Economy and Exchange in the East Mediterranean during Late Antiquity - Softcover

Kingsley, Sean A.; Decker, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1842170449 ISBN 13: 9781842170441

Publisher: Oxbow Books, 2001

Synopsis

The results of recent archaeological excavation, systematic rural survey and detailed studies of pottery distributions have revealed the extent and complexities of the economy in the eastern empire. The eight papers in this volume demonstrate this complexity and prosperity, examining several types of product and how the economy evolved over time. Contents: New Rome, new theories on Inter-regional exchange: East Mediterranean economy in Late Antiquity ( Sean Kingsley and Michael Decker ); Urban Economies of Late Antique Cyrenaica ( Andrew Wilson ); The economic impact of the Palestinian wine trade in Late Antiquity ( Sean Kingsley ); Food for an empire: wine and oil production in North Syria ( Michael Decker ); Beyond the amphora: non-ceramic evidence for Late Antique industry and trade ( Marlia Mundell Mango ); The economy of Late Antique Cyprus ( Tassos Papacostas ); LR2: a container for the military annona on the Danubian border? ( Olga Karagiorgou ); Specialization, trade and prosperity: an overview of the economy of the Late Antique Eastern Mediterranean ( Bryan Ward-Perkins ).

Table of Contents

New Rome, new theories on Inter-regional exchange: East Mediterranean economy in Late Antiquity (Sean Kingsley and Michael Decker)
Urban Economies of Late Antique Cyrenaica (Andrew Wilson)
The economic impact of the Palestinian wine trade in Late Antiquity (Sean Kingsley)
Food for an empire: wine and oil production in North Syria (Michael Decker)
Beyond the amphora: non-ceramic evidence for Late Antique industry and trade (Marlia Mundell Mango)
The economy of Late Antique Cyprus (Tassos Papacostas)
LR2: a container for the military annona on the Danubian border? (Olga Karagiorgou)
Specialisation, trade and prosperity: an overview of the economy of the Late Antique Eastern Mediterranean (Bryan Ward-Perkins)

About this title

Review:

Distribution maps of finds, properly compiled and interpreted, emphasise without question the basic evidence that illustrates the tightly interlocking nature of eastern Mediterranean trade in a period which has so often been dismissed almost out of hand as being barren and of little interest. The papers collected here prove how wrong such an assumption can be - the material evidence is well addressed (and illustrated), and provides an overview that any student or scholar of Late Antiquity should be aware of.' (Peter A Clayton Minerva)

Wealth there is in S. Kingsley and M. Deckers Economy and Exchange in the East Mediterranean during Late Antiquity (330-640), well produced conference proceedings laying claim to be chapters, although the eight essays can only make disparate soundings, excellent though they are.' (Greece and Rome, 50, 2003)

The promise of maritime archaeology lies not in simply providing well preserved and precisely dated assemblages of objects rarely seen in terrestrial sites, but in its ability to bring those assemblages representative of the merchants, pilgrims, soldiers, functionaries, and producers of the ancient world into our reconstructions of past lifeways. Economy and Exchange provides a stellar example incorporating shipwreck-based research into an archaeologically based study of Late Antiquity, a period as vital to the development and growth of industrialized societies in the medieval era as the medieval growth itself was to the prosperity that drove exploration and exploitation of distant lands a millennium later. This excellent work will be of interest to every student of the past, not simply those with a regional or temporal connection.' (Cheryl Ward The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 31, 2002)

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1842170449
• ISBN 13: 9781842170441
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184