Roman and late antique wine production in the eastern Mediterranean: a comparative archaeological study at Antiochia ad Cragum (Turkey) and Delos (Greece)
Wine was an ever-present commodity that permeated the Mediterranean throughout antiquity; in particular, settlements in the eastern Mediterranean produced substantial quantities of wine for a variety of uses in Late Antiquity. This study devotes itself to the viticulture of two such settlements, Antiochia ad Cragum and Delos, and uses the results of surface survey and excavation to elucidate their potential integration within the agricultural boom of the 5th-7th centuries CE. Interdisciplinary and ethnographic data supplements the main archaeological catalogue in order to provide a well-rounded understanding of production and use. The publication of an excavated vinicultural vat in Rough Cilicia for the first time, along with the first complete discussion of the paleochristian viticultural industry on Delos, underscores the importance of this project.
The bulk of the thesis is devoted to a catalogue of individual vinicultural installations from each site, which includes a detailed analysis and description of their architecture and features. This emphasises the significant quantity of data that such individual analyses can reveal, in terms of construction methods, spatial setting, regional habits in press design and wine production. The remaining chapters combine archaeological features with interdisciplinary data situated within a broad discussion to interpret production at these settlements. This demonstrates how such data can be extrapolated and combined with related evidence to illuminate trends regarding agricultural production, viticultural quantification, religious habits, regional interconnectivity, trade and the economy.
The combined catalogue, analysis and discussion reinforce the noteworthy position viticulture held in Late Antiquity as an agricultural endeavour, socio-cultural and economic factor engrained within eastern Mediterranean settlements.
