Today we visited Monte Testaccio, which is an artificial mound in Rome composed almost entirely of fragments of broken amphorae dating from the time of the Roman Empire. It contains the remains of an estimated 53 million amphorae. Amphorae were used for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. Finding and analyzing these pieces is important because they provide crucial information about the civilization they belonged to, in this case, the Roman Empire. By tracing the origin and characteristics of each piece, scientists are able to determine commercial interactions and routes between Rome and other countries such as Spain and Gaul. Furthermore, analyzing the changes between one type of amphora to the other investigators were able to determine how the import and export of wine changed through time.
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| Pieces of amphorae at Monte Testaccio |
During the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., Dressel 1 was the predominant type of amphora used. It was big in size and was found in numerous numbers, this expresses how big the exportation of wine was at the time. Romans exported wine to the rest of the Roman empire but also to Spain and Gaul. At the end of the first century, the production changed from Dressel 1 to a smaller type of amphora, Dressel 2 and 4. Investigators discovered this change coincides with the establishment of vineyards in Spain and Gaul, which would explain a decrease in demand for the Roman product. Due to the decrease in demand Romans reduced the size of their wine amphorae. Also, they shifted from the exportation of huge amounts of wine to a small amount with higher quality. Higher quality Italian wine became so popular in Spain and Gaul that some people started to manufacture fakes. Identical amphorae differing only in the type of clay used to make them have been discovered. Plagiarizers would copy the size, type, and even the stamps.
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| Monte Testaccio |
Amphorae can provide huge amounts of information but dating and organizing them is a difficult but worthy task. The clay they are made of makes them long-lasting and resistant so they were reused as much as possible. It is amazing how a piece of clay can say so much about the people who used it. They provide information about the way of living, commercial activities and trade interactions. It was amazing to hear the click-clack of history while we walked up the hill on Monte Testaccio. Everything you step on at this place contains a piece of data from Roman life.
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