Panel 8.19 – Economy of Judaea-Palestine


Organisation/Vorsitz:

  • Stefanie Hoss (University of Cologne)

Paper abstracts

1. Gregg Gardner (The University of British Columbia)

Archaeology and Economy in Roman Jerusalem: Markets, Material Culture, and Institutions in the First Century
This paper explores the archaeological sources related to the economy of Jerusalem during the early Roman age (63 B.C.E. to 70 C.E.). It examines the remains of shops and marketplaces, as well as coins, inscriptions, stone weights, and other artifacts. By focusing on the finds’ economic functions and meanings, this paper adds a new dimension to existing scholarship that examines these sources within their religious and cultic contexts. I find that market activity played a more substantial role in the city’s economy than previously appreciated. Reading material culture together with literature from the era and drawing upon ideas from neo-institutional economic thought, I find that commercial activity was enabled and promoted by the economic and social policies of the governing authorities (e.g. Herod, his successors, and Roman governors), such as maintaining the rule of law and constructing infrastructure. Doing so, moreover, enabled the state to capitalize on the city’s character as a pilgrimage destination. This paper contributes to our understanding of the economies of Roman Palestine and ancient cities. It also contributes to the broader study of archaeology and the ancient economy as it demonstrates how material culture can profitably be read together with economic thought.

 

2. Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom

The Production and Iconography of Ceramic Luxury Tableware in Roman Jerusalem (70-200 CE).
The transformation of the Hellenistic-early Roman Jewish city of Jerusalem into the pagan Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina entailed the physical re-shaping of the urban topography and a population exchange, as reflected by the material culture. The garrison of the Legio Decima Fretensis, together with the arrival of Roman military and administrative personnel, resulted in a change in dining style and tableware; relief-decorated and mould-made fine drinking vessels and wine jugs were introduced, modelled on pan-Roman silver and bronze prototypes. Local manufacture is indicated by the extensive use of the nearby Moza soil formation for clays and marls, as confirmed by petrographical analyses.
Although mere fragments of tableware were retrieved, their number, variety and quality stand out amidst the local material culture. Chalices imitate Italian Sigllata and the jugs copy Campanian bronze pitchers, while Dionysos and his retinue are prominent decorative motifs. The vessels with relief ornament display artistic and technical standards paralleled in the East by relief-decorated pottery produced at Pergamon, in the Ephesos region, and at Knidos.