Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae
in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry

4th Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae
in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry
The Mediterranean: A market without frontiers

4th Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae, Thessaloniki, 7-10 April 2011

The Fourth International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry (LRCW4) will be held from 7th to 10th April 2011 at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

History of the conference

Some years ago it became obvious that there was need for a new forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas and the presentation of new research results of ceramic studies in the Mediterranean region. This discussion was focussed both on archaeological and archaeometric research. In 2002, on initiative of Prof. Josep Maria Gurt i Esparraguera, Dr. J. Buxeda i Garrigós and Dr. Miguel Angel Cau i Ontiveros, the First International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry (LRCW1) was organized at the University of Barcelona in March 14-16. At the same time Prof. Gurt came to the conclusion that it would be reasonable to invite distinguished experts working in the field and particularly on Late Roman ceramics in the Mediterranean region. These researchers founded the first LRCW International Standing Committee as an institution for organizing future conferences. The first decisions taken by the standing committee were:

  1. The symposium will be organized as a triennial event.
  2. Apart from archaeological research same emphasis will be given to archaeometric studies, in terms of petrography and chemical analysis.
  3. The focus will be on amphorae, cooking wares and coarse wares.
  4. The organizers of the symposium will be institutions in countries in the Mediterranean region.
Finally, at the LRCW 1 it was decided for Aix-en-Provence (France) to be the location of the second symposium in 2005.

The 2nd International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry ( LRCW 2) was organized by the Centre Camille Jullian and the Laboratoire d’Archeologie of the Universite de Provence-CNRS. In eight invited talks particular subjects were emphasized. The further presentations comprised 35 talks and 45 posters. Finally, Prof. J.M. Gurt i Esparraguera gave a closing speech at the last day of the symposium.

During the conference the LRCW standing committee chaired by Prof. Gurt agreed to the suggestion of Prof. Sara Santoro from the University of Parma and Prof. Simonetta Menchelli from the University of Pisa, that the coming 3rd conference to be organized in Italy in March 2008.

The 3rd International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry (LRCW3) was organized by the University of Parma and the University of Pisa from 26 to 30 March 2008. Ten invited talks were given at the conference. Furthermore, the conference comprised 38 oral presentations and 101 posters. The closing remarks were given by Dr. Michel Bonifay.

In a special session at the University of Parma (27 March) the LRCW International Standing Committee accepted the suggestion of Prof. Natalia Poulou-Papadimitriou from the University of Thessaloniki that the 4th International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry (LRCW4) will be organized in 2011 in Thessaloniki by the Department of Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

The relevance of ceramic research

It is well-known that ceramics, which as material remains are scarcely subject to alterations over time, constitute an excellent tool for the study of ancient societies and economies. The trade of ceramics, and particularly of transport containers such as amphorae, reflects to a high degree the productivity and trade relations for agricultural commodities, the most important commercial sector in antiquity. The study of the whole assemblage of ceramic finds at a certain archaeological site is important for the localization of production centres. Furthermore, these studies are crucial for the understanding of economic and commercial mechanisms and trade relations between production and consumption centres in an ancient society, as for example the Early Byzantine Empire. Due to the rare written sources concerning mechanisms of the agricultural production, however, detailed and systematic study of ceramics is the only way to determine the particular products which were traded. Moreover ceramic research provides information for the map of ancient trading routes, which were for obvious reasons marine routes and crossed the Mediterranean.

Concerning countries in the Western Mediterranean region, such as Spain, France and Italy, the research on Late Roman ceramics (Early Byzantine Period) has already a long tradition resulting in numerous interesting publications. These ceramic studies are not limited only to typological examination and chronology but they use more often the options provided by analytical techniques, such as petrography and chemical analysis. At the same time important studies, but in a smaller number, have been published in the Eastern Mediterranean - Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and South Turkey – but also North Africa – Libya and Tunisia.

In the last 15 years in Greece a systematic approach towards the subject has started focussing on the study of ceramics of this period. Evidence of the emphasis given by Greek scholars on the global approach to the subject was for example the conference on ceramics from the Late Antiquity (3rd – 7th century AD). In November 2006 the conference was organized by the Department of Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Archaeological Institute of Macedonia and Thrace at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Organization of the LRCW4

Following the suggestion by the Department of Archaeology in June 2008 the organizing committee will be chaired by Prof. A. Mentzos and Prof. N. Poulou-Papadimitriou. From the National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos" Dr. V. Kilikoglou will join the organizing committee. The conference will be held in April 7-10 at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

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