The evolution of ‘Colchian’ amphoras from ancient Apsaros: the state of current research and future perspectives

Abstract

This paper presents the evolution of the so-called ‘Colchian’ amphoras (also known as ‘Brown-Clay’ or ‘East-Pontic’) discovered at the Roman fort of Apsaros (modern-day Gonio, Georgia). As suggested by the preliminary statistics, including data from seven excavation seasons (2014-2021), these amphoras were the most common category of transport jars used at the fort during both the Early Roman and Byzantine periods. Unfortunately, the exact origin of the different fabric groups as well as their content is unknown, which stresses the need for archaeometric analyses of ‘Colchian’ amphora samples.

Keywords

• roman and byzantine pottery
• colchis
• colchian amphoras
• roman forts