Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea

Ben Russell

doi:10.11588/propylaeum.850.c10939

Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

Demand for prestige materials, primarily from major imperially-funded projects but also from locally-funded schemes all around the Roman world, put enormous pressure on the producers of raw materials and, especially, transporters. Big buildings demanded big materials and this had an impact on the infrastructure through which these materials were used and the means of transport employed. But the fashion for stone construction more generally also meant that vast quantities of this material were moved overseas throughout the Roman period. As Knoop and Jones have remarked, in a study on stoneworking in the Middle Ages: ‘apart from the selection of suitable stone, probably the most important problem in connection with the supply of building materials was that of carriage.’1 In this short paper I will consider what the shipwreck evidence reveals about the dynamics of this traffic, focusing on cargoes both big and small, and what they reveal about the commercial mechanisms behind them.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018)
Editors	Jari Pakkanen, Ann Brysbaert
Place of Publication	Heidelberg
Publisher	Propylaeum
Pages	95-108
ISBN (Electronic)	9783969290422
ISBN (Print)	9783969290439
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.850.c10939
Publication status	Published - 8 Dec 2021
Event	19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology - https://www.aiac2018.de/, Cologne/Bonn, Germany Duration: 22 May 2018 → 26 May 2018

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology
Volume	3

Conference

Conference	19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology
Country/Territory	Germany
City	Cologne/Bonn
Period	22/05/18 → 26/05/18

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Cite this

Russell, B. (2021). Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea. In J. Pakkanen, & A. Brysbaert (Eds.), Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018) (pp. 95-108). (Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology; Vol. 3). Propylaeum. https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.850.c10939

Russell, Ben. / Shipments great and small : Moving building materials by sea. Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018). editor / Jari Pakkanen ; Ann Brysbaert. Heidelberg : Propylaeum, 2021. pp. 95-108 (Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology).

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title = "Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea",

abstract = "Demand for prestige materials, primarily from major imperially-funded projects but also from locally-funded schemes all around the Roman world, put enormous pressure on the producers of raw materials and, especially, transporters. Big buildings demanded big materials and this had an impact on the infrastructure through which these materials were used and the means of transport employed. But the fashion for stone construction more generally also meant that vast quantities of this material were moved overseas throughout the Roman period. As Knoop and Jones have remarked, in a study on stoneworking in the Middle Ages: {\textquoteleft}apart from the selection of suitable stone, probably the most important problem in connection with the supply of building materials was that of carriage.{\textquoteright}1 In this short paper I will consider what the shipwreck evidence reveals about the dynamics of this traffic, focusing on cargoes both big and small, and what they reveal about the commercial mechanisms behind them. ",

author = "Ben Russell",

year = "2021",

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editor = "Jari Pakkanen and Ann Brysbaert",

booktitle = "Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018)",

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Russell, B 2021, Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea. in J Pakkanen & A Brysbaert (eds), Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018). Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, vol. 3, Propylaeum, Heidelberg, pp. 95-108, 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn, Germany, 22/05/18. https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.850.c10939

Shipments great and small : Moving building materials by sea. / Russell, Ben.

Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018). ed. / Jari Pakkanen; Ann Brysbaert. Heidelberg : Propylaeum, 2021. p. 95-108 (Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology; Vol. 3).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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AB - Demand for prestige materials, primarily from major imperially-funded projects but also from locally-funded schemes all around the Roman world, put enormous pressure on the producers of raw materials and, especially, transporters. Big buildings demanded big materials and this had an impact on the infrastructure through which these materials were used and the means of transport employed. But the fashion for stone construction more generally also meant that vast quantities of this material were moved overseas throughout the Roman period. As Knoop and Jones have remarked, in a study on stoneworking in the Middle Ages: ‘apart from the selection of suitable stone, probably the most important problem in connection with the supply of building materials was that of carriage.’1 In this short paper I will consider what the shipwreck evidence reveals about the dynamics of this traffic, focusing on cargoes both big and small, and what they reveal about the commercial mechanisms behind them.

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Russell B. Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea. In Pakkanen J, Brysbaert A, editors, Building BIG - Constructing Economies: From Design to Long-Term Impact of Large Scale Building Project. Panel 3.6 (Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World - Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018). Heidelberg: Propylaeum. 2021. p. 95-108. (Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology). doi: 10.11588/propylaeum.850.c10939

Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea

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19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology

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Shipments great and small: Moving building materials by sea

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Access to Document

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19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology

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