Rías Baixas and Vigo (Vicus Eleni)

The Western Roman Atlantic Façade

A study of the economy and trade in the Mar Exterior from the Republic to the Principate

Edited by

C. Carreras R. Morais

BAR International Series 2162 2010

Published by Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England [email protected] www.archaeopress.com BAR S2162 The Western Roman Atlantic Façade: A study of the economy and trade in the Mar Exterior from the Republic to the Principate © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2010 ISBN 978 1 4073 0706 0 Printed in England by Blenheim Colour Ltd All BAR titles are available from: Hadrian Books Ltd 122 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7BP England www.hadrianbooks.co.uk The current BAR catalogue with details of all titles in print, prices and means of payment is available free from Hadrian Books or may be downloaded from www.archaeopress.com

THE ROMAN TRADE ON THE ATLANTIC FAÇADE: THE AMPHORAE

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4.6 RÍAS BAIXAS AND VIGO (VICUS ELENI)

A. Fernández

INTRODUCTION

The numerous rescue archaeology interventions carried out in the Rias Baixas, especially in the city of Vigo, over the past few years has produced an enormous amount of finds, mainly fine wares and late imported amphorae. However, the number of publications dealing with this material – especially amphorae and coarse wares – has barely reached double figures since J. Naveiro’s comprehensive work on the north-western trade in 1991 (Naveiro, 1991). Therefore, the publication of several papers, such as those on the materials found on recently excavated castros, such as O Neixón or Montealegre (Aboal, Castro (coords.), 2006; Ayán Vila (coord.), 2006; Ayán Vila (coord.), 2008; González Ruibal, 2006-2007; González Ruibal et al. 2007), and on the imported fine wares found in Vigo and the surrounding villae (Fernández, 2007; Fernández et al. 2007; Fernández et al. 2008; Fernández, Lago, 2007; Fernández, Soto Arias, 2007), may be counted as exceptional.

Our aim in the present paper is to approach trade on a specific coastal area, the Rías Baixas, from the IIIrd cen-tury BC to the VIIth century AD, on the basis of amphoric evidence (provenance, chronologies, consumption patterns, etc.). The suggested geographical frame (the Rías Baixas) is located on the SE of modern Galicia (figure 4.6.1). This region’s coastline, which extends from the mouth of the river Miño to the cape of Finisterre, Naveiro’s zones VII and VIII (Naveiro, 1991, Map 2), is “broken” by four major bays (Rías) – Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa and Muros/Noia – and substantially penetrates inland along river valleys, especially the Miño and the Ulla valleys.

Due to this coastal morphology, the castros located on the Rías Baixas enjoy excellent conditions – natural harbours – for maritime trade, allowing for their long-lived implication in commercial relationships and explaining their wealth in imported goods. Many of these pre-roman settlements function as true commercial emporia form an early date, especially since the re-opening of the Atlantic

route – known and used from the second millennium BC – by Gaditan merchants in the VIth century BC. It does not seem that on this occasion the Gaditan merchant’s aims were merely to obtain tin and other metals, but to integrate this area in the Phoenician Mediterranean trade circles based on Cádiz and Carthage (Morais, 2005, 50).

LATE REPUBLICAN PERIOD

The evidence showing late republican trade links prior to the actual Roman presence, specifically amphorae, fine wares, imported coarse wares and prestige and luxury goods, is restricted to the pre-roman settlements in castrexos and to their surrounding areas – natural harbours – especially on both shores of the Ría of Vigo – Castro de Vigo, Punta do Muíño do Vento, Castro de Toralla, Montealegre, etc. – on the mouth and hinterland of other Rías – Castro de O Neixón, Baroña, A Lanzada, Alobre, Torres de Oeste – and around the mouth of the river Miño – Santa Trega, A Forca, Fozara or Troña (Naveiro, 1991).

Italy

Late republican amphorae from both of the Italian coasts, the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, are present in the Rías Baixas. The Tyrrhenian Dressel 1 type is attested in its three suggested variants (A-C), although the B and C types are predominant (Naveiro, 1991, 66). Dressel 1A type production begins in the mid IInd century BC, as a direct evolution of the so called Greco-italic amphorae, spanning until the mid Ist century BC. In the northwest, they usually appear in Ist century BC contexts (Ibid., 66), in association with Late Phoenician amphorae and Campanian wares. Lamboglia’s type A is only represented in Castro de Troña (Ibid., Fig. 14), Montealegre (González Ruibal et al. 2007, Fig. 14) and Torres de Oeste (Naveiro, 2004, 76), whereas the examples of Dressel 1 of the B and C types are much more common, being present in Castro de Montealegre,

THE WESTERN ROMAN ATLANTIC FAÇADE: A STUDY OF ECONOMY AND TRADE IN THE MAR EXTERIOR...

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Figure 4.6.1 Location of the Rias Baixas and Vigo (Vicus Eleni) in the Iberian Peninsula

although some of these pieces could be of Baetican provenance (González Ruibal et al., 2007, Fig. 14), O Facho de Donón (Ibid., 55), Santa Trega (Peña Santos, 1986), Torres do Oeste (Naveiro, 2004), O Neixón (Ayán Vila, coord., 2008, 129), Castro de Vigo (Hidalgo, Viñas Cue, 1992-93, Fig. 9) and, also in Vigo, the beach sand levels in O Area l site, specifically in the number 5 Hospital Street (Acuña Piñeiro, 1996, 35) and the Parcela 14 excavations (Castro Carrera, 2007, 357), as well as in underwater finds from the Ría (figure 4.6.2. 1).

The presence of Dressel 2-4 amphorae types, of Italian provenance and late republican date, is almost negligible, for the majority of these containers found in the north-west are of local production of early imperial date. The known examples from the Rías Baixas are an individual Dressel 2-4 type amphora found in the 2003 excavation at Castro de Neixón (Rodríguez Martínez, 2005, 155) and the castro sites of Santa Trega and Troña examples mentioned by Naveiro (Naveiro, 1991, 66). Dressel 2-4 type examples are also documented in Iria (Pérez Losada, 2002, 95, based on evidence provided by J. Naveiro), although the associated material – Haltern 70, Dressel 2-4 from Tarraco, and Lusitan Dressel 20 and 14 types – leads us to date them to the early imperial period.

The amphorae originating from the Adriatic coast are much less common. Although we are aware that some of the known examples could have a northern Adriatic provenance, we have decided to label these containers, similar to the Dressel 1 type but for the oval belly, as originating in Apuleya or Brindisi – including the Lamboglia 2 types and others. Adriatic amphorae of late republican date have been found, although not

unreservedly, in the Santa Trega and Alobre castro sites (Naveiro, 1991, Fig. 14) and, in Vigo, on the excavations at number 5 Hospital Street (Acuña Piñeiro, 1996, 35) and at the Beiramar tunnel – of the Lamboglia 2 type (Cortegoso, 2004, 31). The most common type, Lamboglia 2, is produced from the mid IInd century to the mid Ist century BC, being replaced by the Dressel 6A type (García Vargas, 2007, 323).

Baetica

Amphora manufacture in the Baetica during the late republican period focused on two major areas, the Guadalquivir valley and the Atlantic coast, as far as the Gibraltar strait, including an important centre in the bay of Cádiz (ibid., 2007).

The amphorae of “Turdetan” tradition of the Pellicer D type coming from the Guadalquivir valley are first documented in the northwest in Castro de Montealegre (González-Ruibal et al., 2007, Fig. 9). The production of these containers begins in the IIIrd century BC and, although we have labelled them as coming from the Guadalquivir valley, they are also produced on the Gaditan coast.

The main amphora type originating in this area is the Haltern 70 type, traditionally a wine container. It seems that these amphorae are produced from the second quarter of the Ist century BC, although most of the examples found in the northwest are dated on the early decades of the Ist century AD (Naveiro, 1991, 66). Of the older Haltern 70 type, examples have been recovered in Castro de Montealegre (González-Ruibal et al., 2007, Fig. 15),


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Figure 4.6.2 1: Dressel 1C, underwater find (Photo: Archive of the Municipal Museum Quiñones de León, Vigo); 2, 4 and 5: Lomba do Canho 67, Beiramar tunnel, Vigo (Cortegoso, 2004); 3: LC 67 Castro de Montealegre

(González Ruibal et al., 2007)

Santa Trega (Peña Santos, 1986) and in the excavation at the Beiramar tunnel in Vigo (Cortegoso, 2004, 31), in all three cases in association with another wine container also manufactured in the Guadalquivir valley: the Lomba do Canho 67 amphora type (figure 4.6.2, 2-5).

This container, also produced in the Baetican coast and Morocco, can be dated between 75 BC and the Augustean period (García Vargas, 2007, 325), although the LC 67

type examples found on the Rías Baixas should all be dated in the third quarter of the Ist century BC, as shown by the stratigraphic evidence from Castro de Montealegre (González-Ruibal et al., 2007, 56).

The containers for salted fish products of the late Phoenician Mañá-Pascual A4/T-12.1.1.0 type – direct descendants of the old MPA4/T-11.2.1.0 type (Saez, 2008, 641) and probably present at some coastal castros


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Figure 4.6.3 1 and 2: T-7 of Beiramar tunnel, Vigo (Cortegoso, 2004); 3 and 4: T-7 of Castro de Montealegre (González-Ruibal et al., 2007)

on the Rías Baixas such as A Lanzada, Montealegre, or Punta do Muíño do Vento since the Vth century BC (González-Ruibal et al., 2007, 50) – originate in the Atlantic coast and the Gibraltar strait. The chronology of the Ramón-S12 group, of Gaditan production, concentrates in the IIIrd and IInd centuries BC, although the shape seems to have developed in the IVth century BC (Sáez, 2008, 640). The T-12.1.1.1. and the hybrid .½ and .2 types have been found on the castro sites of A Lanzada, A Forca and Troña (Naveiro, 1991, 69), and during the 2003, 2005 and 2006 excavation campaigns at O Neixón (Ayán Vila, coord., 2008).

The other late Phoenician container originating in the Gibraltar strait area found in the Rías Baixas is the amphora traditionally known as Mañá C2a (T-7.4.3.2/ T-7.4.3.3) type. It is the last of the shapes of Phoenician tradition manufactured in the Gibraltar strait area, with a chronology spanning from the mid IInd century BC to, in principle, the Augustean period (Sáez, 2008, 647). A double use for this container – salted products and wine – may not be ruled out (Ibid., 647). It is the most common Gaditan late republican amphora type in the Rías Baixas, having been found in castro sites such as A Lanzada, Santa Trega (Naveiro, 1991, 69), O Neixón, during the 2004 campaign, Alobre, Punta do Muíño do Vento (González-Ruibal, 2005, 222), Montealegre (González-Ruibal et al. 2007, 53) (figure 4.6.3. 3-4) and in O Areal site in Vigo, on the Beiramar tunnel (Cortegoso, 2004, 31) (figure 4.6.3. 1-2) and the

number 5 Hospital Street (Acuña Piñeiro, 1996, 35) excavations.

Some mention should be made of the long-standing tradition for imitation of Italian containers in the Gibraltar strait area. Only two examples of this sort of Baetican ware can be attested in the Rías Baixas: an example of the Dressel 7-11 type found at O Neixón during the 2004 campaign that can be dated in the mid Ist century BC (González-Ruibal, 2005, 222) and one of the Dressel 1C type, from Montealegre (supra), which could be an early imitation originating in the Rinconcillo pottery workshop, in Algeciras (García Vargas, 2008, 326).

Early Empire

The pacification of the northwest by Augustus completed the conquest of Hispania and confirmed the Roman domination of these regions, although the Roman influence had been increasing here since Croesus’ (96-94 BC) and Caesar’s (61-60 BC) military expeditions. The new political situation – creation of a road system and foundation of administrative centres – helped to alleviate the clear dichotomy between the coast and the hinterland so evident in the previous period, in which imported goods were limited to coastal and river-side castro settlements (Naveiro, Pérez Losada, 1992, 69). Regardless of these new conditions the coast, especially the Rías Baixas, remained instrumental for the reception


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Figure 4.6.4 1: Oberaden 83 of Beiramar tunnel, Vigo; 2: Haltern 70 of Beiramar tunnel, Vigo (Cortegoso, 2004)

of imported goods in the northwest during the early Empire. The castro settlements on the Rías were now joined by “semi-urban” settlements with a secondary agglomerated plan – Vicus Eleni (Vigo), Tude (Tui), Forum Iriensis (Iria), Aquis Celenis (Caldas de Reis) or Turoqua (Pontevedra) – (Pérez Losada, 2002).

Baetica

Once again, the Baetica can be divided into two major productive sub-areas: the Guadalquivir valley and the Atlantic coast, as far as the Gibraltar strait, including the major production centre in the bay of Cádiz.

During the early decades of the Ist century AD the Haltern 70 type amphorae, produced in the Guadalquivir valley from the late Republic, reached the north-western coast in massive numbers. This type of container is present in almost every castro and new settlement on the coast and in the hinterland from approximately the late Ist century BC to early Ist century AD (figure 4.6.4 2). Furthermore, numbering in the thousands, it is the most common amphora type in the northwest, and the concentration of its finds (NMI) in this area is greater than in any other in the Roman world (Morais, Carreras, 2005). Its exclusive use as a container for Baetican wine is currently under discussion, for the tituli picti mention grape-derived products, such as the mulsum, the sapa or the defrutum (García Vargas, 2007, 329).

The olive oil amphorae of the Dressel 20 type are still very rarely found, reinforcing the traditional notion, based on textual evidence (Strabo, III, 3, 7), that animal fat was used in the northwest as a substitute (Naveiro, 1991, 67). Even in Bracara Augusta, the head of a

conventus and an urban centre for consumption and redistribution, the Dressel 20 type only amounts to approximately 1.99% of the total of amphorae dated to the early Empire (Morais, 2005, Fig. 26). In the Rías Baixas its presence is attested in the castro sites of Troña, Santa Trega and Berga (Naveiro, 1991, 69), on the excavations carried out on the preserves factory found in Marqués de Valladares Street (Torres et al., 2007, 482), on the Beiramar tunnel (Cortegoso, 2004) in Vigo, and in Iria (Pérez Losada, 2002, based on information provided by J. Naveiro). This last excavation also produced one Oberaden 83 type (figure 4.6.4 1) olive oil amphora, direct predecessor of the Dressel 20 type, chronologically falling within the Augustean period (García Vargas, Bernal, 2008).

The containers for salted products of the Dressel 7-11 (Ist century AD), Beltrán IIA (Ist century AD) and Beltrán IIB (Ist-IInd centuries AD) types, along with those produced on the pottery workshop of Venta del Carmen, in Algeciras (VC1), all originate in the Atlantic coast and the Gibraltar strait area (García Vargas, Bernal, 2008). Of these types, only the first three are attested in the Rías Baixas. The oldest of these, the Dressel 7-11 type (Beltrán I), which amalgamates the Dressel 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 types, is present in Castro de Montealegre, Santa Trega, A Lanzada, on the 2004 campaign in O Neixón – although the excavators considered thus finds as late republican in date – (González Ruibal, 2005, 222), in Torres de Oeste (Naveiro, 1995), Iria (Pérez Losada, 2002, 95, based on information provided by J. Naveiro) and in Vigo, both in the castro and in the preserves factory in Marqués de Valladares Street (Torres et al., 2007, 482). A complete example of an amphora belonging to this group, specifically of the Dressel 10


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type, could also be recovered from the sea on the area around A Guarda (Viñas Cue, 2004, 58).

The Beltrán IIA type, derived from the former types during the Augustean period (García Vargas, 2007, 331), is only documented in the castro site of Santa Trega (Naveiro, 1991, Fig. 15). The later Beltrán IIB amphora type offers a similar case, for it is only attested in the Rías Baixas in Santa Trega (Naveiro, 1991, Fig. 15) and possibly in Castro de O Neixón (González-Ruibal, 2005, 222). The scarce presence of these types of containers in the northwest is confirmed by analysis of the amphorae found on Bracara, from which barely one fragment/ individual of the Beltrán IIA and eight of the Beltrán IIB types have been recovered (Morais, 2005, 109).

Tarraconense

The amphora types known as Tarraconenses or Layetan, of the Pascual 1 and Dressel 2-3 types, also called Dressel 2-4, originate in the area around Tarraco (López Mullor, Martin, 2008). The Pascual 1 amphora type was manufactured in many pottery workshops around Llanfranc and Benifallet from 40 BC to 60/70 AD, peaking between 20 BC and 20 AD (ibid., 698). In the Rías Baixas, this type is represented in Castro de Montalegre (González Ruibal et al, 2007, 63) and in the excavation at the Beiramar tunnel (Cortegoso, 2004, 31). None of these two examples are supported by any stratigraphic evidence to inform us as to the moment in which the Layetan wine arrived in the northwest.

Another individual Layetan wine amphora of the Dressel 2-3 or 2-4 type groups (González-Ruibal et al. 2007, Fig. 27), probably of the Dressel 2A type which peaks in the mid Ist century AD (López Mullor, Martin, 2008, 705), was found in Castro de Montealegre. This amphora type has also been documented in the secondary agglomerate in Iria, in association with examples of the Italian Dressel 2-4 type and other Ist century AD containers (Pérez Losada, 2002, 95, based on information provided by J. Naveiro).

Lusitania

Traditionally, it was accepted that Lusitan pottery workshops became active during Claudius reign, in the prime of the imperial Atlantic policy (Fabiao, 2005, 84). Recent studies on Lusitan amphorae have, however, brought to light the existence – in many cases in castro sites in the Rías Baixas – of oval containers similar to the Haltern 70 and Dressel 7 types, of Augustean dates (Morais, Fabiao, 2007). These containers for salted products have been found in Castro de Santa Trega, Monte Castro (Panxón) and Castro de Vigo (ibid., Fig. 1, 5 and 6). The manufacture of the Dressel 14/Beltrán IV/Lusitana 2 type, also a preserves container, became generalized in the Tajo and Sado valleys in the second half of the Ist century AD (Fabiao, 2008). The finds of this kind of amphora once again focus on the Rías Baixas area, for example in the cape of Mar and in underwater finds around the Island of Torralla, both in the

Ría of Vigo (Naveiro, 1991, Fig. 15; Viñas Cue, 2004, 57).

LATE ROMAN PERIOD

Since J. Naveiro’s work on ancient north-western trade in 1991 (Naveiro, 1991), nothing, other than the occasional brief “mention” in some reports, has been published about amphorae in late contexts in Galicia. The scarce evidence that we use here is based on Naveiro and on our own personal impressions, gathered during our study of fine wares in the Rías Baixas during the late Empire.

During the late Empire, the castro settlements seem to gradually loose importance – many of them are abandoned – against a new sort of settlement of the villa type, which spread across the coast, especially in the Ría of Vigo (Pérez Losada, Fernández y Vieito, 2008, 481-506). These settlements, many of which acquired an industrial nature, were to be the new recipients of goods imported through maritime trade, along with the semi-urban settlements of the secondary agglomerate type.

IVTH CENTURY

In the villa of Toralla (Vigo), where we have conducted a study dealing with fine wares from the early IVth to the early Vth century AD (Fernández et al., 2008, 575-585), the few recovered amphorae fall into de Lusitan Almagro 50C/Keay 16 (figure 4.6.5. 1) type and the Cylindrical/ African II type. Apart from this imported material is one white pasted Almagro 50C, which we have identified as a IVth century AD. Regional II type from the Bueu pottery workshop, was also found.

From the beginning of the Vth century AD, the villae seem to have gone through a process of collapse around the Rías Baixas, being abandoned in favour of the raised settlements, which became occupied once again, and especially of the commercial centres, such as Vigo which seems to have acquired a new category as a harbour for the reception and redistribution of African and eastern goods.

The east

With eastern amphorae we refer to all those containers manufactured in the eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity. Known as Late Roman Amphorae (LRA), we will use Riley’s standard international typology. In Vigo, the LRA 1, 2, 3 and 4 types have been found so far.

The LRA 1 type, and it’s variants, is easily the most common amphora type in O Areal site in Vigo. This wine container was manufactured from the IVth to the VIIth centuries AD in many workshops in Cyprus, the north of Syria and the southern coast of Turkey. It’s presence in Vigo – from the mid Vth century AD (Fernández, 2009, forthcoming) – must be associated with that of fine wares – LRC and LRD. Therefore, the earliest variant (LRA


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Figure 4.6.5 1: Almagro 50C of the villa of Toralla; 2: LRA 1B of Vigo (Photos: Archive of the Municipal Museum Quiñones de Leon, Vigo)

1A) is absent whereas the LRA 1B, characteristic of the VIth and VIIth centuries AD, is the most common, for example in the excavations at UARC II, Parcela 14, Marqués de Valladares or number 5 Hospital Street (figure 4.6.5. 2). Specifically, in the UARC II excavation, a complete 1B type has been recovered in association with a Bonifay’s C5 type lamp (Bonifay, 2005) dated to the second half of the VIth century.

The wine amphorae of the LRA 2 type and its variants, produced in the Argolid and in some areas between Rhodes and Cyprus from the mid Vth to the VIIth centuries AD, are less common in Vigo. Variants of the LRA 2A and 2B types are documented in UARC II, and only the former in Marqués de Valladares and number 5 Hospital Street.

The LRA 3 is a fusiform amphora originating in Lydia, in the region between Ephesus and Sardis. Its fabric is rather micacious, brown in colour and very soft. In Vigo, its single-handled version – characteristic of the IVth cen-tury AD – has been documented in Marqués de Valla-dares, but its pointed base and small capacity indicate a late Vth century date. The LRA 3 type has also been fo-und on an excavation carried out in Colon Street in 2000.

The last amphora type attested so far in Vigo is the LRA 4 type, or “Gaza Amphora” due to its provenance (Pale-stine), production of which spans from the IVth (LRA 4A) to the late VIIth centuries AD. In Vigo, fragments from the rim have been identified in the UARC II, in Marqués de Valladares, in association with late contexts, and in the necropolis at number 5 Hospital Street.

Africa

Although much less common than the eastern, the African amphorae are present in Vigo in all late periods, from the IVth century AD – villa of Torrala – to the VIIth century AD. In some excavations, such as those carried out in number 5 Hospital Street, Parcela 13 and Parcela 19 – all dealing with the O Areal necropolis site – these African cylindrical amphorae were found to be used as tombs, making their identification more difficult. The late fine wares found in the number 5 Hospital Street excavation suggest a date between the Vth and the VIth centuries AD, and therefore the amphorae must belong to the Keay 35, 57, 55 or 62 types, typical of this period. The later levels in UARC II, dated to the VIth and the first half of the VIIth centuries AD on the basis of the fine wares, are rich in examples of the LRA 1B type, in association with the African Keay 62 and Keay 61 types.

SUMMING UP

According to the available evidence, imports in the Rías Baixas area during the late republican period are limited to wine and salted products. From the IInd century BC, the wine consumed in the pre-roman settlements is of Italian origin, mainly from the Tyrrhenian coast, although some wine produced in the Adriatic coast was also imported. The presence of Baetican wine containers from the mid Ist century BC – early Lomba do Canho 67 and Haltern 70 types – reveals how the Baetican wine began gradually displacing the Italian wines from the Rías Baixas’ markets from an early date, until becoming


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virtually the only one consumed, apart from some Tarraconense produce, during the early Empire. The finding of Vth century BC. Phoenician amphorae proves that preserves were being consumed in the northwest from an early period. During the Republic, the fish products consumed came exclusively from the Gaditan coast, as shown by the T-12 amphora type in the IIIrd and IInd centuries BC, and the T-7 type for the IInd and Ist centuries BC. The absence hitherto of other Gaditan salted products containers, such as the T-8 and T-9 types, mass production of which lasted until the last stages of manufacture of this family of containers of Phoenician tradition, is therefore remarkable.

The deep changes introduced in the northwest since the Roman conquest (vid supra) also affected the consumption of imported goods. During the early imperial period, wine is the most widely imported product, well above salted products and olive oil. During the Empire, the Italian wine is replaced – the Dressel 2-4 amphora type is very rarely found – with Baetican wine and its derivates, transported in Haltern 70 type amphorae. We have already pointed out the enormous number of individual finds in the northwest as mentioned by Morais, especially in castro sites in the Rías Baixas (Morais, Carreras, 2005). Layetan wine, transported in Pascual 1 and Dressel 2-3 types amphorae has also been documented. This wine would have been of a better quality, probably being brought on demand by the newly arrived Latin population or the local elites.

During the Ist century AD, substantial amounts of salted products from the Bay of Cádiz were still arriving at the Rías Baixas, although now they are transported in containers of Italian tradition, as the Dressel 7-11 type. Even though we lack any precise quantitative study, we can tell that the number of Gaditan containers for salted products decreases progressively during the Ist century AD, becoming almost negligible in the IInd century AD, as shown by the few individuals of the Beltrán IIB type, typical of this century, that have been recovered. This situation may be due to two factors:

The progressive introduction of Lusitan preserves – Lusitan oval shapes – from the early Augustean period and, more clearly so, from the mid Ist century AD.

The emergence in the Rías Baixas of a number of fish preserves factories – seven in the Rías Baixas region, four of which are located in the Ría of Vigo (Currás, 2007, Fig. 1) – which would supply the local/regional markets during this period and the following centuries.

The small number of olive oil amphorae found in the Rías Baixas proves that olive oil was not a product on demand by the majority of the population. Nevertheless, the Baetican olive oil, transported in Oberaden 83 type amphorae, is represented since the Augustean period. The olive oil was, similarly to the Layetan wine, demanded by the army, the recently arrived population in charge of organizing the new territory and the local aristocratic elites in an early trend towards Romanisation.

Amphorae belonging to the straight bottomed types Dressel 28, Gauloise 3, 4 and 5 and Urceus – containing Gaul and Baetican wine – the Dressel 2-4 type – also Gaul and Baetican – or the eastern types (Rhodes, Crete), are remarkably absent during the post-Augustean period, but all of them are documented in the capital, Bracara Augusta (Morais, 2005). The reason for this absence may lie in the high quality of the wine that they typically contained, causing its demand, similarly to that for olive oil, to be restricted to high rank social elites inhabiting administrative centres.

Unfortunately, our evidence for the IIIrd and IVth centuries AD is very limited, but these centuries should be dominated by containers for salted products from the Lusitania– Almagro 51A, B and C and Almagro 50 types – the Baetica – Beltrán 72 type – and Africa – the large African I-II and Tripolitanian III types – along with the local/regional Bueu produces – Regional I and II types – as shown by the finds in Braga (Morais, 2005). The only available evidence for the IIIrd and the IVth centuries AD in the Rías Baixas comes from the villa of Torralla, and indicates that the Baetican preserves had been substituted by fish preserves from Lusitania, Africa and the local factories (Bueu). We don’t know about the sort of wine consumed during this period, although we may assume that, as is the case in other places such as Hispalis (García Vargas, 2008) the Spanish wines disappear from the markets from the late IInd century AD, being partially replaced by wine from Gaul in the IIIrd century and African wine in the IVth and part of the Vth centuries, when the latter is joined by eastern wines until the cessation of imports during the VIIth century AD. Olive oil presents a similar case, with no known imports into the Rías Baixas after the IInd century AD until the arrival, in the early IVth century AD, of the first African amphorae which, in some cases, could transport olive oil.

From the late IIIrd century, the Rías Baixas begin receiving imports of sigillata and amphorae from north and central Tunisia, and from the mid Vth century, oriental products such as LRC and LRD fine wares, LRU perfume containers, and amphorae of the LRA 1, 2, 3 and 4 types. Although we still lack any comprehensive study dealing with the amphorae found in Vigo we can propose that the number of eastern containers is very high, significantly surpassing the number of African examples, as is the case with fine wares, for the first time in the Roman west, the LRC ranging above the ARS in NMI (Fernández, 2009, forthcoming). Most of these amphorae of oriental origins were wine containers, although we cannot rule out the possibility that the smaller ones, such as some of the LRA 1 and especially some of the LRA3 types, transported wines for specific purposes – liturgical wine – or perfumes. While wine arriving at the Rías Baixas came from the east from the Vth to the VIIth centuries AD, imports from Africa included salted products and olive oil. For the moment, we ignore the role played by other manufacturing areas – Baetica, Lusitania, the Aegean, etc. – in the supply of the Rías Baixas during this later period.


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Figure 4.6.6 Amphorae from the Rias Baixas. 1. Dress. 1A; 2. Dress. 1B-C; 3. Dress. 2-4; 4. Lamb. 2; 5. Amphora of Apuleya or Brindisi; 6. Pellicer D; 7. Haltern 70; 8. LC 67; 9. T-12; 10. T-7; 11 y 12: Dress. 7-11; 13. Haltern 70. 14. Oberaden 83; 15. Dress.

20; 16 y 17. Dress. 7-11; 18. Pascual 1; 19. Dress. 2-3; 20. Dress. 14/Beltrán I; 21. Beltrán IIA; 22. Beltrán IIB; 23. Almagro 50C; 24. Regional II; 25. Africana II; 26. Keay 35; 27. Keay 62; 28. Keay 61; 29. LRA 3; 30. LRA 4; 31. LRA 1B; 32. LRA 2

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Documents

Rías Baixas and Vigo (Vicus Eleni)