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Wine amphora of transitional “Graeco-Italic” type

First half of the 2nd century B.C.
Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Inv. 4981

 

"Graeco-Italic" amphorae, more elongated and having a greater capacity (17.8 litres) than the earlier type, were widespread mainly in Italy and the western Mediterranean. They bear witness to the increased amounts of wine shipped to Gaul and Spain.

APPROFONDIMENTI

The Graeco-Italic amphora

After the conquest of Sicily near the end of the 3rd century B.C., wine production soon became one of the main sources of investment for Roman Senatorial families. Since the mid-3rd century B.C., they had begun to stamp Graeco-Italic amphorae with their names and to entrust the products of their estates to ships, managed by trusted freedmen, to be traded all over the Mediterranean.