Supervisors info:
Κεφαλίδου Ευρυδίκη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας - Αρχαιολογίας, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, επιβλέπουσα καθηγήτρια.
Τσιαφάκη Δέσποινα, Ερευνήτρια Α΄, Ερευνητικό Κέντρο «Αθηνά» - Παράρτημα Ξάνθης.
Lawall Mark, Professor of Classics, Department of Classics, University of Manitoba/Καναδάς.
Summary:
The study aims to examine the fragments of transport amphorae found during a rescue excavation, which was conducted in 2016/2017 on Vassileos Georgiou A 2 Street in Piraeus. The excavation was carried out as part of the project "Western extension of the Tram in Piraeus". The findings come, specifically, from three assemblages, which were excavated in a triangular space (Area 1), which was part of a larger building complex. This building complex occupied the SW corner of a block, which was located in the NW part of the city, east of the port of Kantharos.
The earliest chronological assemblage is the content of a well (Well 1) with fragments of pottery, among them amphorae, of the late 5th century B.C. The later chronological assemblages are a layer with a multitude of tiles and amphorae, which is conventionally called "layer of destruction", as well as a dump pit with tiles and fragments of amphorae, which was found under the "layer of destruction". Most of the amphora fragments of these two deposits date from the 3rd century B.C. until the beginning of the 1st century B.C. Ceramic evidence connects these two assemblages with the historical event of the destruction of Piraeus by Sulla in 86 BC. and the final discard of the debris.
The commercial amphorae located within these three assemblages of Area 1 are estimated at no less than 57. The aim of this study is to formulate some initial observations regarding the dynamics and extent of imports in Piraeus, as well as the centers of commercial exchanges from the 5th century B.C. until the beginning of the 1st century B.C.
The thesis is structured in four sections. The first section attempts to examine the history and topography of ancient Piraeus from the Classical to the late Roman period. In the next section, which is divided into six chapters, a detailed description and interpretation of the building remains of Vassileos Georgiou A 2 Street, as well as the three excavation assemblages from Area 1 with a simultaneous analysis of their ceramic findings, is provided. The third section examines the fragments of imported transport amphorae. Their analysis is arranged in three chapters based on their chronology in the 5th – 4th century B.C., in the 3rd century B.C. and during the post-Hellenistic years. The fourth section is divided into three chapters. The first chapter presents the significance of ancient Piraeus in the Mediterranean maritime trade from the Classical to Roman era, while the second examines the ability of amphorae to be used as a token of commercial activities. The last chapter attempts to analyze the data of the amphorae of Area 1, in order to draw conclusions about the general trends in import trade from the 5th century B.C. until the first quarter of the 1st century B.C. A catalogue of amphora fragments and other types of pottery is also included.
Keywords:
transport amphorae, pottery, maritime trade, Piraeus, Sulla
