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© Museu de Badalona
Omeka ID 1926
Ciutat romana de Baetulo.
Roman world

oil amphora

MB 4549

Object type
amphora
Production date
100 / 150
Fabric
Baetican amphora
Museum
Museu de Badalona
Culture
Roman world
Discovery location
Ciutat romana de Baetulo.
Materials
pottery
Township
Badalona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Technique
wheel-thrown
Where is it?
Exposició permanent
Dimensions
76 x 69 cm
Description
It corresponds to the Dressel 20 typology, one of the most widely used amphora models to transport and trade the oil from Baetica (now Andalusia), which was one of the most highly valued types of oil in the entire Roman Empire, produced on the agricultural estates on the banks of the Guadalquivir and its tributaries, where amphorae were also made. Several copies of this type of amphora have been found in the Roman city of Baetulo. They arrived, especially in the 1st century AD, thanks to coastal shipping, that is, on small ships that travelled along the coast from Cádiz to Narbonne. A clear example of this type of transport is the sunken ship in Cala Culip, Cap de Creus, called Culip IV, where all the goods it was transporting were recovered, as diverse as South Gallic terra sigillata, oil amphorae, thin-walled vases or lamps from Italy. From the 2nd century AD, however, the increased demand for this product caused many ships to abandon coastal trade and sail directly from Baetica (Andalusia) to Rome, passing through the Strait of Bonifacio (between Corsica and Sardinia). These amphorae have appeared in almost all the territories that made up the Roman Empire. In Rome, the large number of amphorae that arrived in the city led to the creation of a hill made only of these containers, the so-called Monte Testaccio (from the Latin testa, a piece of ceramic). This quantity of amphorae shows us that there was a large commercial volume of this product, but it also allows us to glimpse that meticulous fiscal and logistical management of the products transported by the amphorae was necessary. For this reason, these vessels feature tituli picti and seals on the neck, handle and crest that identify the producer, the content, the quality, the amphora maker, the place of origin and sometimes even the recipient.

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