An integrated approach to the study of local production and exchange in the lower Pontine plain

Abstract

Prevailing models of the Roman economy tend to focus on long-distance exchange and are biased towards urban centres; thereby, much emphasis is placed on imported pottery, seen as an indicator for a strongly globalized and economically integrated market. Yet Roman economic networks must have been much more complex, with most communities strongly embedded in their local environment and depending chiefly on short- and medium-distance trade for their everyday goods. The evidence for such relationships has to come from a comprehensive investigation of local and regional systems of ceramic production and exchange. While this topic has received attention especially in areas with extensive evidence for kiln sites or in areas made up of relatively distinct geological units, the available evidence for central Italy, being still rather incomplete and of varied quality, displays a number of biases. For example, the evidence for ceramic production is often provided by the detailed investigation of just one kiln site, and such cases are seldom considered within their broader spatial, social and economic contexts in a way that would allow inferences to be drawn on the mechanisms of production and distribution on a local scale.

Roman cooking vessels (ollae): a preliminary study of the material from the Pontine region, Central Italy

“…VIII). Although all fragments from the Pontine region are fairly standardised in shape, a regional variant with a more flattened rim occurs as well (Tol & Borgers, 2016).…”

“…Given that temperatures reached during cooking are not sufficient to result in decomposition of mineral inclusions, the calcite must have burnt out during the initial firing process. All four samples derive from the site at Ad Medias (Table 1), suggesting that this site was the place of production (Tol & Borgers, 2016). Pottery is known to having been produced at Ad Medias during the Late Republican period (Tol, et al, 2014).…”

“…However, other sites and centres of production in the region gained importance in the Late Republican period. For instance, pottery production has been attested on coastal sites, including the Roman villa of Le Grottacce ( de Haas, et al, 2008), and on sites that were located on the Via Appia, such as Ad Medias and Forum Appii (Borgers, et al, in press;Tol & Borgers, 2016;Tol, et al, 2014;fig. 1).…”

“…Potters (or middlemen) would have sold their products at or close to the production site, or they might have participated in periodic markets, which would have taken place at most regional centres or sanctuaries. In this context, it might be interesting to note that Forum Appii is thought to have been such a centre where various products were distributed (Tol & Borgers, 2016;Tol, et al, 2014).…”

Reconstructing production technology and distribution, using thin section petrography: A pilot study of Roman pottery production in the Pontine region, Central Italy

“…1). The production activity at the sites has been dated between the late Republican and early Imperial periods (see Tol and Borgers, 2016 for a discussion of the evidence).…”