Sinopean Amphorae of the Roman Period

Abstract

Abstract The main aims of this paper are to review briefly the various types of Sinopean amphorae of the Roman period, paying particular attention to newly-discovered and rare forms of these vessels, and to demonstrate their general evolution tendencies. Sinopean amphorae of the Roman period belong to two production traditions (local Hellenistic and pan-Roman), but are all made of the same fabric. The main problem when studying the Roman vessels is the lack of dated assemblages of the late 1st and 2nd centuries AD. As a result, there is a gap in the evidence between the evolution of the early Roman amphora and the vessels produced from the 3rd century onwards. Several new and rare varieties of Sinopean amphorae of this period, of both production traditions, are described in the article. They offer the opportunity to fill partly the gap between the early Roman Sinopean amphorae and the later vessels manufactured in Demirci, and to specify the typology and general evolution of the amphorae produced in Sinope.