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July 2003-July 2010InteractiveDig Sagalassos
[image]
The new type of imported amphorae from the Upper Agora

Photos courtesy Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project. Click on images to enlarge.
by Marc Waelkens

Ceramic Studies: August 8-12, 2004

The previous report concerning the pottery study at Sagalassos briefly discussed some of the economic aspects during the Late Roman/Early Byzantine period. Our studies indicate that Sagalassos received agricultural products from several regions in the Eastern Mediterranean during the sixth and perhaps also the seventh century A.D. It was probably through the ancient harbor of Perge near modern Antalya that these amphorae and their contents arrived at Sagalassos. During the processing of pottery last week, a new transport amphora was found among the pottery inside the Upper Agora's northeast building. This find confirms what was mentioned last week, that we have now found imported amphorae at several locations within the city. We cannot established its provenance right now, but further study should clarify both origin and content. In fact, we have found a whole range of imported amphorae fragments during the past weeks of which general characteristics such as provenance, content and period of production remain unknown. We will take samples of such sherds in order to identify their mineralogical composition and to apply residue analysis to them. Doing so might help to identify their original content.

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