Stamps on Italian Sigillata and the Renaissance of Aptera, Crete

din i ng in the sanctuary of deme ter and kore 1

Volume 8 320 1 4

Copyright © The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, originally published in Hesperia 83 (2014), pp. 503–568. This offprint is supplied for personal, non-commercial use only. The definitive electronic version of the article can be found at <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.83.3.0503>.

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hesperia 83 (2014)Pages 503–568

Stamps on italian Sigillata and the Renaissance of Aptera, Crete

ABSTRACT

This study presents a group of stamps on Italian sigillata dating from the 1st to mid-2nd centuries a.d. that were discovered at Aptera, Crete. Most were dis-covered in systematic excavations of the city’s theater; the rest were collected or found in areas associated with two cisterns and one of the baths. This study not only increases the total number of published stamps from Crete, but it also enhances our understanding of the provenience and chronological profiles of the Italian sigillata imported to the island. Comparison with stamps from other cities and sites on Crete and in the Greek East documents the island’s position at the crossroads of patterns of contact and exchange.

INTRODUCT ION

This study presents a group of stamps on Italian sigillata dating from the 1st to mid-2nd centuries a.d. that were either collected, or found associated with three structures brought to light during excavations at Aptera.1 Until now, the profile of the potters who made these stamped wares during this time period, the production sites supplying Crete, and the chronological profile of the stamps have been based on the those found at just one city, Knossos.2 By adding the stamps of Aptera—as well as those of Gortyn, Eleutherna, Lappa, and other Cretan locations not included in Kenrick’s edition of the Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum (here abbreviated as OCK ), we can continue to establish a new profile for the island. Figure 1 shows the position of Aptera on the island of Crete, together with other cities and

1. Let me convey my warmest thanks to Vanna Niniou-Kindeli, who entrusted me with the publication of this material; Katerina Tzanakaki, who provided invaluable information about the discovery of these stamped frag-ments, the structures in which they were found, the site of Aptera, and the pottery of Hellenistic Aptera; and

Maria Vlazaki, Director of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Chania, who facilitated my obtaining permission to publish these materials. I would also like to thank Kathleen Warner Slane for her careful, patient reading of drafts of this manuscript, and the anonymous Hesperia reviewers for their thoughtful

and constructive comments.Photographs of the vessels were

taken by Elias Eliadis, while the stamps were photographed by the author. Drawings were done by Evi Angelaki.

The abbreviation in p.p. = in planta pedis.

2. OCK CD-ROM, Summary of Potters Supplying Creta.

martha w. baldw in b ow sky504

Figure 1. Crete, showing cities and locations where Italian sigillata stamps have been found. M. Bowsky

locations where Italian sigillata stamps have been found in the course of archaeological excavations and surveys. The ultimate question is whether this study will not only increase the total number of published stamps but also affect our understanding of the provenience and chronological profiles of the Italian sigillata imported to Crete.

The group of 39 stamps presented here reflects an Apteraian re-naissance already recognized in the architectural record of monumental buildings at the site. Figure 2 shows the most recent archaeological plan of the city of Aptera, which is the result of the ongoing excavations there. Aptera seems to have declined after the 2nd century b.c., well before the Roman conquest, and may have become dependent on Kydonia.3 During the Roman period, the area encompassed by the Hellenistic walls, which surround the entire plateau, was never fully inhabited.4 Nonetheless, the public buildings of Aptera that were newly built in the 1st century a.d. suggest that a new phase began at that time and a full renaissance occurred before the Hadrianic period.5

At the main western entrance to the city, between the Hellenistic walls (Fig. 2:16, where they are called ancient fortifications) and the west-ern approach road, a heroön was constructed in the 1st–2nd century a.d., perhaps even in the Trajanic period (Fig. 2:15).6 There the names of men honored by the city were inscribed on pillars throughout the 1st and 2nd centuries a.d. The placement of the heroön constitutes a continuity of practice from the Hellenistic period, when there was also a “west cemetery” beneath the city walls (Fig. 2:17).7 This was the main cemetery of the town from the Geometric to the Late Roman period.

Within the city walls a pair of baths, Bath I (Fig. 2:7) and the Roman bath complex (Fig. 2:8), dating to the 1st–2nd century a.d., received water from two cisterns, one gamma-shaped and vaulted, the other tripartite and vaulted (Fig. 2:1, 2:2). The construction of the two baths attests to an active program of public works in the city that included the dedication of Bath I by a local patron.8 The Greco-Roman theater—whose reconstruc-tion in Roman times should be dated to the 1st–2nd centuries a.d.—was located on the southern side of the city (Fig. 2:11). A Roman peristyle villa that was uncovered northwest of the theater (Fig. 2:12) was built in the Augustan period and rebuilt in later periods, including the 2nd century a.d.9

3. PECS, s.v. Aptera, p. 73.4. Drerup 1951, p. 97; PECS,

s.v. Aptera, p. 74; Niniou-Kindeli and Christodoulakos 2004, p. 314.

5. Niniou-Kindeli 2002; Niniou-Kindeli and Christodoulakos 2004, p. 314.

6. Martínez Fernández and Niniou-Kindeli 2002.

7. V. Niniou-Kindeli (pers. comm.).8. See Niniou-Kindeli 2002,

pp. 256–257; Niniou-Kindeli and Christodoulakos 2004, pp. 323–326; Martínez Fernández and Niniou- Kindeli 2007.

9. See Niniou-Kindeli 1994–1996, pp. 210–211; 1999, pp. 167–173.

ViannosGortyn

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All of this construction speaks to a renewed period of growth and activity at Aptera that began in the early part of the 1st century a.d. and was sustained through the 2nd century.

The Italian sigillata stamps published here not only reflect the renais-sance visible in the monumental record, but also add chronological nuance to it. As a group, the 39 stamps found thus far at Aptera appear to be associated with three types of structures: the two cisterns (Fig. 2:1, 2:2), Bath I (Fig. 2:7), and the theater (Fig. 2:11). These stamps are specifically at-tributable to the Julio-Claudian, Flavian, and post-Flavian periods. The stamped fragments catalogued below are cited in bold in the text that follows. One stamped fragment of Eastern Sigillata B has been included at the end of this catalogue.

AP TERA: THE ARCHAEOLO GICAL CONTEXT

Twelve of the 39 Italian sigillata stamps discussed here were collected, unearthed, or donated between 1990 and 2004, and none of them were found in its original context. Rather, they were found in disturbed areas, the only areas then available for excavation. After initial explorations in the 1940s and 1950s, excavations were renewed in 1986 and 1987 under the supervision of Maria Vlazaki, who laid out the first five numbered sectors of the site.10 After an interval of five years, excavations again resumed in 1992, particularly in the area of the two-cellared temple and the Roman villa. In 1993, one fragment was collected without context (31). From May 1999 to November 2000, the Archaeological Service carried out a campaign of cleaning in which the gamma-shaped cistern was emptied of centuries of fill—the result of the long life of the monastery of St. John the Theologian, which may lie atop the city’s agora—in an effort to support the cistern’s walls. All the stones were examined as a way to control the mas-sive excavation, and one stamp was found (7).11 Near the gamma-shaped cistern four more stamped fragments were found in a mixed context (9, 15, 21, 22). Excavations connected with the laying of electricity lines in 2004, which took place in the vicinity of the small Bath I and the tripartite cistern, revealed three more fragments (14, 18, 32).12 The two baths have been only partially excavated, in order to support their remaining walls. The Railakis Donation, in the meantime, had been formed from pieces collected by an inhabitant of the village of Megali Chorafia and given to his grandson, who donated the collection to the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Chania (1, 3, 36).

Recent systematic excavations in the theater, beginning in 2008–2009, have brought to light a remarkable number of Italian sigillata stamps. The theater was known to travelers but Belli did not draw it even though he was based in Chania.13 It was first investigated by Drerup during the Second World War.14 Drerup noted remains of the cavea and orchestra, as well as

10. Initial excavations: Drerup 1951; Hood 1958, p. 18; Platon 1958, p. 469; SEG XLI 731. Renewed excavations: Andreadaki-Vlazaki 1987; 1989–1990.

11. Niniou-Kindeli 2002, pp. 252–254.

12. Location 4, Chandaki DEH, to the east of Bath I.

13. Spanakis 1968, p. 149; Sanders 1982, p. 167.

14. Drerup 1951.

ital ian s ig il l ata stamps at ap tera 507

part of the paraskenion.15 He provided measurements for the cavea (Diam. 55.0 m), orchestra (Diam. 18.0 m), and stage building (dim. 25.0 x 6.0 m). In the center of the cavea, a kiln of the modern period burned many archi-tectonic elements, particularly the seats.16 Only a little brickwork of later date could be seen, and the Roman rebuilding was thought to have been minor.17 The theater was a small one whose cavea could been seen only as a simple hollow; the paraskenia were still visible but little of the stage building was.18

The initial excavations of 2008–2009 have already done much to refine our knowledge of the form and chronology of Aptera’s theater. According to the excavator, Vanna Niniou-Kindeli of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Chania,

the theater was built in the southeast area of city, in the midst of a natural slope, near the south side of the fortification wall and its southeast entrance, south of the agora of the city. The first phase of construction was Hellenistic but the theater visible today is the one reconstructed in Roman times. The first Roman phase can be dated to the 1st century a.d. Staircases arranged radially divided the cavea into sections, with perhaps 13 rows of seats. The current form of the stage building, proskenion, and metaskenion belong to a major Roman phase of reconstruction. The stage (skenion) of the Roman period was raised and had a wooden floor. Two rooms at each end of the stage (paraskenia) served the actors. The metaskenion marked the rear of the theater, to the south.19

Several of the stamped sigillata fragments presented here were found in undisturbed layers and should be connected with the use of the theater during the Roman period: the orchestra in the Julio-Claudian period (2, 12) and the skenion by the mid-2nd century a.d. (16, 19, 20, 23, 25, 27). Other fragments found in undisturbed layers should be connected with reconstruction work undertaken by the early 2nd century a.d. in the west paraskenion and the skenion (6, 13, 39, 40). A smaller group of stamped fragments comes from the refilling of the metaskenion, which must have been done by the early 2nd century a.d. (5, 10, 11, 26, 34, 35, 37). Two other groups come from contexts that were disturbed: the west paraske-nion, disturbed during the early Byzantine period (17, 30), and the cavea, disturbed in the modern period (4, 8, 24, 33). A final stamped sigillata fragment was collected from the surface near the theater (28).

This study will analyze the Italian sigillata stamps from Aptera and then from all of Crete, so as to address a series of fundamental questions about profiles for Aptera itself, Crete as a region, and the island in the context of the Greek East: (1) which potters are attested in the stamps on Italian sigillata; (2) where were the attested potters located; (3) within what time ranges did the attested potters work, and which production centers supplied Crete over time; (4) what distribution patterns might have brought Italian sigillata to Crete; and (5) why might Italian wares have been imported to supplement local or regional production.20 The first three of these questions constitute traditional uses of the evidence available from an analysis of Italian sigillata stamps.21 With the last two I go beyond the usual questions, in an effort to answer Alcock’s call to take chances with the material and thereby take advantage of its ability to testify to patterns of contact and exchange, as well as to details of life within the Roman imperial system.22

15. Drerup 1951, p. 94, no. 6.16. V. Niniou-Kindeli (pers. comm.).17. Sanders 1982, p. 167.18. PECS, s.v. Aptera, p. 74.19. V. Niniou-Kindeli (pers. comm.).20. Cf. Poblome 2004, p. 17, who

also asks about the where, when, and how of the situation.

21. Kenrick 2006, pp. 66–69.22. Alcock 2006, p. 585.


A PROFILE FOR AP TERA

The 39 Italian sigillata stamps collected and unearthed at Aptera between 1990 and 2009 significantly increase the corpus of stamps published from Crete. Kenrick’s edition of the Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum included 35 Cretan stamps,23 all of which are Knossian except for one of Puteolan provenience and another whose provenience is uncertain. Of the 39 Apteraian stamps, eight are incompletely preserved (1, 2, 26, 27, 36–39); the 31 legible stamps still nearly double the number known to Kenrick. At Knossos, the excavations undertaken to reveal the Unexplored Mansion had more than tripled the number of Italian sigillata stamps discovered there.24 The recent excavations at the theater of Aptera have in the same way more than tripled the number of Italian sigillata stamps. Aptera was not a colony like Knossos, nor a caput provinciae like Gortyn, nor even a free city like Lappa. Yet more Italian sigillata stamps have already been found at Aptera—particularly in her theater—than at any other city in Crete, with the exception of Knossos.

The Pot ters At tested at Ap tera

We should first ask which potters are attested at Aptera and how the Apteraian stamps compare with those already known from Crete (Table 1). Three Apteraian stamps name three potters who are also attested at Knos- sos (6, 8, 34); of these, the name Crestus (8) is also attested at Viannos and Eleutherna. By comparison, 11 stamps name four potters also at-tested at Gortyn: three stamps of Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus) (18–20), five of Sex. M(urrius) P() (21–25), two of C. P() Pi(sanus) (32, 33), and one of L. Rasinius Pisanus (34). Stamps of Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus) are also paralleled at Eleutherna and Lappa, while those of Sex. M(urrius) P() and C. P() Pi(sanus) are attested at Kydonia, Lappa, and Hierapytna. Stamps of L. Rasinius Pisanus are also paralleled at Eleutherna, Lappa, and Kommos. Both Cn. Ateius Ar() (3) and C. Murius (12) are named on stamps from Lappa. In studies of the Italian sigillata stamps from Eleutherna or Lappa, the sheer quantity published from Knossos had ensured that Knossian comparanda far outweighed those from Gortyn, Eleutherna, or elsewhere.25 In the case of Aptera it is Gortyn and nearby Kommos, Eleutherna, and Lappa that are the most comparable Cretan cities, at least on the evidence of the Italian sigillata stamps discovered and published to date.

Ten stamps naming six potters remain attested only at Aptera on Crete; they are attested elsewhere in the Greek East: Q. Castr(icius) Ve() (5), Co- rinthus (7), C. M() R() (9, 10), Sex. M(urrius) Cal() (13, 14), Sex. M(urrius) Cladus (15–17), and L. Nonius (30). Six more, however, name potters un-attested in the Greek East to date: C. Cae() Clem(ens) (4), Meno() (11), I. N() I() (28), L. Nonius Flor(entinus) (30, 31), and C. V() V() (35). Given the thinness of the Cretan record we can only take note of them, until we see whether they belong to different chronological or provenience patterns. In the meantime we can continue to answer the call issued by Poblome and Talloen to put together a case study on a regional level, taking Crete as our region.26


24. Sackett 1992, pp. 144–146, 198, nos. Y1–5, 7–11, 14, 16–21, 23–28, 30–33, 36, 39, 40, 50, 52, C1:1.

25. Knossos: Baldwin Bowsky 2011. Eleutherna: Baldwin Bowsky 2009. Lappa: Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010.

26. Poblome and Talloen 2004, pp. xii–xiii.


It is already noticeable that in this small data set of 31 legible stamps, there is an unusually high number of potters known from multiple ex-amples: C. M() R(), 9, 10; Sex. M(urrius) Cal(), 13, 14; Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, 15–17; S(ex.) M(urrius) Fes(tus), 18–20; Sex. M(urrius) P(), 21–25; L. Nonius Flor(entinus), 30, 31; and C. P() Pi(sanus), 32, 33. The locations of the potters’ production centers and the time periods during which they were active will affect the profiles of both Aptera and the entire island.

The stamps of late Italian workshops appear in multiples because they tend to record the tria nomina of relatively few individuals, founders of workshops that were worked by unnamed slaves.27 The Sex. M(urrii) Cladus, Fes(tus), and P() (15–25) did not necessarily operate distinct workshops, but might have been associated with one or more workshops.28 Their shared praenomen suggests in fact that they—and Sex. M(urrius) Cal() (13, 14)—were all freedmen of the same person.29 The cognomen Pisanus—borne not only by C. P() Pi(sanus) (32, 33) and L. Rasinius Pisanus (34), but probably by Sex. M(urrius) P() too (21–25)—is found frequently among freedmen.30 Such freedmen were not the actual workmen or even the parties responsible for production, but perhaps were agents of families well attested in the area of Pisa, men entrusted with capital to invest or with nonagricultural economic activity on an estate.31

The Provenience Profile of Pot ters At tested at Ap tera

Now that we have identified the potters named at Aptera, we should ask where these potters were active (see Table 1). The proveniences of the stamps discovered at Aptera can be analyzed according to the geographi-cal distribution of production areas. The major known sources of Italian sigillata were (1) Arezzo on the Arno River; (2) Pisa, at the mouth of the Arno River; (3) Etruria, including Torrita di Siena; (4) the Po Valley; (5) central Italy, including Rome and Ostia as well as Vasanello and Scop- pieto; (6) Puteoli, the port for Campania and a major port for Rome until the creation of the new harbor at Ostia under Trajan, which was late in the history of the Italian sigillata industry; and (7) Lyon. Sites separated by slashes, e.g., Pisa/Lyon, indicate that the potter worked at more than one site and that there is insufficient information to determine where that particular sherd was made.

What is most remarkable at Aptera is the high percentage of stamps from Pisa and other production centers of the 1st–2nd centuries a.d. The profile obtained from the 31 identifiable Italian sigillata stamps found at Aptera includes 19 stamps from or possiby from Pisa (3, 13–25, 30–34) but only one stamp from Arezzo (2, dated a.d. 30+), despite the fact that the Italian sigillata industry began and continued there throughout the period during which these wares were produced. Pisa has long been identified as a subsidiary production center, or more recently, as one to which potters from Arezzo migrated in order to take advantage of its access to the sea and maritime resources; the result was that Pisa is usually second only to Arezzo in vessel distribution.32 Ateian sigillata from Pisa effectively

27. Pucci 1980, p. 140.28. Pucci 1980, p. 140.29. Pucci 1980, p. 140.30. Pucci 1980, p. 140.31. Pucci 1980, pp. 140–141.32. Forster 2001, p. 141; OCK,

pp. 37, 46.


TABLE 1. POT TERS AT TESTED AT AP TERA

Catalogue No. Name

Stamp and Shape

OCK Type and Die

Production Center Chronology

Other Cretan Occurrences

OCK Eastern Occurences

1 A[. . .] possibly in p.p.

too badly broken to identify

2 AVN in p.p. not yet identified

3 Cn. Ateius Ar() CN.A^T.A^R in p.p.

282, without exact parallel

Pisa a.d. 30 –80 Lato pros Kamara 1

Lappa 1

2/47 (4.3%)Athens 1(?) Caesarea

Maritima 1

4 C. Cae() Clem(ens) C.C.C. in p.p. 475.4 Arezzo a.d. 30+ 0/28

5 Q. Castr(icius) Ve() Q.–CA() in p.p. 524 unknown location

a.d. 50+ 8/43 (18.6%)Athens 1Corinth 5Argos 1Olympia 1

6 Chrestus CHRES in p.p. cf. 553.12 unknown location

15 b.c.–a.d. 15 Knossos 1 1/24 (4.2%)Alexandria 1

7 Corinthus CORINT in p.p. 608.4 Puteoli a.d. 1–30+ 4/20 (20%)Athens 1Corinth 1Kenchreai 1 Berenike 1

8 Crestus CR[.]S[. . .] in trefoil


Pisa/Lyon 10 b.c.–a.d. 30 Knossos 2Viannos 1Eleutherna 1

20/369 (5.4%)Athens 2Corinth 2Knossos 2Berenike 7Alexandria 5Antioch 2

9 C. M() R() C.M.R in p.p. 1067 not an exact parallel

unknown location

a.d. 50+ 15/108 (13.9%)Athens 1Patrai 1Corinth 9Argos 1Alexandria 1Smyrna region 1Tarsos 1

10 C. M() R(), see 9 CMR in p.p. 1067.17 see 9 see 9 see 9 see 9

11 Meno() MÊN in p.p. 1164 (?) central Italy?

ca. a.d. 15+ 0/7

12 C. Murius C.MV^RI in p.p. 1200 unknown location

a.d. 15+ Lappa 1 1/19 (5.3%)Alexandria 1

13 Sex. M(urrius) Cal() SEX[.]CAL in p.p.

1210.4 Pisa a.d. 80 –100+ 4/25 (16%)Olympia 1Paphos 3


Catalogue No. Name

Stamp and Shape

OCK Type and Die




14 Sex. M(urrius) Cal(), see 13

S.MCA.L in p.p. 1210.5 see 13 see 13 see 13

15 Sex. M(urrius) Cladus

SEX.M.CL in p.p.

1211.3 or 4 Pisa a.d. 80+ 3/23 (13.0%)Paphos 3

16 Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, see 15

SEXMCL in p.p. 1211, too worn for attribution to a die

see 15 see 15 see 15

17 Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, see 15

SEXMCL in p.p. 1211, not an exact parallel


18 S(ex.) M(urrius) Fes(tus)

S^M.F in tabella ansata

1212, close to die 11

Pisa a.d. 60 –150 Gortyn 1 Eleutherna 1

19/333 (5.7%)Athens 1Corinth 8Olympia 1 Berenike 6Paphos 2Arsinoe 1

19 Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), see 18

SEX.M.F. in p.p. 1212.16 see 18 see 18 see 18

20 Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), see 18

SEX.M.F. in p.p. 1212.18 see 18 see 18 see 18

21 Sex. M(urrius) P() SEX.M.P in p.p. 1213, not an exact parallel but may be the same die as 23

Pisa a.d. 60 –150 Gortyn 1Lappa 2 Kydonia 1Hierapytna 1

4/111 (3.6%)Corinth 1Cyrene 1Smyrna 1Paphos 1

22 Sex. M(urrius) P(), see 21

SEX.M.P in p.p. 1213.16 see 21 see 21 see 21 see 21


SEX.M.P in crescent

1213.37 see 21 see 21 see 21 see 21


SEX.M.P. in p.p. 1213.16 see 21 see 21 see 21 see 21


[S]EXM.P in p.p.

1213.13 see 21 see 21 see 21 see 21

26 SEX[. . .] in p.p. too broken to identify

27 SEX[. . .] in p.p. too broken to identify

28 I. N() I() I.N.I. in p.p. probably 1223 central Italy

a.d. 15+? 0/1

29 L. Nonius LNON in p.p. 1276, without exact parallel

unknown location

1st half of 1st century a.d.

1/6 (16.7%)Berenike 1

30 L. Nonius Flor(entinus)

L.NONF in p.p. 1287, not an exact parallel

Pisa a.d. 120 –140 5/44 (11.4%)Corinth 1Paphos 4

TABLE 1—Continued

Continued on next page


replaced Arretine during the last decade of the 1st century b.c.33 Central Italy—which produced three of our 31 identifiable stamps (11[?], 28, 35)—became a dominant production area in the period after a.d. 50.34 A Campanian production center at Puteoli—active in the first half of the 1st century a.d.—is attested by a single stamp found at Aptera (7). Five pot-ters from unknown locations are attested in six stamps (5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 29).

33. Menchelli 2004, p. 271.34. OCK, p. 38.

Catalogue No. Name

Stamp and Shape

OCK Type and Die




31 L. Nonius Flor(entinus), see 30

L.NON.F^L in p.p.



32 C.P() Pi(sanus) C.P.P in p.p. 1342, without exact parallel

Pisa a.d. 50 –100+ Gortyn 2Lappa 1

9/229 (3.9%)Athens 1Corinth 1Olympia 1Berenike 2Cyrene 1Paphos 2Judaea 1

33 C. P() Pi(sanus), see 32

C.P.P. in p.p. 1342.22 see 32 see 32 see 32 see 32

34 L. Rasinius Pisanus L.R.P in p.p. 1690.47 Pisa a.d. 50 –120 Knossos 1 Gortyn 1Kommos 1Eleutherna 1Lappa 4

42/484 (8.7%)Delphi 1Athens 3Corinth 11Argos 1Knossos 1Berenike 6Cyrene 2Smyrna region 3Paphos 12Tarsos 1Anemurium 1

35 C. V() V() C.V^V in p.p. 2277, without exact parallel

central Italy

a.d. 15+ 0/4

36 CN[. . .] in p.p. too badly broken to identify

37 toes only in p.p.


38 toes only in p.p.


39 upper or lower points of letters in tabella ansata


TABLE 1—Continued


The Chronol ogic al Profile of Pot ters At tested at Ap tera

Table 1 also shows when the potters attested at Aptera were active. Kenrick has subdivided the production of Italian sigillata into four unequal periods (A–D). As at most other eastern sites, all the stamps from Crete—including Aptera—belong to the last three periods.35 It should be noted, however, that stamps in planta pedis—characteristic of Periods C and D—often defy exact classification, especially when potters have a broad date range or when workshops span generations.36 Of the 39 Italian sigillata stamps presented here, nearly all are in planta pedis. Trefoil stamps (8) and stamps in tabella ansata (18, 39) are characteristic of Ateius workshops of the late Augustan to early Tiberian period.37 Crescent stamps (23) are typical of late Italian production, with the exception of occasional stamps of L. Gellius in the Tiberian-Claudian period.38

The most notable thing about the chronological profile of the Italian sigillata stamps from Aptera is the prominent group of late Italian potters of the Flavian and Trajanic periods. Their headquarters were in Etruria, but not necessarily at Arezzo.39 Ten potters dated to Kenrick’s Period C (a.d. 15–50) are named at Aptera: Cn. Ateius Ar() (3); C. Cael. Clem(ens) (4); Chrestus (6); Corinthus (7); Crestus (8); Meno() (11); C. Murius (12); I. N()I() (28); L. Nonius (29); and C. V()V() (35). Eight potters active in Period D are attested at Aptera: Q. Castr(icius) Ve() (5); C. M() R() (9, 10); the Sex. M(urri) Cal() (13, 14), Cladus (15–17), Fes(tus) (18–20), and P() (21–25); C. P() Pi(sanus) (32, 33); and L. Rasinius Pisanus (34). The Murrii and L. Rasinius Pisanus had one or more workshops based on the Etruscan coast at Pisa and possibly elsewhere in the Flavian-Hadrianic period.40

If we then consider both the locations of the potters’ production centers and the time periods during which they were active, we can suggest how the city’s supply of Italian sigillata developed over time. In the period that roughly covers the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius (Period C), four sources are identified: Arezzo (4), Pisa/Lyon (8), Puteoli (7), and central Italy (11[?], 28, 35); the locations for two stamps are unknown (12, 19). In the period that roughly covers the reign of Nero and afterward (Period D), Pisa is the only identifiable source (13–25, 30–34), and two locations are unknown (5, 9, 10).

Distr ibution Pat terns for Pot ters At tested at Ap tera

Both Alcock and Kenrick encourage the identification of patterns of contact and exchange from analyses of the proveniences of Italian sigil-lata stamps.41 Kenrick is rightly cautious in taking note of the fact that the evidence available is dependent on the extent of actual publication in different regions and on the coverage of those regions in OCK.42 The evidence to date nevertheless allows one to postulate trade routes based on the sources and destinations of Italian sigillata.43 Kenrick himself has argued for patterns of trade that linked Berenike in Cyrenaica with both Puteoli and Arezzo if not also Pisa.44 Slane concluded that Italian sigillata

35. Kenrick’s Period B covers the 35 years between 20 b.c. and a.d. 15; his Period C essentially covers the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius, a.d. 15–50, while his Period D covers the years after a.d. 50 (OCK, p. 36).

36. Kenrick 2006, p. 68. Compare Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), 18–20; Sex. M(urrius) P(), 21–25; and C. P() Pi(sanus), 32, 33.

37. Kenrick 2002, p. 147.38. Pucci 1980, p. 138; Kenrick

2002, p. 148.39. Marabini Moevs 1980, p. 319.

Evidence for stamps of C. M() R() at Arezzo is meager, according to Kenrick (OCK, type 1067).

40. Slane 1987, pp. 194–195.41. Alcock 2006, p. 585; Kenrick

2006, p. 67.42. Kenrick 2006, p. 67.43. Contra Baldwin Bowsky 2011,

pp. 124–126, on Knossos; 2009, on Eleutherna; as well as Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, pp. 209–212, on Lappa, where a supply model based on the grain trade was used.

44. Kenrick 1987, pp. 145–146.


reached Corinth from most of the major production centers of Italy, but particularly from Arezzo.45 Pottery from workshops with a Mediterranean distribution appear to have been collected at regional and intermediary ports like Pisa or Puteoli, then passed on to similar ones such as Corinth, Alexandria, Antioch, and probably Ephesos.46 Olympia participated in the same current of trade that supplied Corinth but became part of that supply network at a later date;47 Corinth was also an intermediary port serving Argos.48 Kenrick further suggests that Argos was a limited participant in the wider Mediterranean pottery trade that included not only Corinth but also Delos and Knossos.49

In his consideration of Cyrenaica’s and Tripolitania’s trade with the Mediterranean, Fulford analyzes navigational conditions, particularly prevailing wind directions and currents, the types of ceramics imported to Cyrenaica and Tripolitania—including amphoras and coarse pottery, lamps, and fine wares—as well as the evidence of written sources, coinage, and decorative stones.50 His analysis has yielded quite a lot of information about Crete, which was linked with the Peloponnese, Cyrenaica, and Egypt by pre-vailing winds and currents.51 The north–south or northwest–southeast winds and currents particularly connected eastern Crete with the Peloponnese, northwest Crete with Cyrenaica, and south central and northeast Crete with Egypt.52 His analysis of the evidence of imported ceramics suggests that Crete was connected with the Aegean or northeast Mediterranean as well as with the west coast of Greece and Cyrenaica.53 The fine-ware as-semblages of Knossos are comparable to those of both Corinth and Berenike while the regional or subsistence trade of Cyrenaica was directed toward Crete, southern Greece, and the Aegean.54 Ease of communication between southern Greece, the Aegean, Crete, and Cyrenaica makes the administrative link between Crete and Cyrenaica easier to understand.55

To illuminate the details of the exchange that went on between Crete and Cyrenaica, Gallimore cites literary and epigraphic as well as ceramic evidence through the 1st century a.d. and into the 2nd century.56 He further shows that Crete’s economic role in the Mediterranean was complex, as Crete was involved in networks of market exchange that extended through-out the entire Mediterranean, and included a strong trade with Athens, Corinth, and Olympia to its north and Cyrenaica and Egypt to its south.57 East–west networks of free market exchange linked Crete with Puteoli in the 1st century a.d., and then Portus beginning in the early 2nd century a.d., as the grain trade was reorganized, with the result that the number of Cretan amphoras decreased in Campania while they increased at Rome and Ostia.58 The imperial command economy brought not only grain and marble but also Cretan medicinal plants, under imperial control, to Rome.59

The potters attested at Aptera are also attested to the north of Crete in Achaia and particularly at Corinth (5, 7–10, 18–25, 30–34) and her port at Kenchreai (7). From Corinth, distribution patterns within Achaia brought comparable stamps to Argos (5, 9, 10, 34) and Olympia (5, 13, 14, 18–20, 32, 33). Seven of these same potters are attested at Athens (5, 7–10, 32–34), while one example at Athens (3) is considered dubious by Slane;60 another of these is also attested at Patrai (9, 10) and a third at Delphi (34).

45. Slane 1987, p. 189.46. Slane 1989, p. 224; 2004,

pp. 32–36.47. Martin 2004, p. 69.48. See Abadie-Reynal 2004,

pp. 64–65, for Argos served by Corinth.49. Kenrick 2010, p. 3.50. Fulford 1989.51. Fulford 1989, pp. 170–171.52. Fulford 1989, pp. 170–171,

figs. 2, 3.53. Fulford 1989, pp. 174–175, 179,

figs. 5, 7.54. Fulford 1989, pp. 179–180,

186.55. Fulford 1989, pp. 188–189.56. Gallimore 2011, pp. 447–449,

458.57. Gallimore 2011, p. 458.58. Gallimore 2011, pp. 385, 454.59. Gallimore 2011, p. 387.60. K. W. Slane (pers. comm.).


To the south of Crete, potters attested at Aptera are also attested in Cyrenaica and Egypt. The Cyrenaican comparanda are predominantly from Berenike (7, 8, 18–20, 29, 32–34). Sex. M(urrius) P() (21–25) is attested at Cyrene instead and L. Rasinius Pisanus (34) is attested at both cities. It is worth noting, however, that the Cyrenaican corpus is currently dominated by Berenike, as the Cretan corpus had been dominated by Knossos.61 The Egyptian comparanda are all from Alexandria or within the Nile Delta (6, 8–10, 12).

One unexpected result of analyzing the distribution patterns for potters attested at Aptera is the number of stamps paralleled on Cyprus, particularly at Paphos (13–25, 30–34); one of these potters is also attested at Arsinoe (18–20). Elsewhere to the east of Crete, potters attested at Aptera are also known from Smyrna and its region in Asia Minor (9, 10, 21–25, 34), Tarsos and Anemurium in Cilicia (9, 10, 34), Antioch in Syria/Phoinike (8), and Caesarea Maritima in Judaea (3, 32, 33).

Reasons for Importing Italian Sigillata to Aptera

In order to understand why a table-ware landscape should change—how-ever briefly—in a community or region, it is important to evaluate local pro-duction and import patterns over time.62 In the first decades of the 3rd century b.c. at Aptera there was a perceptible decline in the importation of Attic pottery, followed by an increase in imports or imitations of pot-tery from production centers thus far unidentified.63 Niniou-Kindeli and Tzanakaki have studied a variety of vessels from a ritual deposit near the fortification wall of Aptera, one that can be dated within the first half of the 2nd century b.c.64 These vessels are mostly of local origin and manu-facture, but also reflect artistic influences from central or eastern Crete as well as from the Aegean islands and the eastern Mediterranean.65 Good quality pottery found at Aptera dating to the beginning of the Roman period includes Cretan lamps, oinochoes, and other shapes.66 As we have seen, in the 1st century a.d. this pattern of predominantly local produc-tion changes.

One reason for this change must be Aptera’s geographical location on the southern shore of Souda Bay, the best anchorage on the north coast of Crete. Although Aptera is not a fully excavated site (like sector I of Eleu- therna), nonetheless it is already clear that the stamped amphoras of Aptera can contribute a great deal to our knowledge of the vast and disparate landscape of Roman ceramic circulation and consumption.67 In the 1st century a.d. its ethnic appears on a Cretan amphora found at Pompeii that gives the name Cleme(n)s Apte(raios).68 At Kyani Akti, just west of the

61. Table 7 includes 72 potters from Berenike (named on 112 stamps, 95.7% of the Cyrenaican corpus); four potters from Cyrene, including the sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone (named on five stamps, 4.3% of the corpus); and one from an unknown location in Cyrenaica (named on one stamp, 0.9%

of the corpus): OCK CD-ROM, Sum-mary of Potters Supplying Cyrene; Stamps Listed from Berenice, Cyre-naica, Cyrene.

62. Poblome and Talloen 2004, p. xiii.

63. K. Tzanakaki (pers. comm.).64. Niniou-Kindeli and Tzanakaki

2011, pp. 566–575; the deposit con-tained oinochoai, a lagynos, olpai, drinking cups, and lamps.

65. K. Tzanakaki (pers. comm.).66. K. Tzanakaki (pers. comm.).67. Alcock 2006, p. 581.68. CIL IV 6438, 6439, 6443; Mar-

angou-Lerat 1995, p. 134.


mouth of the Pyktos River, which flows through the hinterland of Aptera, a 2006 survey and rescue excavation revealed a site with Hellenistic sherds and a Roman industrial complex with pithoi and kilns.69 The Italian sigillata imported to the city constitutes an independent and potent source of information for phenomena such as patterns of exchange and trade, cultural contact and emulation, acculturation, and regional varia-tion.70 The possible reasons behind the increased importation of foreign ceramics at Aptera, and at Crete more generally, will be considered further below.

A PROFILE FOR CRETE

To the 34 stamps included in OCK 71 and the 39 stamps presented here from Aptera, 74 more can be added that have been found at Knossos, Gortyn, Eleutherna, and Lappa, as well as at other scattered or unknown locations on Crete, for a total of 147 stamps. The Appendix to this article, which presents the current corpus of Italian stamps found on Crete, is arranged alphabetically for ease of reference throughout the remainder of this study. The addition of these stamps more than quadruples the size of the Cretan corpus available in OCK. After reviewing this evidence, we will consider whether these additional stamps will cause us to revise the provenience and chronological profiles of the Italian sigillata imported to Crete.

The Pot ters At tested on Cre te

We can first take note of which potters are attested across Crete, including Aptera (see Appendix); particular attention should be given to multiple examples and workshops. Ten potters are attested at Knossos and elsewhere in Crete, to the colony’s east, west, and south. Crestus is named not only at Knossos but also to its east at Viannos, as well as west at Eleutherna, and Aptera. C. Arvius, Cn. Ateius Euhodus, Avillius, and L. Gellius are known at both Knossos and Eleutherna to its west; Camurius is represented at Knossos and to the west at Khamalevri, Eleutherna, and Lappa. Ateius (3) is attested at Knossos, to the west at Lappa twice, and at an unknown loca-tion in Crete. Gellius is named at both Knossos and Lappa to the west, and Chrestus at Knossos and Aptera farther to the west. L. Rasinius Pisanus is known at Knossos, to the south at Gortyn and Kommos, and to the west at Eleutherna, at Lappa four times, and at Aptera.

A smaller group of potters is known from multiple examples but not from Knossos. Cn. At(eius) Ar() is attested at Lato pros Kamara in the east of the island and at both Lappa and Aptera in the west. Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus) is represented at Gortyn and Eleutherna, and at Aptera three times. C. P() Pi(sanus) is attested at Gortyn twice, Lappa once, and Aptera twice.

We can also consider workshops represented by single examples that were exported to different cities on Crete. While it is not often possible to suggest an exact relationship between potters who bear the same nomen,

69. Baldwin Bowsky and Niniou-Kindeli 2006, p. 414.

70. Alcock 2006, pp. 581–582.71. OCK CD-ROM, Summary of

Potters Supplying Creta.


there are other factors—geographical, chronological, and stylistic—that encourage us to consider them together. Arvius and C. Arvius—the for-mer attested at Eleutherna and the latter attested at both Knossos and Eleutherna—not only bear the same family name but were both active at Arezzo in the same period. Clodius Proculus and P. Clodius Proculus—the former attested at Eleutherna and the latter at Gortyn—were also both ac-tive at Arezzo in the same period. Stamps of Cornelius like that attested at Knossos are mostly attributable to P. Cornelius, also attested at Knossos.72 The Gellius workshop is represented by L. Gellius stamps at Knossos and Eleutherna, and Gellius stamps at Knossos and Lappa. (M.) (Perennius) Tigranus was one of the principal freedmen in the M. Perennius workshop and was active at Arezzo somewhat earlier than another of the principal freedmen, (M.) (Perennius) Bargathes.73

Shared nomina and even praenomina—in addition to particular geo-graphical and chronological patterns—also encourage us to consider the (Cn.) Ateii and Sex. Murrii. The greatest enterprise in Italian sigillata is associated with the name of Cn. Ateius, who was active at Arezzo before migrating to Pisa at about 5 b.c., where his operations most likely benefitted from ready access to the sea and the increased maritime possibilities for exporting his wares that such a location provided.74 The number of Ateii attested on Crete—with or without the praenomen Cn. and with or without a cognomen—is notable as their products were most prolific in the western Mediterranean rather than the Greek East: Ateius (2), active at Arezzo and attested at Eleutherna; Ateius (3), active at Pisa and attested at Knossos, Lappa, and somewhere on Crete; Cn. Ateius (5), active at Arezzo or Pisa and attested at Knossos; Cn. Ateius Euhodus, active at Pisa and attested at Knossos and Eleutherna; Crestus, active at Pisa or Lyon, and attested at Knossos, Viannos, Eleutherna, and Aptera, a potter whose stamps are mostly attributable to Cn. Ateius Crestus, also active at Pisa.75 Three more representatives of this long-lived workshop, all active at Pisa, are dated to later generations: (Cn.) Ateius Rufus, attested at Eleutherna; Cn. At(eius) A(), attested at Gortyn and Eleutherna; and Cn. Ateius Ar(), attested at Lato pros Kamara, Lappa, and Aptera.

In the late period of Italian sigillata production we have already noted the number of Sex. M(urrii) attested at Aptera, beginning with Sex. M(urrius) Cal() and Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, who were probably freedmen of the same person and were active at Pisa—in one or more workshops—in the same period. To these we can add stamps of two contemporary potters again active at Pisa: Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), attested at Gortyn, Eleutherna, and Aptera; and Sex. M(urrius) P(), attested at Kydonia, Gortyn, Hierapytna, and Lappa, as well as Aptera.

A number of potters catalogued here are new to or represented by new examples in the profile of potters supplying Crete. Nine potters new to the Cretan profile are Cn. At(eius) A() and Cn. Ateius Ar(), C. Murius, Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus) and Sex. M(urrius) P(), L. Nonius, L. Nonius Flor(entinus), C. P() Pi(sanus), L. Rast(icanus) Pre(). New examples are now available for five potters already known on Crete: C. Arvius, P. Cornelius, Gellius, L. Gellius, and Chrestus.

72. When stamps in planta pedis were adopted, the praenomen was more often omitted (OCK, type 624).

73. See OCK, p. 21, on the M. Peren- nius workshop, with 16 associated names, including principal freedmen named Tigranus, Bargathes, Saturni-nus, and Crescens.

74. OCK, p. 46.75. OCK type 698; cf. type 285.


The Provenience Profile of Pot ters At tested on Cre te

Now that we have added the Italian sigillata stamps of Aptera to a growing corpus for Crete, we should also ask how the production centers of potters attested at Aptera compare with those of the potters who supplied Crete in general. This question is one traditionally posed in studies of Italian sigillata, but it can also contribute to a discussion of what particular provenience patterns might mean with regard to the social context of Roman Crete.76

In addition to the production centers of Italian sigillata already at-tested at Aptera, Table 2 (which takes into account multiple examples of a potter’s stamps and is arranged in order of the geographical distribution of production areas), shows that Crete made use of sigillata from three other Italian centers: Etruria, the Po Valley, and Puteoli. A slash between place names indicates a potter who was active at both centers. “Etruria” designates scattered sites other than Arezzo and Pisa, such as Torrita di Siena. Of these centers, southern Etruria and the region of Rome also contributed to the supply for Corinth,77 and the Po Valley and Lyon also seem to have supplied continental sites to their north. Yet the Po Valley also supplied Corinth, via trade routes that linked the west coast of Italy with the eastern Mediterranean.78 Table 2 is arranged accordingly, and not in alphabetical order, like the search results available from the OCK CD-ROM.79

Imports to Knossos were dominated by Arezzo, while those at Eleutherna were more evenly divided between Arezzo and Pisa. It is Pisa, however, that dominated imports to Gortyn, Lappa, Aptera, and other scattered locations across the island. Only Knossos has provided Etrurian stamps. Knossos has also yielded five of the eight Puteolan stamps, three of the five Po Valley stamps, and two of the five stamps that may have been produced in Pisa or Lyon. Aptera yields three of the six stamps from central Italy. Thus, the Italian sigillata stamps discovered so far at Aptera have not added any new production sites to the profile of those supplying Crete. There was, moreover, less variety in the production centers supplying Aptera as compared with those supplying all of Crete.80

76. Alcock 2006, p. 584; Kenrick 2006, pp. 66–67.

77. Kenrick 1993, p. 240.78. Kenrick 1993, p. 240.79. Compare the arrangement in

Zabehlicky-Scheffenegger 2004, p. 79.80. Poblome and Talloen 2004,

pp. xiii–xiv; Slane 2004, p. 32.

TABLE 2. PROVENIENCE OF I TALIAN SIGILLATA ON CRETE (NUMBER/P ERCENTAGE)

Production Center Knossos Eleutherna Lappa Gortyn

Other Locations Aptera Total

Arezzo 22/47.8 7/30.4 2/9.5 2/22.2 1/11.1 1/2.6 35/23.8

Arezzo/Pisa 1/2.2 – – – – – 1/0.7

Pisa 7/15.2 5/21.7 12/57.1 6/66.7 5/55.6 19/48.7 55/37.4

Pisa/Lyon 2/4.3 1/4.3 – – 1/11.1 1/2.6 5/3.4

Etruria 2/4.3 – – – – – 2/1.4

Po Valley 3/6.5 1/4.3 1/4.8 – – – 5/3.4

Central Italy – 1/4.3 1/4.8 1/11.1 – 3/7.7 6/4.1

Puteoli 5/10.9 1/4.3 – – 1/11.1 1/2.6 8/5.4

Uncertain 4/8.7 7/30.4 5/23.8 – 1/11.1 14/35.9 31/21.1

Total 46 23 21 9 9 39 147


Such variance in provenience profiles results in Pisan rather than Arretine dominance of the Cretan corpus, even though Arezzo retains a significant share. The percentage of stamps from Puteoli and central Italy is far lower, followed by Pisa/Lyon and the Po Valley, with Etruria supplying the least of all. Percentage increases or decreases for the island as a whole may not matter much on the scale of the empire. As a group, however, they attest to a dynamic trade network that linked Crete and Italian production centers in the 1st century a.d.

The Chronol ogic al Profile of Pot ters At tested on Cre te

We are now in a position to ask when the potters who supplied Crete were active (see Table 3, which also takes account of multiple examples of a potters’ stamps). Eiring’s study of the stamped and unstamped Italian sigillata at Knossos supported the view that imports of Italian sigillata increased under Tiberius, became significant under Claudius, and culmi-nated under Nero.81 For the stamped sherds of Italian sigillata the profile is somewhat different. In Kenrick’s Period B—which spanned 35 years under Augustus—the colony at Knossos imported the highest number of stamped sherds of Italian sigillata, nearly four times as many as were imported to Eleutherna, followed by Lappa at a distant third; Gortyn and Aptera have not yielded stamps that can be dated to this period. In Period C—cover-ing 35 years under Tiberius and most of the reign of Claudius—Knossos imported about twice as much as Eleutherna, Lappa, and Aptera, while Gortyn imported much less. In Period D—covering a century between 50 and 150 a.d.—Aptera imported the largest percentage, followed by Lappa, Gortyn, Eleutherna, and Knossos, which surprisingly imported the smallest percentage.

These chronological patterns are again a corollary of the develop-ment of the Italian sigillata industry, as Pisa replaced Arezzo over time. Table 4 presents the data for the production centers that supplied Crete over time, still taking into account multiple examples of a given potter’s stamps. Kenrick’s Period B saw the greatest variety in production centers supplying Crete: Arezzo supplied the largest number of stamps, followed at a safe distance by Puteoli and Pisa; two examples are known from the Po Valley while single examples are known from Arezzo/Pisa, central Italy, and Pisa/Lyon. In Period C significantly fewer production centers supplied 81. Eiring 2004, p. 71.

TABLE 3. CHRONOLO GICAL PROFILE OF I TALIAN SIGILLATA AS AT TESTED ON CRETE (NUMBER/P ERCENTAGE)

Period Knossos GortynOther

Locations Eleutherna Lappa Aptera Total

Period B (20 b.c.–a.d. 15) 21/77.8 – 1/3.6 5/18.5 1/3.7 – 28/19.0

Period C (a.d. 15–50) 21/38.0 2/3.6 4/7.2 10/18.0 9/16.0 9/16.0 55/37.4

Period D (a.d. 50 –150) 4/8.2 7/14.3 3/6.1 5/10.2 8/16.3 22/45.9 49/33.3

Uncertain – – 1/6.7 3/20.0 3/20.0 8/53.3 15/10.2

Total 46/31.3 9/6.1 9/6.1 23/15.6 21/14.3 39/26.5 147/100


Crete: Arezzo, followed somewhat more closely by Pisa; fewer examples are known from Pisa/Lyon, central Italy, or Puteoli; a single example comes from the Po Valley. In Period D, Etruria joined these production centers with one example, but the most outstanding change is in how Pisa replaced Arezzo as the leading supplier, followed at a great distance by Arezzo and central Italy; a single example is also known from the Po Valley.

Distr ibution Pat terns for Pot ters At tested on Cre te

The multiple examples of stamps identified across Crete (see Appendix) may suggest that within the island, Knossos dominated distribution pat-terns and served as a distribution center on the north coast, while Gortyn played a less well-documented role and served as a distribution center on the south coast. This does not exclude the possibility that there were other distribution centers in the eastern or western reaches of the island, or on the north or south coasts. We have already noted that winds and currents particularly connected eastern Crete with the Peloponnese, northwest Crete with Cyrenaica, and south central and northeast Crete with Egypt.82 While Aptera overlooked the best anchorage on the north coast, Phoinix possessed the best harbor on the south coast. Ships regularly stopped on the south coast of Crete before sailing west toward Italy. The evidence of amphora production facilities will add additional possibilities on both the north and south coasts.

The production centers of the potters that are attested at Aptera and across Crete are also attested in the Greek East, with some additional evi-dence for distribution farther to Crete’s north and east, to provinces such as Macedonia, Syria/Phoinike, Judaea, and Arabia (see Appendix). Heretofore, Knossos had produced the names of eight potters who were known only from their attestation on Crete: Amarantus, Bassus, C. Gavius Summacus, Manneius, T. Rufrenus slave Rufio, M. S() Pu(dens?), Statilia slave Canopus, and L. Umbricius slave Felix. With this study we can now add the names of up to 14 more potters who are attested for the first time in the Greek East: C. Cae() Clem(ens), Meno(), I. N() I(), and C. V() V() at Aptera; Zoilus at Knossos; C. An(nius) and C. Gavius slave Homullus at Gortyn and in western Crete; Ateius (2), C. Mar(), C. N(), Sa[lvius?], and L. Titius slave

TABLE 4. CHRONOLO GICAL PROFILE OF I TALIAN PRODUCT ION CENTERS SUPPLYING CRETE (NUMBER/P ERCENTAGE)

Period ArezzoArezzo/

Pisa PisaPisa/Lyon Etruria Po Valley

Central Italy Puteoli Uncertain Total

Period B (20 b.c.–a.d. 15)

12/38.7 1/3.2 4/12.9 – 1/3.2 2/6.5 1/3.2 6/19.4 4/13.0 31/21.1

Period C (a.d. 15–50)

18/36.7 – 11/22.4 5/10.2 – 1/2.0 3/6.1 2/4.1 9/18.4 49/33.3

Period D (a.d. 50–150)

2/3.8 – 41/78.8 – 1/1.9 1/1.9 2/3.8 – 5/9.6 52/35.4

Uncertain 1/6.7 – – – – – – – 14/93.3 15/10.2

Total 33/22.4 1/0.6 56/38.1 5/3.4 2/1.4 4/2.7 6/4.1 8/5.4 32/21.8 147/100

82. Fulford 1989, pp. 170–171, figs. 2, 3.


C(h)ryseros at Eleutherna; C. Sa[trius?] and C. V[alerius?] at Lappa. It is worth noting that the readings for Meno(), C. N(), I. N() I(), Sa[lvius?], and C. Sa[trius?] are not certain. Nevertheless, the number of potters heretofore unattested in the Greek East has doubled, from eight to at least 17.

North of Crete, it is Corinth and her port at Kenchreai that have provided by far the greatest number of stamps comparable to those attested on Crete; all the stamps from Kenchreai are also attested at Corinth. In turn, Athens has yielded twice as many comparable stamps as Olympia or Argos, the colony at Patrai and Delphi together. Three of the stamps found at Athens are not thus far attested at Corinth, those of Cn. Ateius Ar(), Crestus, and Sertorius. Stamps naming Sex. M(urrius) Cal() are attested at Olympia and nowhere else in Achaia. To the north of Achaia, Macedonia is represented by five stamps naming two potters, Camurius at Stobi and L. Gellius at Stobi and on Corfu. We can note that six potters attested on the north coast of Crete are only attested in Achaia: Q. Castr(icius) Ve() at Aptera; Cornelius and (M.) (Perennius) Bargathes at Knossos; and C. Marcius, Metilius, and C. Pom() Fe(lix?) at Lappa.

To the south of Crete, Egypt preserves more stamps comparable to those attested on Crete, particularly at Alexandria but also at Alexandria/Cairo, plus single examples from Old Cairo, Naukratis, the Nile Delta, and Bubastis. In Crete’s provincial partner Cyrenaica, Berenike provides eight times as many comparable stamps as Cyrene; we have already noted that Berenike dominates the Cyrenaican profile. Of the stamps preserved at Cyrene, that of Cn. Ateius is not attested at Berenike. Again, it is worth noting that Chrestus, C. Murius, and L. Nonius at Aptera are only attested elsewhere in Egypt and Cyrenaica; Chrestus is also attested at Knossos, and C. Murius at Lappa. Ennius, M. Iulius, and L. Ple() Amar() are attested only at Knossos and in Egypt; Cn. Ateius A() is attested at Gortyn, Eleutherna, and in Cyrenaica; Arvius, (Cn.) Ateius Rufus, a slave of Maecius, and L. Milit(ius) are attested at Eleutherna, in Cyrenaica, and Egypt.

To the east of Crete, in Asia Minor, Smyrna and its region are well represented by stamps comparable to those found on Crete. Small numbers of comparable stamps have been found on Samos, at Ephesos, Notion, Kos, and an unidentified location in Asia Minor. Stamps not attested at Smyrna and its environs include one stamp of Cn. Ateius (5) found at Ephesos and one of N. Naevius Hilarus on Samos. Continuing eastward a number of comparable stamps have been published from Cilician Tarsos; one from Anemurium is also attested at Tarsos. In Syria/Phoinike, Antioch, which is represented by a number of comparable stamps, is joined by Beirut and Hama. Once again, we can take note of one potter attested at Knossos who is found only once to the east of Crete: L. Su() M() in Judaea. Farther to the east—possibly from the gateway provided by Antioch—Judaea preserves a sizeable number of stamps comparable to those found on Crete, over half of them at modern Beth Shan (ancient Scythopolis) along the Jordan River. In Arabia, comparable stamps are attested at two cities, Petra and Oboda, on the road that linked Petra and Judaean Gaza.

Another unexpected result of analyzing the distribution patterns for potters attested on Crete is the number of stamps paralleled on Cyprus, par-ticularly at Paphos, and one stamp at Arsinoe that is also attested at Paphos. The Sex. Murrii—including Sex. M(urrius) Cal() otherwise attested only at


Olympia and Paphos, and Sex. M(urrius) Cladus known only from Paphos—are particularly well represented by almost a third of the stamps there.

For those potters who are attested on Crete and to its north, south, and east (Table 5), it is clear that Achaia and particularly Corinth domi-nate the distribution patterns that brought Italian sigillata from the north to Crete; if we add Macedonia to Achaia the percentage rises to 56.6%. Egypt and Cyrenaica together account for significantly fewer of the stamps

TABLE 5. DISTRIBU T ION PAT TERNS FOR I TALIAN POT TERS AT TESTED ON CRETE

Province CityNumber of Stamps

Including Multiple Examples

Achaia: 284 (55.6%)

CorinthKenchreaiAthensOlympiaArgosPatraiDelphi

184 (36.0%) 5 64 13 11 4 3

Egypt: 77 (15.1%)

AlexandriaAlexandria/CairoOld CairoNaukratisNile DeltaBubastis

59 (11.5%) 14 1 1 1 1

Cyrenaica: 48 (9.4%)BerenikeCyrene

43 (8.4%) 5

Cyprus: 30 (5.9%)PaphosArsinoe

29 (5.7%) 1

Asia Minor: 28 (5.5%)

Smyrna and environsSamosEphesosNotionCosAsia Minor

20 (3.9%) 3 2 1 1 1

Cilicia: 9 (1.8%)TarsosAnemurium

8 (1.6%) 1

Judaea: 14 (2.7%)

ScythopolisCaesarea MaritimaJerusalemSamaria

8 (1.6%) 3 2 1

Syria/Phoinike: 10 (2.0%)AntiochBeirutHama

7 (1.4%) 2 1

Macedonia: 5 (1.0%)StobiCorfu

4 (0.8%) 1

Arabia: 6 (1.2%)ObodaPetra

4 (0.8%) 2

Total 511


83. Eiring 2004, p. 71.84. Marangou-Lerat 1995, map 14.85. Marangou-Lerat 1995, pp. 69,

74, 87, for Rome; pp. 67, 70, 72, 74, 81, 85–88, for Ostia; compare Reynolds 2010, pp. 49, 199, table 1.

86. Marangou-Lerat 1995, pp. 37, 39.

87. Marangou-Lerat 1995, p. 44.88. Marangou-Lerat 1995, pp. 44–

48, 63–64; Litinas 1999, esp. p. 350; 2008, esp. p. 23.

89. Marangou-Lerat 1995, p. 48.90. Marangou-Lerat 1995, pp. 49–

60.

comparable to those found on Crete (24.5%). By comparison, areas to the east of Crete (including Asia Minor, Cilicia, Judaea, Syria/Phoinike, and Arabia) account for even fewer of the stamps also known on Crete (13.2%); the number of comparable stamps found on Cyprus is unexpectedly high, with a percentage close to that of Cyrenaica.

Reasons for Imp orting Terra Sigil l ata to Cre te

In the context of Crete, with its local ceramic traditions, the advent of Italian sigillata has been credited to a number of phenomena. Eiring in-terprets the importation of Italian sigillata to the colony of Knossos as part of a general vogue in the eastern Mediterranean.83 What we must do now is determine the reasons why Italian sigillata was imported to cities and regions outside Knossos: not only Aptera, but also Gortyn, Eleutherna, Lappa, and other locations.

The distribution of potters’ stamps shows that in the Roman period Crete was well-situated within a larger, more complex trade pattern within the eastern Mediterranean. The distribution of Cretan wine amphoras illustrates the other side of the commercial network, as Cretan goods trav-eled north to Achaia and south to Cyrenaica and Egypt, as well as east to Asia Minor and west to the Italian peninsula and farther.84 Cretan wine amphoras have been found in significant numbers at Rome in the 1st century a.d. and Ostia in the 2nd century.85

In the period during which Italian sigillata was produced and imported to Crete, amphora production facilities were concentrated along the north coast of Crete more than on the south. Evidence for sailing along Crete’s north coast is beginning to mount as Roman amphora production is now attested not only at three sites in western Crete (including Kyani Akti), but also at two in central Crete, and one in eastern Crete. West of Aptera, amphora production facilities of 1st to 2nd century a.d. date were located at Kastelli Kissamou and Nopighia.86 On the north coast of central Crete an amphora production facility at Herakleion was active from the mid-1st to mid-2nd century a.d.87 At Chersonesos—the port of Lyttos, named on Cretan wine amphoras—three amphora production facilities of 2nd– 4th century a.d. date and a rural installation have been identified, as well as a rare assemblage of ostraka that attest to the presence of businessmen with Roman names operating there in the 2nd century a.d.88 In the eastern reaches of the island, an amphora production facility at Trypitos functioned in the 2nd century a.d.89

Cities on both the north and south coasts of Crete could have been centers of redistribution for the island, given their positions along the north–south patterns of contact and exchange that linked Achaia with Crete, and Crete with Cyrenaica and Egypt. Amphora production facili-ties extend along the south coast of Crete from Palaiochora in western Crete to no fewer than six sites with 12 facilities in central Crete (Matala, Tsoutsouros, Dermatos, Kastri, Keratokambos, and Arvi), and two more in eastern Crete (Makrygialos and Lagada).90 Gallimore identifies Kissamos and Chersonesos on the north coast, together with Hierapytna on the south as the three great ports of Crete, due to their position along north–south


and west–east trade routes.91 Between the north and south coasts of Crete, in turn, transhipment of goods via a well-organized road system is at-tested.92 To judge from the fact that only three of the Apteraian stamps are paralleled at Knossos, while nine are attested at Gortyn and one at nearby Kommos—together with two at Eleutherna, five at Lappa, and one at Kydonia—we just may have multiple centers of redistribution, not only at Knossos or Gortyn but at other centers along the north or south coast and at either end of the north–south routes of communication and transit.

CRETE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GREEK EAST

Pot ters At tested on Cre te and in the Greek East

We should now ask how the Cretan stamps compare with those already known from the Greek East (see Appendix). The potters named on Crete include potters well known in the Greek East; potters attested in the Greek East but better known in Italy or in Spain, Gaul, and Germany; and potters hitherto unattested in the Greek East. Once again we should take particular note of which potters are named on multiple examples in the Greek East, and which can be identified as representatives of workshops that supplied both Crete and other parts of the Greek East.

Eighteen potters attested on Crete are already well known in the Greek East, including two pairs who share nomina and even praenomina. Their stamps are attested not only on Crete but also in Achaia, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Judaea. The percentage of their stamps already known in the Greek East ranges from a high of 53.3% for C. Pom() Fe(lix?) to a low of 15% for A. Sestius Dama. Within this range, multiple examples are known from the Greek East for Avillius, Camurius, Q. Castr(icius) Ve(), Clod(ius) Proc(ulus) and P. Clod(ius) Proc(ulus), M. Iulius, C. Marcius, Sex. M(urrius) Cal() and Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, C. Pom() Fe(lix?), Serenus, and A. Sestius Dama. Valens, the slave of Maecius named for the first time on a stamp at Eleutherna, may have been working in the same workshop as Hilarus, who is attested in the Greek East. Single examples in more than one location in the Greek East are attested for Corinthus, Ennius, Metilius, and N. Naevius Hilarus. A single example of L. Militius’s stamp is documented at Berenike.

Twenty-seven potters are attested in the Greek East but are better known in Italy; the presence of their stamps on Crete increases their profile in the Greek East, particularly when multiple examples are known from the island. Their stamps are attested in the same provinces identified above, for potters well known in the Greek East. Multiple examples in the Greek East are already known for C. Arvius, Cn. At(eius) A(), Cornelius and P. Cornelius, Gellius and L. Gellius, Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), L. Nonius Flor(entinus), C. P() Pi(sanus), (M.) (Perennius) Bargathes, Rasinius and C. Rasinius, L. Rasinius Pisanus, L. Rast(icanus) Pre(), and L. Umbri- cius H(). Single examples in more than one location in the Greek East are at-tested for Cn. Ateius Ar(), Calidius (Strigo), C. Murrius, Sex. M(urrius) P(), (M.) (Perennius) Tigranus, and Sertorius. Single locations are documented

91. Gallimore 2011, pp. 148–149.92. Gallimore 2011, p. 153.


for Bassus, C. Gavius Summacus, and M. S() Pu(dens?) at Knossos; Chres- tus and C. Murius at Alexandria; and L. Nonius at Berenike.

Twelve potters are attested in the Greek East but better known in Spain, Gaul, and Germany, a pattern that reflects the movement of Roman legions in the Augustan period. In the Greek East their stamps are attested not only in the provinces identified above (Achaia, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Judaea), but also in Syria/Phoinike, Cilicia, and Arabia. Multiple examples of these potters’ names are nevertheless attested in the Greek East for Sex. Annius, Ateius (3), Cn. Ateius, Cn. Ateius Euhodus, Crestus, Hilarus, L. Ple() Amar(), and C. Sentius. Single examples, all at Knossos, are documented for Amarantus, T. Rufrenus slave Rufio, L. Um- bricius slave Felix, and Zoilus. These single examples may reflect the movement of individuals to the Augustan colony at Knossos, rather than patterns of trade and communication.

There remain 13 potters until now unattested in the Greek East. Most are best attested in Italy, and particularly at Rome and Ostia, as well as in Etruria and Liguria, a distribution pattern that is emerging as typical for potters active in the 2nd century a.d., when networks were contracting.93 Three potters are best known in Italy: C. An(nius), Ateius (2), and C. Cae() Clem(ens). Six more are particularly well documented in Rome and Ostia: C. Gavius slave Homullus, C. M(arius), Meno(), C. N(), I. N() I(), and C. V() V(). We should note, nevertheless, that Homullus was one of four slaves attested in the workshop of C. Gavius and that the other slave is attested at Alexandria/Cairo, while a freedman C. Gavius Summacus is attested at Knossos.94 L. Titius slave C(h)ryseros is only attested in Etruria, but we can note that other slaves of L. Titius—whose workshop features 34 associated names—are quite well attested in the Greek East.95 C. Sa[trius?] is attested only in Liguria, while Sa[lvius?] is well attested at Aquileia and Magdalensberg, at the head of the Adriatic. Magdalensberg—a trading settlement inland from Aquileia at the head of the Adriatic—is one of the specimen sites examined by Kenrick, who chose it because it was supplied by Po Valley factories as well as some of those in Arezzo.96 C. Va(lerius?) is even better attested in Spain than in Italy.

Provience Profile of Pot ters At tested on Cre te and in the Greek East

The comparanda identified above suggest that we set Crete in the context of Macedonia, Achaia, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Asia Minor, Cilicia, Cyprus, Syria/Phoinike, Judaea, and Arabia. Table 6 is based on the statistics available through OCK’s database—with the exception of the column for Crete, which is based on Table 2—but percentages have been calculated so as to compare relative shares of a provincial market despite disparities in raw numbers. If we compare the production centers of Italian sigillata found on Crete with the other half of the double province—Cyrenaica—and with the Greek East in general, we can see how Crete contributes to the provincial and Mediterranean-wide profile.

Comparison with the profile of Cyrenaica is instructive in that it re-veals a slightly larger proportion of stamps from Arezzo on Crete than in

93. K. W. Slane (pers. comm.).94. Alexandria/Cairo: OCK type

873. C. Gavius Summacus as a freed-man rather than slave: OCK type 875.

95. L. Titius workshop: OCK, p. 23. Stobi: OCK type 2206. Athens: OCK types 2216, 2221, 2227, 2229, 2236. Corinth: OCK types 2207, 2209, 2230, 2236. Alexandria: OCK types 2206, 2216, 2227, 2234, 2235. Alexandria/Cairo: OCK type 2209. Ephesos: OCK types 2209 and 2236. Smyrna and its region: OCK types 2216 and 2233. Antioch: OCK types 2204, 2232. Bei-rut: OCK type 2230. Jerusalem: OCK type 2236.

96. Kenrick 1993, p. 238.


Cyrenaica (22.6% vs. 19.5%); this is perhaps due to the supply pattern for the Augustan colony at Knossos. Crete’s percentage of sigillata stamps from Arezzo/Pisa and Pisa come close to the level of the Cyrenaican market, which also includes a small percentage from Arezzo/Pisa/Lyon and a somewhat larger percentage from Pisa/Lyon. Campania (including Puteoli) is equally well represented in the two markets, possibly as a result of a maritime route linking Puteoli with Cyrenaica and Egypt. Etruria’s and the Po Valley’s shares of the Cretan market render the island distinctive from her Libyan partner.

In the context of the Greek East, Crete can be compared to provinces to her south, east, and north. At first sight these comparisons suggest that Crete might have participated in one or more currents of trade similar to those that supplied Cyrenaica and Cyprus as well as Achaia and Egypt. The Cretan data is most like that from Cyrenaica in the percentage of Arretine, Arretine/Pisan, Pisan, central Italian, and Puteolan stamps. It is also similar to that from Cyprus and Arabia in the percentage of Arretine stamps. In the percentage of Etrurian stamps, on the other hand, Crete is most like Achaia and Egypt. It is the percentage of stamps from the Po Valley that makes Crete unusual in the Greek East.

Chronol ogic al Profile of Pot ters At tested on Cre te and in the Greek East

If we now compare the chronological profile of Italian sigillata on Crete with Cyrenaica and the Greek East, we can see how Crete contributes to the profiles of the province and the eastern Mediterranean (Table 7). By converting numbers of stamps to percentages we can again more

TABLE 6. DISTRIBU T ION OF I TALIAN SIGILLATA STAMPS IN THE GREEK EAST (P ERCENTAGE)

Provenience Crete* Achaia Egypt Cyrenaica CyprusAsia

Minor Cilicia JudaeaSyria/

Phoinike Macedonia Arabia

Arezzo 22.6 40.5 36.9 19.5 20.4 45.3 42.1 66.7 48.9 64.3 23.8

Arezzo/Pisa 0.7 – 0.3 0.8 – – – – – – –

Arezzo/Pisa/Lyon – 0.8 6.6 1.6 2.3 1.9 – 3.7 2.2 – 9.5

Arezzo/Lyon – – – – – – – – – 7.1 –

Arezzo/Po Valley – 0.5 – – – 1.9 – – 4.4 – –

Pisa 37.7 6.0 12.6 38.3 65.9 13.2 21.1 11.1 2.2 – 14.3

Pisa/Lyon 3.4 – 1.6 5.0 – – – – 4.4 – –

Etruria 1.4 0.9 1.6 – 2.3 3.7 5.3 – – – 9.5

Etruria/Lyon – 0.5 0.3 – – – – – – – –

Po Valley 3.4 1.6 0.9 – – 0.9 – – – – –

Central Italy 4.1 27.9 7.8 3.9 2.3 4.7 5.4 – 11.1 – –

Puteoli 5.5 1.8 15.6 5.5 – 6.6 – 7.4 2.2 – 42.9

Campania? – – – – – – – – 4.4 – –

Lyon? – 0.2 – – – – – – – – –

Lyon/Po Valley – – – – – – – 3.7 – – –

Uncertain 21.2 19.2 15.9 25.0 6.8 21.7 26.3 7.4 20.0 28.6 –

* See Table 2.


accurately compare the Cretan and Cyrenaican markets. Increasing the Cretan corpus to 147 rather than 35 stamps97 gives the island more stamps than Cyrenaica, whose corpus is still dominated by Berenike.

In the Augustan period Cyrenaica preserves a substantially greater number and percentage of potters’ stamps than Crete, despite the number of potters who supplied the Roman colony at Knossos. In the Tiberian-Claudian period, however, the balance shifted in favor of Crete. After 50 a.d. a greater number and percentage of potters’ stamps are still found on Crete than in the cities of her provincial partner, which is possibly due to the increasing number of late stamps now attested at Gortyn, Eleutherna, Lappa, and Aptera.

Poblome and Talloen’s study of Italian sigillata in the eastern Mediter- ranean—to which only 5% of the OCK entries can be traced98—provides a template against which we can measure our enlarged Cretan corpus: on the basis of their evidence they propose a noticeable, substantial increase during the Augustan period and a peak at the end of the Augustan period and during the Tiberian, with important quantities still being exported in Neronian times, before a steady decline that made Italian sigillata a sporadic phenomenon by the end of the Flavian period.99 In contrast, the growing evidence for the wares of late Italian potters on Crete suggests that Italian sigillata was not a sporadic phenomenon but a regular one at the end of the Flavian period and the beginning to middle of the 2nd century a.d.

Distr ibution Pat terns for Pot ters At tested on Cre te and in the Greek East

Martin utilized six criteria to assess Crete’s position in the Italian sigillata trade: (1) the appearance of Italian sigillata at major centers, minor ones, and/or on survey sites; (2) the main source for Italian sigillata; (3) the date of the advent of Italian sigillata; (4) the date of the disappearance of Italian sigillata; (5) the dominance, significance, or insignificance of Italian sigillata; and (6) the source of pottery that replaced Italian sigillata.100 We can now use these criteria to reassess Crete’s position in the pattern of contact and exchange that brought Italian sigillata to the Mediterranean.

Italian sigillata appears on Crete not only at major centers from west to east—Aptera, Lappa, Eleutherna, Knossos, Gortyn, and Hierapytna—but also at minor centers such as Khamalevri, Kommos, Lato pros Kamara, and Viannos (see Appendix). To the west of Aptera, Roman Kydonia has


98. Poblome and Talloen 2004, p. xiv.

99. Poblome 2004, p. 25; compare Eiring 2000, p. 201.

100. Martin 2006.

TABLE 7. CHRONOLO GICAL PROFILE OF I TALIAN SIGILLATA STAMPS ON CRETE AND IN CYRENAICA

Period

Crete* Cyrenaica

Number of Stamps Percentage of Stamps Number of Stamps** Percentage of Stamps

Period B (20 b.c.–a.d. 15) 28 19.0 62 52.1

Period C (a.d. 15–50) 55 37.4 34 28.6

Period D (a.d. 50 –150) 49 33.3 21 17.6

Uncertain 15 10.2 2 1.7

Total 147 100 119 100

* See Table 3.** OCK potters supplying Cyrene.


been investigated through a series of rescue excavations, one of which brought to light part of the Roman agora—with a bath and stoa complex of the 2nd–3rd centuries a.d.—and also yielded an assemblage of pottery dubbed the “Garage Collection” that contained three pieces of Italian sigil-lata as well as a bowl with a stamp of Sex. Murrius P().101

Italian sigillata is, moreover, to be found in Cretan survey sites, notably, but not only, at Lasaia, between the Ayiofarango and Chrisostomos.102 Crete is, in fact, one of the best surveyed parts of the Mediterranean, with no fewer than 28 surveys.103 In eastern Crete, Italian sigillata has been found in the Vrokastro region, at Praisos, at Viannos, and in the Ziros region.104 In the Knossos-Gortyn corridor of central Crete, Italian sigillata has been found in surveys of the Kommos region, the Western Mesara, and the lower Ayiofarango Valley.105 In the zone of Crete west of Mt. Ida and east of the White Mountains, Italian sigillata has been noted at Khamalevri, and in surveys of the Stavromenos-Khamalevri area and the Ayios Vasileios valley.106

In the zone of Crete that lay north and south of the White Moun- tains—including Aptera—field surveys have found Italian sigillata on the Akrotiri peninsula and in the Sphakia region, particularly at Anopolis and Phoinix-Loutro. The Akrotiri peninsula was first surveyed in 1978–1982 by Moody, who included all periods in recording and collecting artifacts.107 Italian sigillata has been found at three sites: in a small upland district with evidence of traffic at a peninsular gateway, at a Roman farming estate on the south coast, and in a northwest coastal district near a small harbor with a protected entrance.108 In 1966 the Hoods visited the area between Sphakia and Frangokastelli, south of the White Mountains, but made no note of finding Italian sigillata there.109 The Sphakia Survey begun in 1987 quickly yielded results that suggest the area was connected with the outside world, to judge from the surprisingly wide distribution of terra sigillata, such as in the territory around Anopolis, and even at smaller sites.110 With the sudden decline of Anopolis in the mid-1st century a.d., and the concomitant rise of her port at Phoinix-Loutro, Italian sigillata came to be scarce except at the port.111 Phoinix-Loutro probably served as the entry point for these im-ports, which are to be found mostly at this site.112 The range of non-Cretan

101. Raab 2001, pp. 63–64, 71, nos. 87–90, of which no. 90 with the stamp S.M.P. was identified as an East-ern Sigillata A bowl. P. M. Kenrick (pers. comm.) identifies this fragment as a piece of Italian sigillata of OCK type 1213. An Italian sigillata stamp found at Lappa shows the same retro-grade S as the “Garage Collection” stamp (Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, pp. 227–228, no. 40).

102. Blackman and Branigan 1975, pp. 27–28, 31; Martin 2006, p. 183.

103. Gallimore 2011, pp. 59–65, 557, fig. 3:1.

104. Vrokastro: Vrokastro II, p. 203; Vrokastro III, p. 58. Praisos: Tomlinson

1995, p. 70; Blackman 1999, p. 122; 2002, p. 112. Viannos: Hood, Warren, and Cadogan 1964, p. 87, n. 42. Ziros: Branigan, Carter, and O’Connor 1998, pp. 39, 43, no. TF25.

105. Kommos: Kommos I.1, pp. 329, 336–337, 347, 383–384. Western Mesara: Watrous et al. 1993, p. 203; Watrous, Hadzi-Vallianou, and Blitzer, pp. 527–528, 530–532, 535–538. Ayio-farango Valley: Blackman and Branigan 1977, p. 74.

106. Khamalevri: Hood, Warren, and Cadogan 1964, p. 62, n. 15. Stavro-menos-Khamalevri: Schiering 1982, pp. 18, 47. Ayios Vasileios: Hood and Warren 1966, p. 180.

107. Raab 2001, p. 1.108. Raab 2001, pp. 110, 93, 125,

respectively; compare fig. 68. Site LT3 yielded a dish rim and two small frag-ments; Raab 2001, p. 112. Site AS7 yielded a single neck fragment from a jug; Raab 2001, pp. 93–94. Site SV4 produced one possible Arretine juglet, as well as land and road fills that con-tained abundant red-gloss sherds; Raab 2001, pp. 126, 147.

109. Hood 1967.110. Nixon et al. 1989, pp. 208–209,

214; Nixon et al. 1994, p. 256.111. Nixon et al. 1990, p. 217;

Nixon et al. 1994, p. 256.112. Moody et al. 2003, p. 95.


pottery used in Sphakia suggests, moreover, that the area was linked to the broader Mediterranean economy.113

As for the main source of Italian sigillata attested on Crete and the dates of its advent and its disappearance, our analysis of the intertwined chronological and provenience profiles first revealed a higher percentage of later, non-Arretine potters than of potters from Arezzo. It also showed that Italian sigillata was imported to Knossos in significant amounts in the mid- to late Augustan period, and in smaller amounts to Eleutherna and Lappa. It was not imported to Gortyn, Aptera, or other scattered locations until the Tiberian period. Our analysis further made it clear that Italian sigillata continued to be imported across Crete until the mid-2nd century a.d.

To assess the significance (or insignificance) of Italian sigillata on Crete, and the source of the pottery that replaced it, Martin estimated that Italian sigillata was significant but not dominant on Crete, to judge from the evidence of Knossos, Gortyn, and Lasaia. Afterward, the dominant fine wares continued to be imported, only now from the east rather than the west.114 The last entry in the catalogue, 40, represents an Eastern Sigillata B stamp found in excavations of the theater of Aptera that can be dated to perhaps the 2nd quarter of the 1st century a.d.

Martin arrived at his assessment of Crete’s position in the Italian si-gillata trade by examining two different supply models of Italian sigillata, one for Olympia in the Peloponnese and the other for Ephesos in Asia Minor.115 By placing them in the wider context of the Greek East, he con-sidered the supply patterns of Corinth and Achaia, Crete, Asia Minor, and coastal areas of the north Aegean.116 He suggested that Crete—represented by Knossos, Gortyn, and the area around Lasaia—was in an intermediate position with respect to Asia and Achaia east of the isthmus of Corinth, in that Italian sigillata was significant but not dominant, can appear even on a survey site, and was imported throughout the 1st century a.d. but probably not into the 2nd century a.d.117

The present study enables us to add more sites to the map of Italian sigillata on Crete and to realize that it was imported well into the 2nd century a.d.; it also allows us to test Martin’s hypothesis that Crete was in an intermediate position with respect to Achaia and Asia. Italian sigillata now appears to have been more significant than Martin thought, as it is now found at major and minor sites and in survey areas across the island. It is, moreover, Pisa that is the major source for Italian sigillata imported to the island, and that brings the date of its disappearance down to the early to mid-2nd century a.d.

Another way to judge whether Crete was in an intermediate position in the Mediterranean is to ask how the stamps now known from Crete compare with those known along north–south and west–east patterns of contact and exchange (see Appendix). For the entire island, the distribu-tion of identifiable stamps strengthens the patterns that link Crete with Achaia to her north and Cyrenaica and/or Egypt to her south. To the east of Crete, by comparison, six potters are attested along a west–east route that led to Asia, Cilicia, Cyprus, Syria/Phoinike, and/or Judaea. A final group of stamps again illustrates Crete’s position at the crossroads of north–south

113. Nixon et al. 1989, p. 209.114. Martin 2006, p. 184.115. Martin 2006, esp. pp. 175–179.116. Martin 2006, pp. 180–183.117. Martin 2006, p. 183.


and west–east patterns of contact and exchange. The stamps of Camurius constitute the ultimate example of such a distribution.

The evidence of these stamps argues that Crete was located along a north–south pattern of contact and exchange, rather than a separate, al-ternative route into the Mediterranean via Crete, as Martin speculated.118 Crete’s profile compares best with Corinth in the frequency of their shared stamps, and Athens comes in a distant, although still fairly significant, second. Athens’s profile is far closer to Crete than, for instance, Olympia’s, considering the low number of stamps that Crete and Olympia share, as well as the absence thus far on Crete of any stamps of the OctPro-OctSal group so prominent at Olympia.119

Reasons for Imp orting Italian Sigil l ata to Cre te and the Greek East

The ceramic evidence found on Crete can now be set in the context of its involvement in a wider economic system, heralded by the presence of imported pottery and other goods.120 Poblome and Talloen have argued that the presence of Italian sigillata in the Greek East is the result not of cultural diffusion or colonial domination but of self-acculturation, as local elite tastes converged with Roman ones and local elites negotiated their own integration into the Roman world.121 The diffusion of Italian sigillata in the Greek East is cited as one manifestation of such a hybrid culture, and at the same time as a way for individuals and communities to express, communicate, and to demonstrate their position in the provincial landscape.122 Among Romanists in the postcolonial era this phenomenon is no longer read as straightforward evidence of the mass adoption of one material element of Roman civilization.

Ceramic evidence can be placed in the context of an intricate pattern of empire-wide exchange that involved goods, people, and ideas.123 The brief table-ware boom that brought Italian sigillata onto 1st-century a.d. tables was an Italian cultural phenomenon that influenced both the western and eastern parts of the empire.124 Arezzo exported potters to Gaul and to Asia Minor simultaneously.125 In both parts of the empire good quality Italian sigillata was copied and stamped in a brief period of imitation and integration.126

The eastern part of the empire was not, however, monolithic in its reac-tion to Italian sigillata.127 After the 1st century a.d., eastern and western potters developed their own themes based on the original Italian concept, to produce later red-slipped wares.128 Asia Minor, which produced fine table wares of significant quality, may have gone its own way, but Achaia and Crete did not.129 Members of Greco-Italian communities—e.g., mercatores,

118. Martin 2006, p. 183.119. Stamps shared with Corinth

(184) far outnumber those shared with Athens (64), and those shared with Athens far outnumber those shared with Olympia (13) and Argos (11). Corinth XVIII.2, p. 43; Martin 2006, pp. 183–184.

120. Alcock 1997, pp. 2, 4.121. Poblome and Talloen 2004,

pp. xii–xiii; compare Hanson 1997, p. 67, for acculturation by negotiation/convergence.

122. Poblome and Talloen 2004, p. xiii.

123. Poblome, Brulet, and Bounegru 2000, pp. 281–282.

124. Poblome, Brulet, and Bounegru 2000, p. 282.

125. Poblome, Brulet, and Bounegru

2000, pp. 280–281.126. Poblome, Brulet, and Bounegru

2000, pp. 281–282.127. Poblome 2004, pp. 22–23;

Zabehlicky-Scheffenegger 2004, pp. 79–80; Martin 2006, p. 183.

128. Poblome, Brulet, and Bounegru 2000, p. 282.

129. Martin 2006, p. 184.


130. Menchelli 2004, p. 276.131. The following conventions are

observed in recording the actual read-ing of the stamp: three dots indicate an unknown number of missing letters; letters in ligature are joined by a caret (^); punctae are represented by a period between letters.

coloni, and other settlers, and a rising sub-elite class in the civitates along the Mediterranean coasts—responded to social pressure and a desire for Italian-style ceramics, coupled with their sheer availability and affordability, by buying Italian as well as Eastern sigillatas.130

CONCLUSIONS

Table wares, since they were not monumental expressions of identity but small and portable, were an aspect of material culture that was easier and more affordable to adopt than architecture or town planning. A group of people at Aptera, and on Crete in general, who were Roman by ethnicity or acculturation, could have created an increased demand for imported Italian fine wares, a demand that would also explain why so many late Italian potters’ stamps have been found there. We have already seen at least one actual representative of such a group: Cleme(n)s Apte(raios), a vintner whose wine was exported to Pompeii (cf. p. 515, above).

The evidence derived from excavations—together with that from Italian sigillata stamps—demonstrates that Aptera was not a polity that merely survived in the Roman period as a shadow of its Hellenistic self, but one that served as a social and economic anchor for the region of Crete between the two free cities of Kydonia and Lappa. The epigraphical evidence—on Italian sigillata as well as on stone—documents the vitality of the Roman civitas.

CATALO GUE

1 Cup foot Fig. 3

Railakis Donation no. 90. Collected at Aptera, without context; donated September 2002.

Max. p.H. 0.008; est. Diam. foot 0.05 m. Part of foot (16%) and floor preserved. Ring foot low, with light incision; groove where foot joined to body; floor

slightly convex. Clay pink (5YR 6/4); glaze red (10R 4/8).Graffito on exterior surface appears to preserve the last three letters of a word

or name: [- - -]ΡΑ; of the first letter only the upper horizontal is preserved of, e.g., Γ, Ε, Σ, or Τ.

Stamp: A[. . .],131 possibly in p.p., with A followed by upper left point of a letter. Stamp too badly broken to identify OCK type; Ateius stamps in p.p. (OCK type 268.133–52) without a praenomen are relatively rare; another possibility is Avillius (OCK type 371), well attested in the Greek East (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]).

2 Cup foot Fig. 3

Theater no. P971. Found in the orchestra, square 19/north part of square 18, layer 2, group 815, September 5, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.018; est. Diam. foot 0.06 m. Part of foot (38%) and wall preserved. Ring foot low, beveled in upper part and closer to resting surface; nipple on

exterior surface; floor flat; wall straight and thin. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).


2

3

1

4

Figure 3. Vessels 1–4. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scaleStamp: AVN in p.p., with N retrograde, OCK type not yet identified; could be

AV() or A. V() (P. M. Kenrick [pers. comm.]). One possibility is OCK type 1099, particularly die 16 (MÂN, with retrograde N), which names Manneius, active at Arezzo, a.d. 30–70; Manneius is attested twice at Knossos (see Appendix). Another is OCK type 1101, particularly die 9 (A.MÂN, with retrograe N), which names A. Manneius, active at Arezzo, a.d. 30–70. For the latter, cf. 39.


3 Unidentified vessel floor Fig. 3

Railakis Donation no. 91. Collected at Aptera, without context; donated September 2002.

Max. p.Th. 0.005; max. dim. H. 0.027 x W. 0.037 m. Flat fragment without preserved profile. Clay light reddish brown (2.5YR 6/4); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).Stamp: CN.A^T.A^R in p.p., OCK type 282, no exact parallel: Cn. Ateius

Ar(), active at Pisa, ca. a.d. 30–80; known to have made both plates and cups. Of 48 examples, 64.6% are from the Italian peninsula, notably Pompeii and Pisa. In the Greek East this potter is attested only twice (4.3%), at Athens (a dubious example, according to K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]) and at Caesarea Maritima. On Crete, the stamp is now attested at Lappa as well as Aptera, doubling the number known from the Greek East.


Theater no. P527. Found in the cavea, east of the later kiln, square 10, layer 2, group 802, August 1, 2008.

Max. p.Th. 0.004; max. dim. H. 0.023 x W. 0.022 m. Flat fragment without preserved profile. Nipple preserved on exterior surface; single groove around stamp. Clay reddish

yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8).Stamp: C.C.C. in p.p., OCK type 475.4: C. Cae() Clem(ens), of Arezzo,

a.d. 30+; known to have made both plates and cups. The stamps of C. Cae() Cle-m(ens) have a very limited distribution, 82.1% from the Italian peninsula; die 4 has been found at Arezzo (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]). This potter’s stamp is hitherto unattested in the Greek East.

5 Cup foot Fig. 4

Theater no. P975. Found in the metaskenion, square 42, layer 2, group 954, June 18, 2009.

Max. p.H. 0.018; Diam. foot 0.039 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved. Ring foot thick and rather high; floor slightly concave, deep central groove

that meets imperfectly; wall conical to curving. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red (10R 5/6).

Stamp: Q.-CA() in p.p., OCK type 524, stamp size precludes all known dies except 4 and 6: Q. Castr(icius) Ve(), of unknown location, a.d. 50+; known to have made cups, dishes, and plates. Letters following A were not impressed because of the rough finish. Most stamps of this potter are known from the Italian peninsula (67.4%), of which Rome and Ostia account for the lion’s share. Nevertheless, 18.6% are from the Greek East, where the type is attested in Achaia, especially at Corinth (five examples), and also at Athens, Argos, and Olympia.

6 Cup foot Fig. 4

Theater no. P837. Found in the west paraskenion, squares 47–48, 56–57, layer 3, group 844, September 27, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.0155; Diam. foot 0.053 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot thick and rather high, resting surface somewhat flattened, thickness

uneven; floor slightly concave, single groove around stamp that meets imperfectly; wall slightly rounded. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8).


6

7

5

Figure 4. Vessels 5–7. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scale


Stamp: CHRES in p.p., cf. OCK type 553.12: Chrestus, of unknown location, 15 b.c.–a.d. 15; known to have made both cups and plates. A significant percentage of his stamps (54.2%) are from Spain, Gaul, and Germany. Only 8.3% of the entries for Chrestus are from the Greek East, at Alexandria and Knossos.

The in p.p. stamps listed under OCK type 553 may or may not be products of C. Chrestius (OCK type 550), known to have made both cups and plates. Stamps of Chrestius are mostly attested in the Italian peninsula (57%), notably at Rome. This potter’s stamps—like those of Chrestus—are also attested in the Greek East, once at Alexandria (7.1%), but more frequently in Spain and Gaul (21.4%).

7 Plate foot Fig. 4

Chania no. P7331. Found at Aptera during preliminary cleaning of the southeast part of the gamma-shaped cistern, May 31, 1990.

Max. p.H. 0.02; Diam. foot 0.08 m. Complete foot and part of floor preserved. Ring foot, beveling low and sharp; floor flat, nipple faintly visible on interior

surface, single groove and two sets of double grooves, the outer set with rouletting. Clay reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).

Stamp: CORINT in p.p. with retrograde N, OCK type 608.4: Corinthus, active at Puteoli, a.d. 1–30+; known to have made plates and possibly cups. Most stamps are known from the Italian peninsula (35%), notably at Puteoli. Nevertheless, 20% of the stamps of this potter are from the Greek East, with single examples at Athens, Corinth, and Kenchreai, and also at Berenike.

8 Cup foot Fig. 5

Theater no. P538. Found in the cavea, east of the kiln, in square 10 to south half of square 9, to west half of square 7, layer 1, group 802, July 31, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.018; est. Diam. foot 0.035 m. Part of foot (41%) and wall preserved. Ring foot conical; nipple on exterior surface; floor slightly concave; wall thin;

signs of burning. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).Stamp: CR[.]S[. . .], in a trefoil (OCK frame 572) with an angular, oversize S,

OCK type 698, no exact parallel, possibly Crestus of Pisa/Lyon, 10 b.c.–a.d. 30; known to have made cups, dishes, and plates. The form of the S shows it is not one of the dies in OCK (698.50–51). The percentage of this potter’s stamps known from the Italian peninsula is small (7.6%), including examples from Etruria and Liguria. By contrast, a large percentage of this potter’s stamps (78%) is from Spain, Gaul, and Germany. Only 5.4% of the entries for Crestus are from the Greek East, at Corinth and Athens, Berenike, Alexandria, and Antioch. On Crete, stamps of Crestus are now attested at Knossos, Viannos, and Eleutherna as well as Aptera. The number of stamps naming this potter that have been found at single sites—including 50 from Fréjus (Gallia Narbonensis) and 40 from Vechten (Germania Inferior), as well as 7 from Berenike and 5 from Alexandria—is striking (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]).

Most vessels listed under OCK type 698 are surely attributable to Cn. Ateius Crestus of Pisa (OCK type 285); none of the dies of this type, however, use the angular, oversize S of the Aptera example. A large percentage (81.1%) of the stamps of Cn. Ateius Crestus are from Spain, Gaul, and Germany. Only 2.7% of his stamps are attested in the Greek East, at Corinth and Ptolemais.

9 Dish foot Fig. 5

Aptera no. P203. Found in sector IX, trench A, layer 1, deposit 420 (together with 15, 21, 22), close to the gamma-shaped cistern, in a mixed context, August 1, 1999.

Max. p.H. 0.014; est. Diam. foot 0.052 m. Part of foot (50%) and wall preserved.


Ring foot thick, rather high, beveled on lower part; nipple visible on exterior surface; floor slightly concave; wall slightly rounded. Clay light reddish brown (2.5YR 7/4); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).

Stamp: C.M.R in p.p., OCK type 1067, not an exact parallel: C. M() R(), active at an unidentified location, a.d. 50+; cf. 10; known to have made dishes, plates, and cups. Of the 108 examples of this potter’s stamps, 64.8% come from the Italian peninsula, notably at Rome and Ostia. By comparison, 13.9% are from the Greek East, particularly Corinth (one is a duplicate of 10, according to K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]) as well as Patrai, Athens, Argos, Alexandria, in the Smyrna region, and at Tarsos.

11

9

10Figure 5. Vessels 8–11. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scale

8



Theater no. P951. Found in the metaskenion, south part of square 16 to square 42, layer 2, group 805, June 11, 2009.

Max. p.Th. 0.003; max. dim. H. 0.027 x W. 0.031 m. Flat fragment without preserved profile. Nipple preserved on exterior surface. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red

(10R 5/8).Stamp: CMR, in p.p., OCK type 1067.17: C. M() R(), of unknown location,

a.d. 50+; cf. 9.


Theater no. P635. Found in the metaskenion, south part of square 1 to square 41, layer 2, group 810, August 7, 2008.

Max. p.Th. 0.007; max. dim. H. 0.042 x W. 0.032 m. Flat fragment without preserved profile. Nipple visible on exterior surface. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red

(2.5YR 4/6).Stamp: MÊN, OCK type 1164(?): Meno(), central Italy(?) ca. a.d. 15+;

known to have made cups. Only seven stamps are attributed to Meno(), of which five (71.4%) are from Italy, particularly Rome. This potter is hitherto unattested in the Greek East.

Such a flat fragment could be the floor of a plate rather than a cup (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]). For the same ligature (CMÊ^M), see OCK type 1138.30, C. Memmius of Arezzo, 10 b.c.–a.d. 20; known to have made cups and plates. Of the 69 stamps of this potter, 37.8% are from the Italian peninsula, especially Rome and Ostia in Latium. Four stamps (5.8%) are known from the Greek East, particularly Corinth as well as Alexandria. By comparison, 31.9% of his stamps are attested in Spain, Gaul, and Germany.

12 Cup foot Fig. 6

Theater no. P821. Found in the orchestra, square 29, layer 1, group 801, September 16, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.016; Diam. foot 0.04 m. Foot attachment (86%) and part of wall preserved. Ring foot broken off; nipple visible on exterior surface; floor flat; wall thin,

conical or flaring. Clay reddish yellow (5R 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).Graffito on exterior surface: Γ.Stamp: C.MV^RI in p.p., with back-slanting I, OCK type 1200, no exact parallel:

C. Murius, of unknown location, a.d. 15+; known to have made cups and plates. Cf. C. Mur(), OCK type 1198, esp. die 6 with the rare ligature MV^R but no puncta between C and M. The stamps of C. Murius are not common outside the Italian peninsula (63.2%), where they are found in notable numbers at Rome and Ostia. In the Greek East, this potter’s stamp is attested once, at Alexandria (5.3%). On Crete C. Murius’s stamp is now attested at Lappa as well as Aptera, tripling the number known from the Greek East.

13 Cup foot Fig. 6

Theater no. P829. Found in the west paraskenion, squares 47–48, layer 3, group 844, September 18, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.023; est. Diam. foot 0.04 m. Part of foot (58%) and wall preserved.Ring foot rather thick and high, beveled in middle to lower part; nipple visible

on exterior surface; floor concave, single groove around stamp; wall thick, rounded. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).


13

15

Figure 6. Vessels 12, 13, 15. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scale

12


Stamp: SEX[.]CAL in p.p. (doubly impressed), cf. OCK type 1210.4: Sex. M(urrius) Cal(), of Pisa, a.d. 80–100+; known to have made cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d.), dishes (including Consp. 3.2, a form characteristic of the period after a.d. 50), and plates. Most of his stamps (72%) are from the Italian peninsula, particularly Etruria; a single example is from Liguria. This potter’s stamps are attested four times (16%) in the Greek East, once at Olympia and three times at Paphos.

14 Plate foot Fig. 7

Aptera no. P345/1. Found in sector VII (location 4, Chandaki DEH), trench 4, room 4, layer 2, deposit 661 (together with 18, 32), east of Bath I, close to the tripartite cistern, in a 2nd-century a.d. context, May 2004.

Max. p.H. 0.031; est. Diam. foot 0.086 m. Part of foot (46%) and floor preserved. Ring foot high and thick, beveled on the lower part; nipple visible on exterior

surface; floor flat, two concentric grooves around stamp. Clay reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).

Graffito on exterior surface: M.Stamp: S.MCA.L in p.p., OCK type 1210.5: Sex. M(urrius) Cal(), active at Pisa

a.d. 80–100+; cf. 13.

15 Cup foot Fig. 6

Aptera no. P190/2. Found in sector IX, trench A, layer 1, deposit 420 (together with 9, 21, 22), close to the gamma-shaped cistern, in a mixed context, August 4, 1999.

Max. p.H. 0.020; Diam. foot 0.053 m. Complete ring foot and part of wall preserved.Flat resting surface on foot; nipple visible on exterior surface; floor flat, visible

nipple on interior surface, single groove around stamp; wall concave and rather thin. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8).

Stamp: SEX.M.CL in p.p., OCK type 1211.3 or 4: Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, active at Pisa, a.d. 80+; cf. 16, 17; known to have made cups and plates. Of 23 examples of this potter’s stamps, 65.2% are from the Italian peninsula, notably Etruria and Liguria. In the Greek East three examples (13%) are all from Paphos; the three examples from Aptera double the number known from the Greek East.

16 Cup foot Fig. 8

Theater no. P815. Found inside the skenion, Area Γ, layer 3, group 839, September 23, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.023; est. Diam. foot 0.04 m. Part of foot (56%) and wall preserved. Ring foot slightly beveled on lower part; nipple visible on exterior surface;

floor flat, nipple visible on interior surface, single groove around stamp; wall thin and concave. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).

Stamp: SEXMCL in p.p., too worn for attribution to a die: Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, of Pisa, a.d. 80+; cf. 15, 17.

17 Cup foot Fig. 8

Theater no. P895. Found in the west paraskenion, square(s) 47–48, 56–57, layer 3, pit 4, group 848, September 19, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.016; Diam. foot 0.039 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.


Ring foot slightly beveled on lower part; incision inside foot just above resting surface; floor slightly concave, single groove around stamp; wall thin and flared. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze light red (2.5YR 6/8).

Stamp: SEXMCL in p.p., OCK type 1211, no exact parallel: Sex. M(urrius) Cladus, of Pisa, a.d. 80+; cf. 15, 16.

18 Cup foot Fig. 8

Aptera no. P345/2. Found in sector VII (location 4, Chandaki DEH), trench 4, room 4, layer 2, deposit 661 (together with 14 and 32), east of Bath I, close to the tripartite cistern, in a 2nd-century a.d. context, May 12, 2004.

Figure 7. Vessel 14. Scale of vessel 2:3; profile 1:1; stamp not to scale


Max. p.H. 0.018; Diam. foot 0.05 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot slightly conical; light incisions inside and outside foot; floor concave,

single groove around stamp; wall thin. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 6/6); glaze red (10R 5/6).

Stamp: S^M.F in tabella ansata, OCK type 1212, close to die 11: S(ex.) M(urrius) F(estus), active at Pisa, a.d. 60–150; cf. 19, 20; known to have made cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d.), bowls, dishes (including Consp. 3,

16

18

17



the latest open form of Italian sigillata), and plates. Out of a total of 333 examples, 56.2% are from the Italian peninsula, notably Etruria and Liguria. Only 5.7% of his stamps are attested in the Greek East, including eight from Corinth and one each from Olympia and Athens; six examples are from Berenike, and three from Cyprus. On Crete the stamp is now attested three more times, at Gortyn and Eleutherna as well as Aptera.



Max. p.H. 0.029; est. Diam. foot 0.09 m.Part of foot (62%) and floor preserved.

Figure 9. Vessel 19. Scale of vessel 2:3; profile 1:1; stamp not to scale


20

Figure 10. Vessels 20, 21. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scale

21

Ring foot thick and beveled at the middle; nipple visible on exterior surface, incision inside ring foot; floor flat, two sets of double grooves, the outer with rouletting around stamp; traces of burning. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8).

Graffito on exterior surface, inside ring base: ∆ followed by open <.Stamp: SEX.M.F. in p.p., OCK type 1212.16: Sex. M(urrius)Fes(tus), of Pisa,

a.d. 60–150; cf. 18, 20.

20 Cup foot Fig. 10


Max. p.H. 0.015; est. Diam. foot 0.046 m.Part of foot (61%) and wall preserved. Ring foot with beveling on lower part; nipple visible on exterior surface,

incision where foot attaches to floor; floor slightly concave, with single groove around stamp; wall thin. Clay light red (2.5YR 6/6); glaze red (10R 5/6).

Stamp: SEX.M.F. in p.p. (doubly impressed), OCK type 1212.18: Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus), of Pisa, a.d. 60–150; cf. 18, 19. Die 18 is one of the most common dies (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]).

21 Cup foot Fig. 10


Max. p.H. 0.016; Diam. foot 0.043 m.


Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot with flattened resting surface; floor flat, single groove around stamp;

wall thinnish, slightly flared. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red (10R 5/6).Stamp: SEX.M.P in p.p., OCK type 1213, no exact parallel but may be the

same die as 23: Sex. M(urrius) P(), active at Pisa, a.d. 60–150; cf. 22–25; known to have made cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d., but not Consp. 34, a form dated to Period C), bowls, dishes, and plates. Most of this potter’s stamps are known from the Italian peninsula (55.9%), notably Etruria and Liguria. In the Greek East four of his stamps (3.6%) are attested at Corinth, at Cyrene, in the Smyrna region, and at Paphos. On Crete the stamp is now attested at Gortyn and Lappa as well as at Aptera.



Max. p.H. 0.029; est. Diam. foot 0.09 m.Part of foot (25%) and wall preserved. Foot relatively tall, beveled in the middle; nipple preserved on exterior surface;

floor sags toward the middle, two grooves on the interior floor with rouletting

Figure 11. Vessel 22. Scale of vessel, graffito drawing 2:3; profile 1:1; stamp not to scale


between them are positioned over the foot; wall thin. Clay light red (2.5 YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).

Graffito on exterior surface: ∆.Stamp: SEX.M.P in p.p., OCK type 1213.16: Sex. M(urrius) P(), active at Pisa,

a.d. 60–150; cf. 21, 23–25.

23 Cup foot Fig. 12

Theater no. P808. Found in inside the skenion, Area Γ, layer 3, group 839, September 8, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.021; Diam. foot 0.035 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved. Ring foot lightly beveled at middle but only visible in some places; nipple

visible on exterior surface; floor flat, nipple visible on interior surface, single groove around stamp, not quite meeting; stamp not centered; wall thin and flaring. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red (10R 5/6).

Stamp: SEX.M.P in crescent, OCK type 1213.37: Sex. M(urrius) P(), of Pisa, a.d. 60–150; cf. 21, 22, 24, 25.

24 Cup foot Fig. 12

Theater no. P546. Found in the cavea, square 41, surface layer, August 4, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.013; Diam. foot 0.035 m. Complete foot and part of floor preserved.Ring foot beveled below the middle; floor flat, nipple possibly worn off interior

surface. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).Stamp: SEX.M.P. in p.p., OCK type 1213.16: Sex. M(urrius) P(), of Pisa, a.d. 60–

150; cf. 21–23, 25.


Theater no. P872. Found inside the skenion, in Area B, layer 2, group 833, after removal of a series of stones, September 4, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.020; est. Diam. foot 0.064 m.Part of foot (40%) and floor preserved.Foot relatively tall, beveled below the middle; nipple visible on exterior surface;

floor flat, at least one groove around stamp. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).

Stamp: [S]EXM.P in p.p., with lower stroke of E just visible, OCK type 1213.13: Sex. M(urrius) P(), of Pisa, a.d. 60–150; cf. 21–24.

26 Small platter or plate foot Fig. 13

Theater no. P579/2. Found in the metaskenion, in square 1 to square 41, layer 2, group 818, August 26, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.015; est. Diam. foot 0.04 m. Part of foot (11%) and floor preserved.Ring foot badly broken, with groove near the point where it meets the body;

nipple on exterior surface; floor flat, with single groove surrounding stamp. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (10R 5/8).

Stamp: SEX[. . .] in p.p., deeply impressed on the left, barely if at all toward the center, with lower strokes of X visible; not sufficiently preserved to identify OCK type. Prime candidates are members of the Murrius workshop, which are particularly well represented among stamps found in the theater of Aptera (13–25).


23

24

25



Theater no. P819. Found inside the skenion, in Area Γ, layer 2, group 827, September 2, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.023; est. Diam. foot 0.076 m.Part of foot (8%) and floor preserved.Ring foot high and conical, beveling on the lower part; incision where attached

to body; floor flat, double groove surrounding stamp. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).


Figure 13. Vessels 26–29. Scale1:1; stamps not to scale

27

28

29

26


Stamp: SEX[. . .] in p.p., with upper points of X just visible; not sufficiently preserved to identify OCK type. Prime candidates are members of the Murrius workshop, which are particularly well represented among stamps found in the theater (13–25).


Theater no. P575. From surface collection, near the theater, layer 1, August 19, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.013; est. Diam. foot 0.036 m. Part of foot (60%) and floor preserved.Ring foot conical, incisions on outside and inside of foot; nipple on exterior

surface; floor concave. Clay light red (2/5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).Stamp: I.N.I. in p.p., probably OCK 1223, although all the Ns of the p.p. stamps

are retrograde: I. N() I(), of central Italy, a.d. 15+(?); known to have made plates and cups. All seven of this potter’s stamps are known from Rome; he is hitherto unattested in the Greek East.

29 Cup foot Fig. 13

Theater no. P1002. Found to the west in the seating area, in the south part of square 85 and the extension, layer 1, group 964, west of wall 4, June 29, 2009.

Max. p.H. 0.022; Diam. foot 0.037 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot beveled just above resting surface; floor flat, single groove surrounding

stamp; wall thin and flaring. Clay reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).Stamp: LNON in p.p., with second N oversize, stamp completely filling diam-

eter of circle, glaze worn off letters; cf. OCK type 1276, no exact parallel: L. Nonius, of unknown location, first half of 1st century a.d.; known to have made cups and plates. Of this potter’s six stamps, 83.3% are known from the Italian peninsula, including two from Rome. In the Greek East the stamp is attested once at Berenike (16.7%); our example from Aptera doubles the number of this potter’s stamps known in the Greek East.

30 Cup foot Fig. 14

Theater no. P886. Found west of the west paraskenion, near the retaining wall, in squares 56–57, 70–71, layer 2, group 853, September 29, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.014; est. Diam. foot 0.039 m. Part of foot (25%) and floor preserved.Ring foot with beveling below the middle, nearly worn away; nipple on exte-

rior surface, light incision where foot ring joins body; floor badly worn but possibly a single groove surrounding the stamp. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze yellowish red (5YR 5/8).

Stamp: L.NONF in p.p., with first N larger than second, OCK type 1287, no exact parallel: L. Nonius Flor(entinus), active at Pisa a.d. 120–140; cf. 31; known to have made cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d.), bowls, and plates. Of the 44 stamps known for this potter, 79.5% are from the Italian peninsula, notably Etruria and Liguria. In the Greek East five examples (11.4%) include one from Corinth (Achaia) and four from Paphos.


Aptera no. P56. Collected November 4, 1993, without context. Max. p.Th. 0.009; max. dim. H. 0.027 x W. 0.023 m. Flat fragment without profile.


30

31

33

34

Figure 14. Vessels 30, 31, 33, 34. Scale 1:1; stamps not to scale


Pronounced nipple visible on exterior surface. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 6/6); glaze red (10R 5/8).

Stamp: LNON.F^L in p.p., OCK type 1287, no exact parallel: L. Nonius Flor(entinus), active at Pisa, a.d. 120–140; cf. 30.


Aptera no. P344. Found in sector VII (location 4, Chandaki DEH), trench 4, room 4, layer 2, deposit 661 (together with 14, 18), east of Bath I, close to the tripartite cistern, in a 2nd-century a.d. context, May 11, 2004.

Max. p.H. 0.029; est. Diam. foot 0.13 m. Part of foot (23%) and floor preserved.Ring foot with rather sharp beveling below middle; groove on exterior surface

where ring foot meets body; floor flat, rouletting between a double and a single groove on the floor; scratches on the underside of the floor. Clay reddish yellow (2.5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/6).

Graffito on exterior surface: A.Stamp: C.P.P in p.p., OCK type 1342, no exact parallel: C. P() Pi(sanus), active

at Pisa, a.d. 50–100+; cf. 33; known to have made plates, cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d.), and a chalice. Of this potter’s 229 stamps, 66.8% stamps are attested in the Italian peninsula, notably in Latium, Etruria, and Liguria. Only nine stamps (3.9%) are known from the Greek East and they are widely scattered, at Corinth, Olympia, and Athens, Berenike and Cyrene, Paphos, and Caesarea Maritima. On Crete the stamp is now attested at Gortyn and Lappa as well as twice at Aptera.

33 Plate or dish foot Fig. 14

Theater no. P590. Found in the cavea, east of later kiln, in square 6 to north half of square 5, layer 1, group 802, August 8, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.012; est. Diam. foot 0.058 m. Part of foot (50%) and floor preserved.Ring foot beveled on the lower part; nipple on exterior surface, incision close

to where foot ring meets body; floor slightly concave, with deep groove and two lightly incised grooves (one partial) around stamp. Clay light red (2.5YR 7/6); glaze red (10R 5/8).

Stamp: C.P.P. in p.p., OCK type 1342, different die from 32: C. P() Pi(sanus), of Pisa, a.d. 50–100+; cf. 32.

34 Cup foot Fig. 14

Theater, no. P722/2. Found in the metaskenion, in the south part of square 1 to square 41, layer 2, group 818, August 25, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.016; Diam. foot 0.037 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot with flattened resting surface; nipple visible on exterior surface; floor

flat, with nipple visible on interior surface, single groove surrounding stamp; wall thickish, slightly flaring. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8).

Stamp: L.R.P in p.p., OCK type 1690.47: L. Rasinius Pisanus, of Pisa, a.d. 50– 120; known to have made cups (including Drag. 29, a decorated cup of the 1st century a.d.), bowls, dishes, and plates. In the Italian peninsula 55.2% of his stamps are attested, notably in Latium, Etruria, and Liguria. This is a type well known in the Greek East, where it is frequently found in multiples (K. W. Slane [pers. comm.]): 11 at Corinth, three in Athens, three in Smyrna, six at Berenike, and 12 at Paphos. Elsewhere in the Greek East it is attested at Argos, Delphi, Cyrene, Anemurium, and Tarsos. On Crete the stamp is now attested at Knossos, Kommos, Eleutherna, and Lappa as well as at Aptera.


Figure 15. Vessel 32. Scale 1:1; stamp not to scale 35 Cup or bowl foot Fig. 16

Theater no. P722/1. Found in the metaskenion, in the south part of square 1 to square 41, layer 2, group 818, August 25, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.014; Diam. foot 0.035 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.



Ring foot with flattened resting surface; groove where ring foot meets body; floor concave; wall thin, slightly flaring. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8), badly worn.

Stamp: C.V^V in p.p.; OCK type 2277, no exact parallel: C. V() V(), central Italy, a.d. 15+; known to have made plates and a cup. Three of the four known examples of this stamp are from Rome; the fourth is from Spain. This potter is hitherto unattested in the Greek East.

For the ligature V^V compare C. Va(lerius), OCK type 2293 (C.VÂ|), or C. Um(bricius), OCK type 2440 (C. V^M, retrograde) L. Umbricius also uses this ligature (OCK type 24452.35–37) and is known in the Greek East.

36

37

35


36 Cup foot Fig. 16

Aptera, Railakis Donation no. 96. Collected at Aptera, without context; donated September 2002.

Max. p.H. 0.012; est. Diam. foot 0.036 m. Part of foot (50%) and floor preserved.Ring foot with beveling close to resting surface; grooves where foot meets

body on exterior surface, nipple visible on exterior surface; floor slightly concave, nipple visible on interior surface. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 5/6).

Stamp: CN[. . .] in p.p., not sufficiently preserved to identify OCK type; prime candidates are members of the Ateius workshop (cf. 3), esp. those who sign in p.p. (OCK types 276, 279, 281, 282, 287, 292, 298, 305, 309). Other possibilities are C. Nat(), OCK 1254 (with a puncta between C and N), or one of the C. Numerii, OCK 1301–1304 (some with and some without puncta between C and N).


Theater no. P579/1. Found in the metaskenion, in square 1 to square 41, layer 2, group 818, August 26, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.011; max. dim. H. 0.068 x W. 0.051 m. Part of foot and floor preserved.Ring foot badly broken, rather thick; floor flat but slightly concave toward

center, two single grooves and rouletting around stamp; groove where floor joins body; traces of burning. Clay reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).

Stamp: in p.p.; only toes preserved.

38 Cup foot Fig. 17

Theater no. P995. Found in the proskenion, south of squares 33–34 to 45–46, trial trench 17, layer 2, group 963, pit 14, June 26, 2009.

Max. p.H. 0.017; est. Diam. foot 0.034 m. Part of foot (37.5%) and wall preserved.Ring foot slightly conical, thicker at attachment point than at resting surface;

groove inside attachment; floor slightly concave, three grooves around stamp; stamp impressed over innermost one; wall rather thin in comparison to ring foot. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).

Stamp: in p.p.; only toes preserved.

39 Plate or dish foot Fig. 17

Theater no. P880/1. Found inside the skenion, Area B, squares 17–32, in between two fallen stone pillars (PPK2, PPK3), layer 3, group 858, October 3, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.015; est. Diam. foot 0.06 m.Part of foot (50%) and floor preserved.Ring foot beveled below the middle; grooves where ring foot meets body;

floor concave, single groove around stamp. Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/6); glaze red (2.5YR 4/8).

Stamp: in tabella ansata, but it is difficult to tell whether the upper part is preserved or the lower part. If the upper points of letters are preserved—a diagonal and peak, followed after a small space by two peaks—one possibility is A. M(), OCK type 1059.1 (A M^N in tabella ansata), active at Arezzo a.d. 30+, and probably the same potter as A. Manneius, OCK type 1101, also active at Arezzo, a.d. 30–70. For the latter, cf. 2.


40 Cup foot Fig. 17

Theater no. P880/2. Found inside the skenion, in Area B, squares 17–32, in between two fallen stone pillars (PPK2, PPK3), layer 3, group 858, October 3, 2008.

Max. p.H. 0.014; Diam. foot 0.03 m. Complete foot and part of wall preserved.Ring foot low and conical, incision on resting surface; floor concave; wall thin.

Clay reddish yellow (5YR 7/8); glaze red (2.5YR 5/8), badly worn.Stamp: EPMA, rectangular with somewhat rounded corners: Ἑρμῆς (Hayes

1985, p. 54; Corinth XVIII.2, p. 47, no. 92, citing Heberdey 1906, pp. 170–171, nos. 23–27; and Mitsopoulou-Leon 1972–1975, pp. 509–510, for this spelling); known to have signed plates of Form 6, probably of post-Augustan date and perhaps datable to the 2nd quarter of the 1st century a.d. (Hayes 1985, p. 54).

38

39

40


This appendix presents the current corpus of Italian stamps found on Crete, and is arranged alphabetically, according to the name of the potter. To the 34 stamps included in Kenrick’s revised edition of the Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum and the 39 stamps presented here from Aptera, 74 more can be added from Knossos, Gortyn, Eleutherna, Lappa, as well as from other scat-tered or unknown locations on Crete, for a total of 147 stamps. Thus, with this study, the size of the Cretan corpus has been more than quadrupled.

APPENDIX

corpus of italian stamps attested on crete


APP ENDIX

Name Stamp and ShapeOCK Type

and DieProduction

Center ChronologyReference or

Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

n/a A[. . .] possibly in p.p.


n/a n/a1

Aptera

n/a AVN in p.p. not yet identified

n/a n/a2

Aptera

Amar(antus) AMAR in rectangle 83, without exact parallel

Pisa? a.d. 1+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y17

Knossos 1/17 (5.9%)Knossos 1

C. An(nius) C.AN in p.p. 127, 128, without exact parallel

Arezzo 15 b.c.–a.d. 5 Gortina VI, p. 186, no. 292 [without illustration]

Gortyn 0/37 (type 127);0/17 (type 128)

Sex. Annius (1) SEX/ANN in rectangle


Arezzo 20 b.c.–a.d. 10 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y19

Knossos 14/219 (6.4%)Athens 4Corinth 5Knossos 1Alexandria 1Antioch 1Judaea 2

Arvius ARVI in p.p. 252.6, 7 Arezzo 15 b.c.–a.d. 15+ Baldwin Bowsky 2009, pp. 183–184, no. 19

Eleutherna 1/19 (5.3%)Alexandria 1

C. Arvius C.ARVI in rectangle

C.ARV(I) in p.p.


254.20

Arezzo 15 b.c.–a.d. 15+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y16

Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 183, no. 18

Knossos

Eleutherna

8/75 (10.7%)Corinth 4Knossos 1Alexandria/

Cairo 2Nile Delta 1

Ateius (2) ATEI in rectangle 267.24 Arezzo 15–5 b.c. Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 177, no. 3

Eleutherna 0/419

Ateius (3) ATEI in p.p.

without facsimile, in p.p.

ATEI in rectangle

ATEI in rectangle



268.49


Pisa 15 b.c.–a.d. 30 Sackett 1992, p. 146, no. Y52

Holwerda 1936, p. 40, no. 511

Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 229, no. 44

Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 229, no.45

Knossos

Crete

Lappa

Lappa

11/862 (1.3%)Athens 2Corinth 2Alexandria 2Alexandria/

Cairo 1Berenike 3Tarsos 1

Cn. Ateius (5) CN.A[TEI] in rectangle


Arezzo/Pisa

15 b.c.–a.d. 50+ Warren 1988, p. 91 Knossos 15/435 (3.4%)Corinth 2Alexandria 9Cyrene 1Ephesos 1Arabia 2

Cn. At(eius) A() CN.A.A in round-ended frame

CN.AT.A in p.p.

279.4 Pisa a.d. 30–80 Martin 2006, p. 184, fig. 6

Kelly 2012, p. 466, fig. 4

Gortyn

Eleutherna

2/49 (4.1%)Berenike 2




and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

Cn. Ateius Ar() CN.A.AR in p.p.

CN.A^T.A^R in p.p.

CN.A^T.A^R in p.p.

282.8

282.1


Pisa a.d. 30–80 V. Zographaki (pers. comm.)


3

Lato pros Kamara

Lappa

Aptera

2/47 (4.3%)Athens 1(?)Judaea 1

Cn. Ateius Euhodus (2)

ATEI/EVHODI in rectangle

ATE.EVHO in rounded-ended frame


Pisa 5 b.c.–a.d. 25 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y14

Kelly 2012, p. 466, fig. 3

Knossos

Eleutherna

10/143 (7.0%)Knossos 1Alexandria 1Berenike 2Smyrna region 3Asia Minor 1Tarsos 1Arabia 1

(Cn.) Ateius Rufus [CN.AT ]EIRUF(I) in p.p.

310.5 Pisa? a.d. 15+ Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 178, no. 5

Eleutherna 2/11 (18.2%)Alexandria 2

Avillius AV[illi](?) in oval

AVILLI in p.p


unknown location

20 b.c.–a.d.40 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y8


Knossos

Eleutherna

33/168 (19.6%)Athens 6Corinth 14Kenchreai 1Argos 1Olympia 1Knossos 1Alexandria 5Berenike 3Antioch 1

Bassus (1) BAS/[S]VS in rectangle


Po Valley 10 b.c.–a.d. 10 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y23

Knossos 1/16 (6.3%)Knossos 1

C. Cae() Clem(ens)

C.C.C. in p.p. 475.4 Arezzo a.d. 30+ 4 Aptera 0/28

Calidius (Strigo) (1)

CALID in rectangle



Knossos 4/42 (9.5%)Corinth 1Argos 1Knossos 1Alexandria 1

Camurius [C]AMVR in p.p.

C.AMVURI in p.p.

CAMVRI in p.p.

C.AM(URI) in rounded-ended frame

[CA]MVR(I) in p.p.


514.53

Arezzo a.d. 30–70 Sackett 1992, p. 146, no. Y50

Warren 1988, p. 91

Hood, Warren, and Cadogan 1964, p. 62, n.15



Knossos

Knossos

Khamalevri

Eleutherna

Lappa

86/368 (23.4%)Macedonia 2Patrai 2Athens 14Corinth 30Olympia 4Argos 2Knossos 1Alexandria 12Naukratis 1Berenike 4Smyrna 2Ephesos 1Samos 1Paphos 2Beirut 1Judaea 5Arabia 1Barbaricum

Orientale 1

APP ENDIX—Continued



and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

Q. Castr(icius) Ve() Q. –CA() in p.p. 524 unknown location

a.d. 50+ 5 Aptera 8/43 (18.6%)Athens 1Corinth 5Argos 1Olympia 1

Chrestus (2) CHRESTI in p.p.

CHRES in p.p.

553, without exact parallel (24)

cf. 553.12

unknown location

15 b.c.–a.d. 15+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y1

6

Knossos

Aptera

1/24 (4.2%) Alexandria 1

Clod(ius) Proc(ulus)

CLPRO(CVLI) in p.p.

587.7–9 Arezzo a.d. 40–100 Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 181, no. 13

Eleutherna 10/47 (21.3%)Athens 2Corinth 6Smyrna and

region 2

P. Clod(ius) Proc(ulus)

P.CLO.P. in p.p. 592, without exact parallel

Arezzo a.d. 40–100 ICr IV 542; Chaniotis and Preuss 1990, p. 195, no. 8

Gortyn 24/135 (17.8%)Athens 4Corinth 11Kenchreai 1Argos 2Berenike 1Smyrna and

region 2Paphos 1Judaea 2

Corinthus CORINT in p.p. 608.4 Puteoli a.d. 1–30+ 7 Aptera 4/20 (20%)Athens 1Corinth 1Kenchreai 1Berenike 1

Cornelius (2) [CO]RNELI in p.p.

612.3 and 9 Arezzo a.d. 10–50+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y7

Knossos 9/94 (9.6%)Delphi 1Corinth 6Olympia 1Knossos 1

P. Cornelius (2) P.COR in oval

P.COR in triangle



Warren 1988, p. 90

Knossos

Knossos

8/199 (4.0%)Corinth 4Knossos 1Alexandria 1Judaea 2

Crestus (1) CRESTI in p.p.

CR[ESTI] in p.p.

[- - -]TI in p.p.

CRESTI in p.p.

CR[.]S[. . .] in trefoil


Pisa/Lyon 10 b.c.–a.d. 30 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y11

Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y30

Hood, Warren, and Cadogan 1964, p. 87 and n. 42


8

Knossos

Knossos

Viannos

Eleutherna

Aptera

20/369 (5.4%)Athens 2Corinth 2Knossos 2Berenike 7Alexandria 5Antioch 2




and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

Ennius ENN[- - -] in p.p. 761, without exact parallel

Puteoli a.d. 1+ Hayes 1983, p. 132, no. 203

Knossos 3/13 (23.1%)Alexandria 1 Alexandria/

Cairo 1Bubastis 1

C. Gavius, slave Homullus

C.GAVI HOMULUS in rectangle


unknown location

unknown date ICr II, 30.18 western Crete

0/1

C. Gavius Summacus

CAV/SVM in rectangle


Arezzo? 10 b.c.–a.d. 10 Hayes 1971, p. 264, no. 16

Knossos 1/10 (10%)Knossos 1

Gellius GELL in p.p.

GELLI in p.p.

GELL(I) in p.p.


878.32

Arezzo? a.d. 10–50 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y5

Bannou 2004, p. 897, no. 22


Knossos

Knossos

Lappa

16/343 (4.7%)Athens 4Corinth 5Knossos 1Alexandria 2Smyrna region 2Tarsos 1Antioch 1

L. Gellius L.GELLI in crescent

L.GELL(I) in p.p.


Arezzo? 15 b.c.–a.d. 50 Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y36

Baldwin Bowsky 2009, pp. 179–180, no. 8

Knossos

Eleutherna

22/563 (3.9%)Macedonia 3Athens 3Corinth 11Knossos 1Alexandria 2Berenike 1Tarsos 1

Hilarus HIL? in rectangle 953.15 unknown location

20 b.c.–a.d. 10 Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 229, no. 47

Lappa 3/67 (4.5%)Corinth 2Alexandria 1

M. Iulius M/IVLIVS in circle 998, without exact parallel

Puteoli 10 b.c.–a.d. 10 Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y28

Knossos 4/12 (33.3%)Knossos 1Alexandria 3

n/a L [. . .] in p.p. too broken to identify

n/a n/a Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 183, no. 17

Eleutherna

C. M() R() C.M.R in p.p.

CMR in p.p.

1067 not an exact parallel

1067.17

unknown location

a.d. 50+ 9

10

Aptera

Aptera

15/108 (13.9%)Athens 1Patrai 1Corinth 9Argos 1Alexandria 1Smyrna region 1Tarsos 1

Maecius, slave Vale(n)s

VALES/MAEC(I) in rectangle

cf. 1080–1081, esp. 1081.2

probably Puteoli

probably 10 b.c.+


Eleutherna 2/5 (40%)Alexandria/

Cairo 2(cf. type 1080)

Manneius [-]ANN[- - -] in p.p.

[-]ANN[- - -] in p.p.


Arezzo a.d. 30–70 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y2

Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y32

Knossos

Knossos

2/77 (2.6)% Knossos 2

C. M(ar(ius) C.M.A.R. in p.p. 1113, without exact parallel

unknown location

mid-1st century a.d.


Eleutherna 0/25





and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

C. Marcius CMARC() in p.p. 1118.4 unknown location

a.d. 15+ Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 250, no. 48

Lappa 2/9 (22.2%)Corinth 2

Meno() MÊN in p.p. 1164? central Italy?

ca. a.d. 15+ 11 Aptera 0/7

Metilius METIL(I) in p.p. 1176.1 Arezzo? a.d. 30+ Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 250, no. 49

Lappa 2/9 (22.2%)Corinth 1Olympia 1

L. Milit(ius) [L.M]ILIT(I) in rectangle

1183.2 unknown location

a.d. 15+ Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 177, no. 2

Eleutherna 1/4 (25%)Berenike 1

C. Murius C.MVRI in p.p.

C.MV^RI in p.p.

1200.1

1200

unknown location


12

Lappa

Aptera

1/19 (5.3%)Alexandria 1

C. Murrius C.MURRI in p.p. 1203, without exact parallel

Arezzo a.d. 1–30+ Warren 1988, p. 91 Knossos 4/136 (2.9%)Athens 1Corinth 1Argos 1Alexandria 1

Sex. M(urrius) Cal()

SEX[.]CAL in p.p.

S.MCA.L in p.p.

1210.4

1210.5

Pisa a.d. 80–100+ 13

14

Aptera

Aptera

4/25 (16%)Olympia 1Paphos 3

Sex. M(urrius) Cladus

SEX.M.CL in p.p.

SEXMCL in p.p.

SEXMCL in p.p.

1211.3 or 4

1211, too worn for attribution to a die

1211, not an exact parallel

Pisa a.d. 80+ 15

16

17

Aptera

Aptera

Aptera

3/23 (13%)Paphos 3

n/a SEX.M[.] in p.p. 1212, too badly broken to identify die

n/a n/a Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 182, no. 14

Eleutherna

Sex. M(urrius) Fes(tus)

S.M.F. in oval

S.M.F in tabella ansata

S^M.F in tabella ansata

SEX.M.F. in p.p.

SEX.M.F. in p.p.


1212.8

1212, close to die 11

1212.16

1212.18

Pisa a.d. 60–150 A. Di Vita (pers. comm.)

Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 182, no. ??

18

19

20

Gortyn

Eleutherna

Aptera

Aptera

Aptera

19/333 (5.7%)Athens 1Corinth 8Olympia 1Berenike 6Paphos 2Arsinoe 1

n/a SEXM[. . .] in p.p. 1212, without exact parallel

n/a n/a Kelly 2012, p. 465, figs. 1, 2

Eleutherna




and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

Sex. M(urrius) P() S.M.P. in p.p.

S[E]X.M.P. in p.p.

SEX.M.P. in p.p.

S.M.P in p.p.

SEX.M.P in p.p.

SEX.M.P in p.p.

SEX.M.P in p.p.

SEX.M.P in crescent

SEX.M.P. in p.p.

[S]EXM.P in p.p.


1213.22–34

1213.16

1213, not an exact parallel but may be the same die as 23

1213.16

1213.37

1213.16

1213.12

Pisa a.d. 60–150 Raab 2001, p. 71, no. 90

Gortina V.3.1, p. 38, no. 1; Gortina V.3.2, p. 631, no. 6

Gallimore 2011, p. 263, no. 213

Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, pp. 227–228, no. 40

Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, pp. 227–228, no. 42

21

22

23

24

25

Kydonia

Gortyn

Hierapytna

Lappa

Lappa

Aptera

Aptera

Aptera

Aptera

Aptera

4/111 (3.6%)Corinth 1Cyrene 1Smyrna 1Paphos 1

n/a SE[. . .] in p.p probably 1212 or 1213

n/a n/a Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 228, no. 41

Lappa

n/a SEX[. . .] in p.p.

SEX[. . .] in p.p.

too broken to identify

n/a n/a 26

27

Aptera

Aptera

C. N() C.N in rounded-ended frame

1222.3 central Italy

a.d. 1–30+ Baldwin Bowsky 2009, p. 181, no. 12

Eleutherna 0/11

I. N() I() I.N.I. in p.p. probably 1223 central Italy

a.d. 15+? 28 Aptera 0/1

N. Naevius Hilarus N.N.H in tabella ansata

N.N.H in tabella ansata

1250.2

Puteoli a.d. 1+? OC type 1083g (in-cluded in OCK type 1250)

Sackett 1992, p. 198, no. C1.1

Crete

Knossos

5/28 (17.9%)Knossos 2Berenike 2Samos 1

L. Nonius LNON in p.p. 1276.2 unknown location

1st half of 1st century a.d.

29 Aptera 1/6 (16.7%)Berenike 1





and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

L. Nonius Flor(entinus)

L.NONF in p.p.

L.NON.F^L in p.p.

1287, not an exact parallel


Pisa a.d. 120–140 30

31

Aptera

Aptera

5/44 (11.4%)Corinth 1Paphos 4

C. P. Pi(sanus) C.P.P in p.p.

C.P.P in p.p.

C.P.P in p.p.

C.P.P in p.p.

C.P.P. in p.p.


1342.15


1342.22

Pisa a.d. 50–100+ A. Di Vita (pers. comm.)

Martin 2006, p. 184, fig. 7


32

33

Gortyn

Gortyn

Lappa

Aptera

Aptera

9/229 (3.9%)Athens 1 Corinth 1Olympia 1Berenike 2Cyrene 1Paphos 2Judaea 1

(M.) (Perennius) Bargathes (1)

[B]ARCATE in rectangle

1404.3 Arezzo a.d. 1–30 Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y39

Knossos 4/65 (6.2%)Corinth 3Knossos 1

(M.) (Perennius) Tigranus (2)

TIGRANI in field 1412, without exact parallel

Arezzo 10 b.c.–a.d. 10 Hayes 1983, p. 138, no. 206

Knossos 3/77 (3.9%)Athens 1Corinth 1Alexandria/

Cairo 1

L. Ple() Amar() L.P.A in rectangle 1477, without exact parallel

Pisa? 1st half of 1st century a.d.

Hayes 1983, p. 132, no. 205

Knossos 4/37 (10.8%)Alexandria 4

C. Pom() Fe(lix?) CPO[M]FE(LICIS) in p.p.

1498.1 central Italy

late 1st century a.d. to 1st half of 2nd century

a.d.


Lappa 8/15 (53.3%)Patrai 1Delphi 1Athens 1Corinth 4Olympia 1

Rasinius (2) RASIN in rectangle 1623, without exact parallel

Arezzo 15 b.c.–a.d. 40 Sackett 1992, pp. 144–145, no. Y46

Knossos 37/447 (8.3%)Athens 8Corinth 16Kenchreai 2Knossos 1Alexandria 2Alexandria/

Cairo 2Berenike 1Smyrna region 1Tarsos 1Antioch 1Beirut 1Hama 1

C. Rasinius C+RASI in p.p. 1686, without exact parallel

unknown location

a.d. 15+ Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y33

Knossos 5/36 (13.9%)Corinth 2Alexandria 2




and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

L. Rasinius Pisanus

L.R.P in p.p.

[L.]R.PI in p.p.

L.R.P in p.p.

LRPI.SI in p.p.

[L]RPIS(ANI) in p.p.

LRPIS(ANI) in rectangle

LRASIN(I)PIS(ANI) in p.p.

L.[R].PI(SANI) in p.p.

L.R.P in p.p.


1690.34

1690.32–33

1690.3

1690.15

1690.35

1690.47

Pisa a.d. 50–120 Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y25

Gortina V.3.1, p. 38, no. 2 [citing OC 1365, L. Pomponius Pisanus, whose stamps are all rectangular]

Kommos IV, p. 132, no. 99






34

Knossos

Gortyn

Kommos

Eleutherna

Lappa

Lappa

Lappa

Lappa

Aptera

42/484 (8.7%)Delphi 1Athens 3Corinth 11Argos 1Knossos 1Berenike 6Cyrene 2Smyrna region 3Paphos 12Tarsos 1Anemurium 1

L. Rast(icanus) Pre()

without facsimile, in p.p.


central Italy?

Flavian? Gortina VI, pp. 188– 189, no. 323

Gortyn 6/31 (19.4%)Corinth 2Argos 2Olympia 1Smyrna region 1

T. Rufrenus, slave Rufio

RV[FIO]/T.[RVFR] in rectangle


Arezzo? 15–5 b.c. Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y31

Knossos 1/45 (2.2%) Knossos 1

M.S() Pu(dens?) MSPV in p.p.

MSI in p.p.


Po Valley a.d. 50–70 Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y9

Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y18

Knossos

Knossos

2/16 (12.5%) Knossos 2

Salvius (?) SA[- - -] possibly 1776, but too badly broken to identify

Po Valley (?)

2nd quarter of 1st century a.d.

(?)

Baldwin Bowsky 2009, pp. 180–181, no. 11

Eleutherna 0/16

C. Satrius C(?)SA[- - -] in rectangle

cf. 1797 Po Valley Augustan? Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, pp. 230–231, no. 52

Lappa 0/1





and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

C. Sentius (1) C.SENTI in rectangle


Etruria? 20 b.c.–a.d. 20 Warren 1988, p. 91 Knossos 13/132 (9.8%)Corinth 4Alexandria 1Alexandria/

Cairo 3Smyrna region 1Notion 1Samos 1Arabia 2

Serenus (2) [SER]ENI in rectangle


Puteoli 10 b.c.–a.d. 10 Hayes 1983, p. 132, no. 204

Knossos 5/27 (18.5%)Athens 2Corinth 1Alexandria 1Alexandria/

Cairo 1

Sertorius SERTO in p.p. 1909, without exact parallel

Arezzo a.d. 1–30 Hayes 1971, p. 264, no. 11

Knossos 5/38 (13.2%)Athens 1Alexandria 1Alexandria/

Cairo 1Old Cairo 1BarbOr 1

A. Sestius Dama (1)

A.SESTI/DAMA in rectangle


Arezzo? 20–1 b.c. Warren 1988, p. 91 Knossos 4/20 (20%)Corinth 2Cos 1Antioch 1

Statilia, slave Canopus

CANOPUS/ STATILIAE in rectangle


unknown location

20–1 b.c. Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y21


L. Su() M() L.S.M in p.p. 1999, without exact parallel

Pisa 2nd half of 1st century a.d.

Sackett 1992, p. 145, no. Y27

Knossos 2/29 (6.9%)Knossos 1Judaea 1

L. Titius, slave C(h)ryseros

CRYSE/ROSL.TI(TI) in rounded-ended frame

2212.1 Arezzo? unknown date Baldwin Bowsky 2009, pp. 178–179, no. 6

Eleutherna 0/1

unidentified CV shape difficult to identify

unidentified unidentified unidentified Baldwin Bowsky and Gavrilaki 2010, p. 225, no. 31

Lappa

C. Valerius C.V in p.p. 2293.2, a loose parallel

unknown location


Lappa 0/14

C. V() V() C.V^V in p.p. 2277, without exact parallel

central Italy

a.d. 15+ 35 Aptera 0/4

L. Umbricius, slave Felix

FELIX/VMBR in circle


unknown location

20–1 b.c. Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y20


L. Umbricius H() LVMH in p.p. 2470, without exact parallel

Torrita di Siena

a.d. 50+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y4

Knossos 6/45 (13.3%)Corinth 3Smyrna

region? 1Tarsos 1




and DieProduction


Catalogue No.Cretan

ExamplesOCK Eastern

Occurrences

L. Umbricius H() LVMH in p.p. 2470, without exact parallel

Torrita di Siena

a.d. 50+ Sackett 1992, p. 144, no. Y4

Knossos 6/45 (13.3%)Corinth 3Knossos 1Smyrna

region? 1Tarsos 1

Zoilus(1) ZOILI in field 2543, without exact parallel

Pisa 5 b.c.+ Hayes 1983, p. 138, no. 207

Knossos 0/7

n/a CN[- - -] in p.p. too badly broken to identify

n/a n/a 36 Aptera

n/a

n/a

toes only in p.p.

toes only in p.p.

both too badly broken to identify

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

37

38

Aptera

Aptera

n/a upper or lower points of letters in tabella ansata


n/a n/a 39 Aptera



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OCK = A. Oxé and H. Comfort; revised and enlarged by P. Kenrick, Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum: A Cat-alogue of the Signatures, Shapes, and Chronology of Italian Sigillata (Antiquitas 3.41), 2nd ed., Bonn 2000.

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The Akrotiri Peninsula (BAR-IS 984), Oxford.

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Empire. Papers from the Tenth British Museum Classical Colloquium (BICS Suppl. 55), ed. S. Walker and A. Cameron, London, pp. 219–225.

———. 2004. “Corinth: Italian Sigil-lata and Other Italian Imports to the Early Colony,” in Poblome et al. 2004, pp. 31–42.

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Vrokastro II = B. J. Hayden, with H. Dierckx, G. W. M. Harrison, J. Moody, G. Postma, O. Rackham, and A. B. Stallsmith, Reports on the Vrokastro Area, Eastern Crete 2: The Settlement History of the Vrokastro Area and Related Studies (University Museum Monograph 119), Phila-delphia 2004.

Vrokastro III = B. J. Hayden, M. Hahn, G. W. M. Harrison, J. Moody,

O. Rackham, M. Risser, and A. B. Stallsmith, Reports on the Vrokastro Area, Eastern Crete 3: The Vrokastro Regional Survey Projects: Sites and Pottery (University Museum Mono-graph 123), Philadelphia 2005.

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Martha W. Baldwin Bowsky

Universit y of the Pacificdepartment of religious and classical studies3601 pacific avenuestockton, california 9521 1

mbowsky@pacif ic .edu

Documents

Stamps on Italian Sigillata and the Renaissance of Aptera, Crete