Contacts, exchange and marble supply in Late Antique Ravenna and the port of Classe

Abstract

e article focuses on the commercial mechanism in Late Antiquity with special regard paid to the Late Antique sedes imperii, Ravenna, and its maritime port of Classe from the point of view of qualitative and quantitative analyses of marble and po†ery importation through long-distance trade within the Mediterranean. In the 5th and 6th centuries, Ravenna represented an important political, commercial, and cultural centre, involved in interregional sea trade through its port of Classe, and represented a significant production and redistributive centre. e research is based on archaeological material evidence: the provenance and quantity of imported stone artefacts from the Late Antique complex of S. Severo in Classe, and the provenance of po†ery finds from the harbour area of Podere Chiaviche™a in Classe. e mechanism of commercial exchange of Late Antique Ravenna and Classe with various regions of the Mediterranean is based on the quantitative and qualitative comparison of imported marble and po†ery. e question of the statio marmorum in the port area of Classe is also discussed on the basis of both the archaeological evidence and a comparison with the stone supply from Rome.

Keywords

• marble supply
• pottery
• importation
• commercial exchange
• provenance
• statio marmorum
• late antiquity
• early middle ages
• ravenna
• classe
• rome
• portus.