Pottery production and circulation in the environs of Vesuvius: the villa with baths in Pollena Trocchia – This contribution provides an overall picture of the pottery found in the villa with baths at Pollena Trocchia and, through it,... more
Pottery production and circulation in the environs of Vesuvius: the villa with baths in Pollena Trocchia – This contribution provides an overall picture of the pottery found in the villa with baths at Pollena Trocchia and, through it, offers theoretical models of the food practices, the landscape, and the economy of late antique Campania. What has been brought to light so far consists of 20 rooms of a private bath complex, which is tied to a sizeable villa. The site was built right after the AD 79 eruption and buried by the subsequent eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 472 and 512. The pottery assemblage is composed mostly of sherds of the mid-5th c. AD and overall it seems pretty consistent with the published evidence from other Vesuvian contexts. Nevertheless, the ratio among the classes and the presence of some distinctive shapes hint to certain differences in the trade practices between the city of Neapolis and its countryside.
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In recent contributions Paul Arthur studied the spread of open cooking vessels found around the Mediterranean basin in the fifth and sixth centuries AD, connecting these with the hypothetical transition to a sheep/goat-dominated diet.... more
In recent contributions Paul Arthur studied the spread of open cooking vessels found around the Mediterranean basin in the fifth and sixth centuries AD, connecting these with the hypothetical transition to a sheep/goat-dominated diet. This article tests the theory against the dataset from a site in Pollena Trocchia on the northern slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. In order to understand the prevailing cooking practices, potsherds are first quantified using several methods, then rearranged by function and divided into the categories of cooking ware and tableware, and subsequently also sorted by shape. The proportions of various shapes reveal prevalence of pots used for semi-liquid and stewed food over those used for braising, as well as of bowls over dishes. In its last part, this article compares the faunal assemblage from Pollena Trocchia with other Late Antique sites in Italy, and proposes an alternative interpretation for the spread of open cooking vessels.
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This article studies the pottery from the baths of a post-79 AD roman villa in Pollena Trocchia on the North Slope of Vesuvius. The analysis includes the quantification and chrono- logical distribution of the site’s potsherds, a... more
This article studies the pottery from the baths of a post-79 AD roman villa in Pollena Trocchia on the North Slope of Vesuvius. The analysis includes the quantification and chrono- logical distribution of the site’s potsherds, a description of the typologies attested on the site, and the archaeometric analysis of the main clay matrices. Most of the pottery pertains to the last phase of activity in the site, from the mid-4th century to AD 472 (the late antique eruption of Vesuvius), while very few fragments are attested for the post-472 phase and only scarce residual sherds are dated to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. In the last part of the article, the pottery is used as a proxy of economic trends in the Mediterranean basin and as a witness of changes in the patterns of food consumption.
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This contribution provides a general picture of pottery circulating between the coast, the Campanian hinterland, and the Apennines in the second half of the fifth century AD. The published data from the excavations in Neapolis are... more
This contribution provides a general picture of pottery circulating between the coast, the Campanian hinterland, and the Apennines in the second half of the fifth century AD. The published data from the excavations in Neapolis are matched with new unpublished evidence from the inland, in particular from many sites around Nola and a bath complex from the northern slopes of Vesuvius, which has been excavated since 2007. The archaeological sites in the environs of Vesuvius are especially relevant for this study because they have been covered by the volcanoclastic deposits of the AD 472 eruption, hence providing a clear terminus ante quem for the chronology and a snapshot of the circulation of goods within a very narrow time frame. Moreover, this paper will focus on some micro-regional productions and their distribution within the Apennine region. Supported by archaeometric analyses, the study of these artefacts suggests new patterns of trade that move beyond traditional economic models.
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This article aims to provide a snapshot of local production and trade patterns in the territories of Neapolis and Nola in late Antiquity through the study of published data from Neapolis and pottery assemblages from two sites: a bath... more
This article aims to provide a snapshot of local production and trade patterns in the territories of Neapolis and Nola in late Antiquity through the study of published data from Neapolis and pottery assemblages from two sites: a bath complex in Pollena Trocchia and a villa on the outskirts of Nola. Pottery assemblages from both sites are described and compared to the evidence from Neapolis and sites in the Apennines in order to reconstruct trade patterns from the coast to the mountains. Results suggest that the distribution of imported goods is determined more by site ranking and proximity to main routes, rather than by distance. Furthermore, archaeometric analyses are provided for samples selected from burnished ware and cooking ware from Pollena Trocchia and Somma Vesuviana. Results suggest a complex distributional pattern and the existence of several kilns, both around Vesuvius and on the Apennines, which shared the same vase typology.
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... Page 199. Pottery found at San Martino (Drawing: Caterina Martucci) 10. The brick with stamp ???Lepidi???(Drawing: Massimo Manfellotto). 30 C. Cicirelli,???La ceramica comune da Terzigno: nota preliminare???, in Les c??ramiques... more
... Page 199. Pottery found at San Martino (Drawing: Caterina Martucci) 10. The brick with stamp ???Lepidi???(Drawing: Massimo Manfellotto). 30 C. Cicirelli,???La ceramica comune da Terzigno: nota preliminare???, in Les c??ramiques communes de Campanie et de Narbonnaise (Ier s. av. ...
Since more than two decades, the dataset from Carminiello ai Mannesi in Naples provides a quite clear picture of late antique pottery production and circulation within the city. New evidence from the underground digs in Naples is further... more
Since more than two decades, the dataset from Carminiello ai Mannesi in Naples provides a quite clear picture of late antique pottery production and circulation within the city. New evidence from the underground digs in Naples is further broadening our knowledge about local and imported productions. More recently, two new long-term excavation projects started on the northern slopes of Vesuvius, in the ancient Neapolitan countryside. The evidence which has been brought to light so far, shows many similarities with what is known from the city, but also significant differences. Most of these seem to be related to micro-regional centres of production, while others might be compared with vessels attested in the Apennines. Cities and settlements in the Campanian mountains potentially offer a quite sizeable body of evidence, which has not been exploited yet.
This contribution aims to illustrate the main characteristics of local productions circulating in Late Antiquity between Vesuvius and the Apennines.
For each class, it will be provided: fabrics’ visual and archaeometric characteristics, typology, and distribution. Some shapes have already been selected as representative of a particular production and their spread has been mapped. The overlay of these data creates a provisional distributional map, which sketches out the micro-regional productions of the city, its countryside, and the mountain region. These datasets potentially allow to understand the cultural and economic interdependency between the Neapolitan/Nolan plain and the Apennines’ inland region.
This contribution aims to illustrate the main characteristics of local productions circulating in Late Antiquity between Vesuvius and the Apennines.
For each class, it will be provided: fabrics’ visual and archaeometric characteristics, typology, and distribution. Some shapes have already been selected as representative of a particular production and their spread has been mapped. The overlay of these data creates a provisional distributional map, which sketches out the micro-regional productions of the city, its countryside, and the mountain region. These datasets potentially allow to understand the cultural and economic interdependency between the Neapolitan/Nolan plain and the Apennines’ inland region.
We all know about Pompeii and Herculaneum, to the south and west of Vesuvius respectively, but its north slope is by contrast almost a blank in the archaeological record, something which the Apolline Project set out to rectify. The... more
We all know about Pompeii and Herculaneum, to the south and west of Vesuvius respectively, but its north slope is by contrast almost a blank in the archaeological record, something which the Apolline Project set out to rectify. The reports and linked historical essays in this volume examine the evidence for settlement on the north slope, and seek to integrate this work into wider debates in Pompeiian studies. They also provide useful perspectives on the region in Late Antiquity.
(Abstract from Oxbow Books)
(Abstract from Oxbow Books)