Römische Amphoren als zentrale Elemente von Handel, Verkehr und Kommunikation

A lecture as part of the lecture series 2024/25: "Trade, traffic, communication - routes and transport in prehistory and early history northwest of the Alps" by the Society for Archaeology in Württemberg and Hohnezollern e.V. Reinhold-Würth-Saal, Landesmuseum Stuttgart

In her lecture, Dr. Ulrike Ehmig presents that no other ancient find type of amphora represents long-distance trade in Roman times due to their almost ubiquitous production in the Mediterranean region, their unprecedented presence in shipwrecks and the enormous number of their finds in the areas northwest of the Alps. They not only make it possible to trace transport routes, but their size, number and characteristics also raise the question of transport capacities and the infrastructure required for this.

The inscriptions on the amphorae, from which researchers have been gaining information about the contents of the containers for over 170 years, had very specific communication functions in antiquity.