A Late Antique Ceramic Assemblage at Burgaz, Datça Peninsula, South‐west Turkey, and the ‘Normality of the Mixed Cargo’ in the Ancient Mediterranean

Abstract

By combining underwater survey with formal and compositional study of ceramics, recent work at Burgaz (south‐west Turkey) reveals a late 6th‐ or 7th‐century assemblage of wine and perhaps other agricultural products carried in LR1 and LR2‐related amphoras. Representing various south‐east Aegean and likely Cilician producers, the mixed cargo aboard this probable shipwreck offers insights into the complex dynamics of seaborne distribution at the end of Antiquity. This brief study also underscores the need for documentation in underwater survey of amphora forms and fabrics, particularly those from a period characterized by intensified and diversified production of supra‐regional ceramic types.

Özet

Formal nitelikte yürütülen sualtı araştırması ve seramiklerin bileşimine ilişkin incelemelerin bütünleştirilmesi ile yapılan Burgaz’daki (Türkiye güneybatısı) yeni çalışma şarap ve belki başka tarımsal ürünlerin LR1 ve LR2‐ilişkili amphoraların içinde taşındığı Geç 6.‐ veya 7.‐ yüzyıl buluntu grubunu açığa çıkardı. Muhtelif güneydoğu Ege ve muhtemelen Kilikyalı üreticileri temsil eden karışık kökenli kargosu bulunan bu olası gemi batığı Antik dönem sonlarındaki denizel dağıtım dinamiklerinin kompleks yapısının anlaşılmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır. Bu kısa çalışma aynı zamanda sualtı araştırmaları kapsamında, özellikle bölge‐dışı yoğunluk ve yaygınlık gösteren seramik tiplerin bulunduğu dönemden olanlar olmak üzere amphora formları ve kil yapılarına ait veri toplama gereğinin önemini ortaya çıkarmıştır.

Key words:

• Late Antiquity
• Late Roman amphora
• maritime trade
• mixed cargo
• cabotage
• underwater survey

Acknowledgements

For permission to carry out the harbour investigations as part of the METU Burgaz project, and for permission to export samples for analysis, we are grateful to Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Marmaris Museum. Financial support for this research has been provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Brock University, Stanford University's Department of Classics, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, and the Honor Frost Foundation, with logistical support provided by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology's Bodrum Research Center. This article benefited greatly from helpful suggestions by the journal's editor and anonymous reviewers; any errors remain our own.

Notes

1. The terminology applied to the late spherical amphora form described here as LR2‐related has varied considerably in recent years, reflecting a lack of agreement on where to situate later examples—late 6th and early 7th century—within the evolving understanding of typologies initially described by Riley (1979). Some (for example Karagiorgou, 2001; Pieri, 2005) prefer to view such late forms as integrally related to the earlier series of LR2 production (Riley, 1979: 212–16)—most clearly signalled by the term LR2b—while others (for example Demesticha, 2003; Demesticha, 2005; Diamanti, 2010) favour the label ‘Late Roman 13’ (LR13) in accordance with a perceived similarity to another late but comparatively rare form among Riley's typology (1979: 231–2). Because not only the forms, but the areas of production and even fabrics associated with the later jars appear closely related to those of the earlier period, it seems wisest for the moment to continue following the more traditional terminology that points to their likely derivative from the LR2 jar. The substantial diversity included in this group of LR2‐related jars further underscores the need to combine both formal and compositional study to larger assemblages from well‐dated contexts such as shipwrecks.