Of the estimated 2-3,000 amphora INA
identified only 2 to 3 Rhodian amphoras on board stating that many more could lie within
the pile of amphora and other material. The predominant cargo seems to be Koan wine
carried in amphora like those pictured right in figure 6
 |
Fig. 6: Koan amphora dating from
the 3rd to 1st centuries B.C. The second amphora from the right is the most representative
of the type found at this wreck site.
|
The wine of Kos was admired, but
it was a relatively inexpensive grade, bought in larger quantities; like Rhodian and
Knidian, it sometimes had seawater added as a preservative. Koan stamps occasionally
include the letters KO, short for Koion, but the jars have been chiefly identified by the
Koan coin symbols and the many Koan names in the stamps on the very distinctive
double-barreled handles
 |
Fig. 7: On the Left a Koan amphora
handle stamped with the seal of Dorimachos. On the right a Koan amphora handle stamped
with crab and club, symbols on the coins of Kos.
|
Rhodian amphoras, like those
in figure 8, had a creamy appearance with a peg toe and acutely angled handles. A pair of
stamps which may contain the "rose" or rayed head of the sun god Helios often
marks them. This same image of Helios appeared on Rhodian coins. On Rhodian amphoras the
stamps contain two names, one an endorsement, perhaps by a licensed manufacturer, the
other a date, "in the term of so-and-so" usually an annually appointed official,
the common way of expressing date in antiquity.
Why amphoras were dated is not fully understood. The chief purpose may have been to verify
the amphora as a container of a standard capacity.
 |
Fig. 8: Rhodian amphora from the 3rd Century
B.C.
|
Another purpose may have been
to date the contents, identifying for instance the age or special vintage of finer wines
and the freshness of the cheaper wines that were generally not worth drinking after a
year. Traders and tax collectors had to recognize the make of a jar to know the capacity
within a given tolerance and verify the stated value of the contents. Amphoras varied in
size but generally ranged between 2 and 3 feet tall and held a little less than 7 US
gallons when filled to the brim.
The shaping and marking for easy recognition of these commercial containers provides
important evidence about the history of ancient trade. Ancient trade routes can be
extrapolated from their known point of origin, revealed through the markings and
morphology, to the sites were they have been found. Large collections of intact amphoras
with are relatively rare finds on terrestrial sites. (Fig. 9).
 |
Fig. 9: Pair of rectangular stamps
from the Rhodian manufacturer Agoranax. Dated in the term of Sostratos and in the Month of
Artamitios.
|
