A large deposit of Roman amphorae that were used to transportalum, a salt that in ancient times was used for dyeing textiles, has been discovered in Aquileia (Udine). The discovery came about thanks to a campaign by the Department of Humanities of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice as part of the project Aquileia Roman Port-Eastern Shore: Archaeological Investigations at the former Sandrigo Fund. The excavation in the area started in 2010 and involves an area located near what was once the port of Aquileia, one of the main Roman cities. It is an area located near an ancient river course that from the first century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. underwent several changes.
The amphorae unearthed by the team led by Daniela Cottica, professor of classical archaeology and archaeology of the Roman provinces at Ca’ Foscari University, are in fragments (about six thousand shards were found) and allow the reconstruction of about a hundred units, with a capacity of 15 or 30 liters, although those of 30 are preponderant. The amphorae come from two supply areas: the Aeolian Islands and the island of Milos in the Aegean Sea. The shipments of alum departed from the seas of the south (in Lipari in particular, as also attested by ancient sources, alum extraction was a flourishing activity, and the islanders held a monopoly on the precious material, because the deposits on the Greek island were in smaller quantities) and thus arrived in Aquileia. The one from the Friulian littoral is one of the most important finds of its kind in the entire Roman West and will provide more information about the trade that took place in Aquileia, an important city of economic and commercial exchange, a port that supplied much of what is now northeastern Italy and beyond.
The excavation was conducted not only by experienced archaeologists but also by several students from Ca’ Foscari University graduate programs who were thus able to gain their first field experiences.
Aquileia, a large deposit of Roman amphorae discovered |
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