Articles

Graffiti, stempels en tituli picti op amforen: waardevolle informatiedragers voor de kennis van antieke economie en naamkunde

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Abstract

In Roman times there was a massive import of olive-oil from Baetica (actual
Andalusia) to feed the army at the Limes in Rhineland and Scotland. This
Mediterranean product was transported in large amphorae of the Dressel 20
type that bear different types of epigraphy: graffiti, stamps en tituli picti (painted
inscriptions). The Low Countries forming the Hinterland took part in
this commerce, hence the discovery of large amounts of amphora fragments,
still bearing regularly epigraphy. This written heritage is not only ill-known
and neglected in the Benelux, but also threatened because of the bad conditions
in which they are collected and stored. The information provided by
these epigraphical sources is of uppermost importance to the knowledge of
the ancient economy in the Empire, as well in the south as in the north and
represents an important witness of romanisation. They shed light on the production
of the amphorae and the olive-oil in Baetica, and on its commercialisation
to the northern fringes of the Empire, giving at the same time the
names of all the people involved in these activities.

How to Cite:

Monsieur, P., (2006) “Graffiti, stempels en tituli picti op amforen: waardevolle informatiedragers voor de kennis van antieke economie en naamkunde”, Handelingen - Koninklijke Zuid-Nederlandse maatschappij voor taal- en letterkunde en geschiedenis 60, 101-129. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/kzm.v60i0.17403