Session: #369

Regular session

The period between the late 4th and the early 6th centuries AD is marked by a fundamental change of the Roman World, in particular the gradual decline of Roman rule in the West resulting in the end of the Western Roman empire in 476 AD. The considerable political transformations affected the late Roman economy to a greater or lesser extent, although developments varied from region to region. Phenomena such as regionalisation or the collapse of economic structures on the one hand contrast with the persistence of certain long-distance trade networks or the formation of new networks on the other.

Archaeological research on the trade networks of the later Roman Empire is dominated by Mediterranean pottery fine wares and amphorae, which have great potential for knowledge. But long-distance commerce beyond these Mediterranean trade networks is still to be understood in detail. It should be asked to what extent other groups of finds might be suitable as proxies of trade relations. The presence of valuable goods such as silk in the Roman provinces in the north shows that exchange with the Mediterranean may have worked, even though there may be no evidence of contemporary Mediterranean pottery.

The aim of the session is to bring together the results of studies on pottery, glass, coins, building material etc. or archaeometry and spatial network analysis, to assess the patterns and developments of regional and supra-regional economic structures in the various regions of the Late Antique West to its full extent. Furthermore, the rise and fall of commercial hubs and economic landscapes has to be considered. Beyond the aspect of trade, the availability of resources, especially precious metals, and the role of coin circulation are potential topics to be discussed at the session.

Late Antiquity, Economy, Commerce, Networks, Mediterranean, Roman Provinces

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Thomas Schmidts (Germany) ¹

Diana Dobreva (Italy) ²
Florian Schimmer (Germany) ¹