università degli Studi di Padova)

From Gades to Aquileia: the maritime trade of foodstuffs from Spain to northern Italy during the High Empire
The exploitation of the natural resources of the southern area of the Iberian Peninsula is a fact that can be documented from the first millennium BC. Throughout the centuries, these resources have been exploited and marketed by the different societies that settled in this particular area. With the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula these production sites continued with their habitual activity up to the first century AC when, with the arrival of a new political, social, and economic order, the production of this area increased in a spectacular way as can be seen in the different caetariae and figlinae of the area dated between the first and third centuries AD. This growth in production is linked to the trade, both public and private, of products such as olive oil, wine, and salted fish.
One of the main importing areas of these agricultural commodities was Italy and, more specifically, we will focus our attention on Aquileia as the main port of the Adriatic. The amphoras found in this city and its hinterland, the reuse of these containers in different adjoining cities, and the existence of sea and river shipwrecks, attest to this large-scale trade between Aquileia and the rest of the Empire. As regards to trade between Spain (Gades) and Aquileia, there are still many unresolved questions on the maritime route, the tonnage of the ships, the type of trade (public or private), the role of the different actors involved and, it should be emphasized, the figure of the navicularii maris Hadriatici, a figure with an important weight in this transaction but not yet properly explored. In this paper, we intend to present new data on the maritime trade route that the city received, and propose new hypotheses on its actors, and to analyse the origin and scope of the Spanish products by studying the amphorae found in the regions X Venetia et Histria and XI Transpadana.

 

6. Marina Maria Serena Nuovo (Sapienza University of Rome)

Ancient landscapes, ports and ships during roman times along the western adriatic coast
During past centuries the organization and management of the western Adriatic coast has been strongly conditioned by its coastal geomorphology. The littoral of this area, especially in the central part, has an alluvial origin and for this reason it is mainly low and sandy. This flat landscape is enlivened only by rare short rocky stretches and by the presence of numerous river and stream mouths perpendicular to the coast.
Therefore, since ancient times, man tried to take advantage of the river mouths to solve the inconvenience of an actual lack of natural harbours. A temporary landing place might also be offered by the lagoons, continuously drained and dried out during the last three centuries.
Reconstruction of the ancient landscape is fundamental for archaeological research, in order to figure out where Roman ports and landing places were located in a land described as “harbourless” by the ancient historians and geographers.
Study of Roman shipwrecks found along the coast between Venice and Padua offers the chance to understand what type of ships landed along the western Adriatic coast and their tonnage.
This research tries to combine landscape archaeology, topographical studies and naval archaeology to reconstruct the Roman harbour network along the western Adriatic coast. Moreover, this study tries to focus on western Adriatic seaborne commerce, analyzing what kind of containers and products were exported/imported in this region, especially to-and-from the opposite banks.

 

7. Pascal Warnking

The Colours of Pompeii
Shipping routes had a major influence on the profitability of ancient Roman maritime trade. Without understanding the specific routes, shipping lanes, sailing times, and environmental conditions, it is not be possible to model Roman trade. Ancient shipping has been the subject of many recent publications; however, the research on sailing times is often incomplete, contains much that is implausible and may result in error. The methodology presented in the panel was developed in order to make this research more precise and reliable. Although the applications of this research have resulted in wide-ranging and surprising conclusions, it is the research approach itself that is the main focus. It facilitates an accurate determination of the most important shipping routes and sailing times by applying the statistical algorithms of modern navigation software to sailing conditions in antiquity. To illustrate the methodology, trade routes for pigments used for the wall paintings in Pompeii are examined.

"The Colours of Pompeii" (Fulltext)

 

8. Gloriana Pace (University of Pisa)

The ancient Roman shipwrecks of Pisa within the Mediterranean seaborne commerce
In 1998, during an excavation near San Rossore railway station, in Pisa (Italy), a deposit with at least 30 shipwrecks was unearthed. This archeological area was associated with a watercourse, probably a tributary of the ancient river Auser (modern Serchio), which was linked to one of the regular canals placed within the centuriato grid. After some exceptional floods due to intense rain, the Arno river broke its embankments close to a bend and poured out huge quantities of water and sediments in the area of this canal, sweeping away everything and leaving materials in the hollows of the ground.
The amount and the variety of findings deposited in the archaeological layers is certainly due to the heavy commercial activities which characterised the area of the canal from the Mid-Republic to the Late Antiquity: not only shipwrecks with their cargos, but also numerous findings of luggage and garments, belonging both to passengers and to seamen, were found.
At the same time, the exceptional preservation of the cargos, including amphoras, pottery and organic findings (food remains, leather and wooden objects, wicker baskets) is connected with the hydrogeological characteristics of the river basin.
Aim of this paper is to contribute to the archaeological records regarding to the reconstruction of ancient ships and their goods, to the reuse of amphoras (especially those in which were organic remains) and to the role of the Roman town of Pisa within the Mediterranean seaborne commerce.

"The ancient Roman shipwrecks of Pisa within the Mediterranean seaborne commerce" (Fulltext)

 

9. Michaela Reinfeld (Universität zu Köln/DAI)

The maritime trade network of Lycia in the context of Mediterranean merchant shipping – a bottom-up approach of the ancient economy
At least since the discovery of the Bronze Age shipwrecks of Cape Gelidonya and Cape Uluburun, the Lycian coast has been recognized as an important interface of the Mediterranean trade routes and has become the focus of scientific interest. Since the Hellenistic period, the Lycian cities were connected by a dense network of ports at both the local level and with the entire Mediterranean world.
Field archaeological research and the results of underwater archaeology show a flourishing trade from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine period. The paper gives an overview on the role of individual port facilities in the Lycian trading network and on trade relations, which can be reconstructed using the underwater archaeological findings. Based on certain parameters, it raises the question whether individual port facilities were particularly predestined for international trade and whether the results of field archaeology reflect the underwater archaeological findings. Modifications in the maritime network, which are accompanied by changes in political, religious or economic factors, will also be discussed. Finally, regional trends, which can be observed on the Lycian coast, are placed in an overall Mediterranean context.

"The maritime trade network of Lycia in the context of Mediterranean merchant shipping – a bottom-up approach of the ancient economy" (Fulltext)

 

10. Christoph Schäfer

Field trials with Roman vessels on Rhine, Mosel and Danube
Roman maritime trade during the imperial period reached an extremely high volume. The stationing of large military units on the imperial frontiers, particularly in the frontier zones on the Rhine and Danube, provided both markets and considerable economic capital. A large part of traded goods were transported either by way of the Atlantic and the Rhine estuary or by the Mediterranean and the Rhône estuary. From these estuaries, goods were then further transported on the large river ways. This combination of seaborne and fluvial transport was the crucial backbone of the provisioning of these regions.
For fluvial transports, flat-bottomed river barges and scows were used which, their shallow drafts notwithstanding, were able to bear considerable loads. The river highways were safeguarded by military vessels suitable for use also on smaller rivers and streams. Two exceedingly well-preserved archaeological discoveries from the Danube (Oberstimm) and the Rhine (Mainz), both now on display at the Kelten Römer Museum in Manching and the Museum für Antike Schiffahrt (RGZM) in Mainz respectively, allow us to reconstruct two individual vessel types from ca. 100 and 400 C.E. In projects at the University of Hamburg and of Trier, and in close cooperation with Ronald Bockius (who was responsible for the publication of both the Mainz and Oberstimm vessels and also for drawing up the lines plans for the reconstruction) and other partners from different sectors (science, commerce, trades), two reconstructions were built to the original scale. Mechanical engineers from the University of Applied Sciences Trier and astrophysicists from the University of Hamburg and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (MA) adapted a suite of measuring instruments for use on reconstructed Roman ships. Thus, for the first time ever, reliable data on the performance and capabilities of such vessels could be collected. This data sheds light on the process of securing trade routes on the Rhine and Danube, as well as their tributary rivers.
A half-scale reconstruction of the Bevaix scow, constructed according to the plans of Beat Arnold and (again) Ronald Bockius, allowed for the first trial of such a vessel in 2015-17. As these craft formed the backbone of Roman river transport, the trials focused on testing different means of propulsion and the efficiency of this type of vessel. In order to accomplish this, further sophisticated measuring instruments were developed, which made it possible to collect data on the vessel’s performance under different propulsion (towing, punting, sailing). These new measuring methods, as well as the first results of the trials, will also be presented in this paper.

"Field trials with Roman vessels on Rhine, Mosel and Danube" (Fulltext)