Ceramic evidence, trade and economic connectivity in early Late Antiquity

Ceramics are much more than objects: they are evidence of trade routes, economic strategies, daily life, and human connectivity. Challenging traditional narratives of crisis, commercial and economic relations in the Western Mediterranean during Late Antiquity are examined through an interdisciplinary approach.

DAI Standort  Abteilung Madrid

Projektart  Einzelprojekt

Laufzeit  2026 - 2028

Disziplinen  Archäologie, Archäometrie

Projektverantwortlicher  Dr. Joan Tuset

Adresse 

Email  Joan.Tuset@dainst.de

Laufzeit  2026 - 2028

Projektart  Einzelprojekt

Cluster/Forschungsplan  MAD - Kulturkontakte und ihre Folgen, MAD - Umweltveränderung und kultureller Wandel

Fokus  Objektforschung

Disziplin  Archäologie, Archäometrie

Methoden  Materialuntersuchungen, Typologie

Förderer  Abteilung Madrid

Schlagworte  Aktivitäten, Materialien, Objekte

Projekt-ID  6010

Überblick

Rather than focusing only on decline and disruption, the project investigates the intense networks of exchange that continued to connect Roman Hispania, the Balearic Islands and North Africa, focusing on economy and trade as a key factor to understand the period. African products became dominant in many Hispanic markets, reflecting complex systems of trade, mobility and economic connectivity across the Mediterranean.

The interdisciplinary research combines archaeological, typological, epigraphic and archaeometric analysis of ceramics from important case studies: the Roman city of Pollentia (Mallorca), the Cabrera 1 and 3 shipwrecks, and Tarraco, the capital of the province, which provide evidence for understanding production, trade and consumption patterns between the 3rd and 4th centuries CE.

 

The entrance to the natural harbour of Cabrera from the sea © Joan Tuset Estany
Detail of the late 3rd-century destruction layers in Pollentia © Joan Tuset Estany
Binocular loupe picture of the fabric of a North African amphora © Joan Tuset Estany