Provenance of wine and oil amphorae in northern Adriatic: archaeometric and epigraphic approaches

Abstract

This research focuses on the archaeometric analysis of a large set of wine (type Dressel 6A) and oil amphorae (type Dressel 6B and probably funnel necked amphorae) from northern and central Italy, with the main aim of characterizing the various regional productions and trades among them and other production region of the Adriatic coast. Archaeobotanic and archaeological evidence, as well as the geographic context, indicated that both northern and central Italy were devoted to the growth of both grapes for wine production and olive trees. The various stamps recorded on Dressel 6A and Dressel 6B amphorae, the family names of which can be linked to specific regional areas within this territory, attest that numerous production centres were active even in the Cisalpina (northern Italy). The comparison with amphorae and fired local clay material of Romagna and Middle-Adriatic area, allowed to confirm the Middle-Adriatic origin of some series of Dressel 6A and Dressel 6B amphorae, as originally hypothesized for these amphorae.