To further study these trade networks, we may look into shipping, we may distinguish different historical periods, we may search ancient texts … we may study commodities[1], i.e. try to find out from where they come and where they go (mostly to Rome!).
A literature survey yielded the following:
| GOODS | ROMAN IMPORTS from: |
| Minerals: | |
| white marble, alabaster | Italy (Luna, Volterra), Spain (Ebro valley), Attica (Mount Pentelikon), Naxos, Thasos, Marmara |
| granite | France i.a. |
| pozzolana | Pozzuoli |
| obsidian | Anatolia (central & eastern), Melos, Gyali, Pantelleria, Sardinia (Mt Arci), Lipari, Ponza (Palmarola) |
| turquoise | Sinai (Wadi Maghara, Serabit el-Khadim) |
| lapis lazuli | Syria (from Afghanistan/Bactria) |
| malachite | Cairo (Maadi), Negev (Timna) |
| amethyst | Aswan (Wadi el-Hudi) |
| topaz | Red Sea (St. John’s Island) |
| Metals (ingots): | |
| gold (& electrum) | Ireland (Wicklow Mountain), Britain (Dolaucothi), France (Limousin, Vaulry), Spain NW (Laza, Caurel-Quiroga, Los Ancares, Las Médulas-Teleno-Maragateria-Llamas de Cabrera, Villablino-Las Omanas, Ibias-Tineo, Rio Carrion), Lusitania (Valongo Paredes, Tres Minas-Jales-Boticas), Dalmatia (Crvena Zemlja, Mracaj), Thrace (Pautalia), Dacia (many places around Rosia Montana in Transylvania), Georgia (R Phase), Turkey (Bakla Tepe NW of Ephesos), Cyprus, Nubia |
| silver | Britain (Charterhouse), Lusitania (Aljustrel), Spain (Rio Tinto, Palazuelos, Diogenes, Malaga, Cartagena, Linares), Sardinia (Iglesiente, Domusnovas), Carthage, Dalmatia (Srebrenica), Attica (Laurion), Thrace (Pautalia), Turkey (Ordu, Lesbos, Troad, Milet, Bodrum, Mersin) |
| copper | Ireland (Great Orme, Ross Island, Cork, Wicklow), Britain (Beauport Park, Llanymynech, Nantyrarian), Asturias (Aramo), Lusitania (Aljustrel, Sto Estevao), Huelva (Rio Tinto, Sotiel Coronado), Dalmatia (Majdanpek, Belovode), Attica (Laurion), Thrace (Pautalia, Burgas), Turkey (Trabzon area), Petra (wadi Feynan), Negev (Timna valley, wadi Arabah), Cyprus (Kalavasos, Soli & Skouriotissa), Algeria |
| tin (cassiterite) | Cornwall (Ictis), France (Ploermel), Spain (Laza), Germany (Erzgebirge), Tuscany (Mte Rombolo & Valerio), Dalmatia (Mt Cer), Turkey (Uludag near Bursa, Bakla Tepe NW of Ephesos, Mersin area: Kestel/Göltepe mines)? Syria (from NW Iran & Afghanistan/Bactria)? |
| lead | Britain (Charterhouse, Cornwall), Aquitaine, Spain (Galicia, Palazuelos, Diogenes, Cartagena, Linares), Sardinia (Iglesiente, Domusnovas), Algeria (Arksib, Denaïra), Dalmatia (Srebrenica), Attica (Laurion), Turkey (Mersin area) |
| iron | Britain (Sussex, Cornwall, Great Doward), Aquitaine, Galicia, Algeria, Elba, Dalmatia, Attica (Laurion), Trabzon, Cyprus (Mitsero) |
| raw glass | Egypt (wadi Natrun, Taposiris), Israel (near Dor), and potential places in Italy (beach Piombino-Follonica, beach Policoro-Metaponto, beaches Brindisi-Torre Rinalda), in Spain (outlet of R Guadiana, beach of Aguilas near Cartagena), and in France (Bay of Hyeres) |
| Timber: | |
| cedar | Phoenicia (Byblos) |
| papyrus | Egypt (via Byblos) |
| Ceramics, terracotta: | |
| tiles (tegulae-imbrices) | export only |
| bricks | export only |
| oil lamps | Tunisia (Carthage) |
| Edibles: | |
| wheat | Alexandria, Tunisia, Sicily |
| wine | Greece, Gaul (Rhone valley, Bordeaux), Spain (Tarraconensis, Baetica), Tunisia (Carthage), Levant (Byblos, Gaza), Cyprus, Crete, Aegean (Skopelos, Chios, Samos, Naxos, Thera), Sardinia? Black Sea, Dalmatia, Istria |
| defrutum, siraion, epsima (reduced fruit must) | Baetica, Cyprus? |
| Garum, liquamen (fish sauces) & salsamenta, tarichos (salted fish) | Baetica (Cadix, Cartagena), Lusitania (Lisbon, Troia), Morocco (Lixus, Cotta), Tunisia (Carthage, Nabeul), Gaul (Mareille, Antibes), Libya (Leptis Magna), Black Sea (Crimea, Bithynia) |
| olive oil | Istria, Dalmatia, Sicily, Sardinia, Attica, Samos, Turkey (Ionia, Cilicia), Cyprus, Crete, Levant (Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan), Cyrenaica, North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco), Baetica (Cadix) |
| pepper | India (Muziris on Malabar coast) |
| cinnamon malabathrum | India (by sea via Socotra, and overland via Syria) |
| Luxuries: | |
| ivory | Punt (Red Sea), India |
| perls | Red Sea, Persian Gulf |
| fashioned glass | Dalmatia (Zadar), Germany (Trier), Phoenicia (Sidon), Alexandria |
| silk & cotton | Kos, China & India (via Alexandria, Carthage?) |
| linen | Spain (Xativa) |
| purple dye | Lesbos, Rhodes, Phoenicia (Tyre, Sarepta, Sidon), Tunisia (Jerba, Kerkouane, Carthage), Sicily (Motya), Morocco (Essaouira) |
| frankincense (& myrrh) | Punt (Red Sea), Somalia (Heis, Bosaso), Oman (Salalah) |
| perfume | Alexandria, Cyprus (Kato Pyrgos) |
| ebony, hbony | Punt (Red Sea), Nubia |
| amber | Baltic (overland/rivers to Olbia-Borysthenes, to Hatria & Aquileia, to Marseille) |
| Art: | |
| bronze artwork | Greece |
| marble artwork | Greece |
| terra sigillata, African Red Slip, fineware | Greece (Attic), Tunisia (Sidi Bouzid area) |
| Humans: | |
| slaves | Delos i.a. |
We can summarise this result per country:
| Exporting country | Goods imported by Romans |
| Baltic | amber |
| GB & Ireland | metals |
| Lusitania & Baetica | metals, olive oil, garum, wine, defrutum |
| Cartagena | metals, linen |
| Tarraco | metals from Galicia, marble, wine |
| Gaul (Narbo, Massalia) | metals from UK & Germany, glass from Germany, amber from Baltic, wine, garum |
| Tuscany & Elba | metals, marble |
| Sicily & Lipari | wheat, obsidian, olive oil, purple dye |
| Hatria & Aquileia | amber from Baltic |
| Istria & Dalmatia | metals, olive oil, wine, fashioned glass |
| Greece | silver & copper at Laurion, marble, olive oil, wine, bronze & marble artwork, ceramics |
| Thrace | metals |
| Dacia (Transylvania) | metals |
| Borysthenes & Crimea & Tanais | wheat, garum, amber from Baltic |
| Georgia (R Phase) | gold |
| Anatolia (Trabzon, Nicomedia, Ephesos, Attaleia, Mersin) | metals, obsidian, olive oil |
| Marmara Sea | marble |
| Thasos | metals |
| Lesbos | purple dye |
| Peparethos (Skopelos) | wine |
| Chios | wine |
| Keos (Kea) | silver, lead |
| Delos | slaves |
| Naxos | marble, silver, lead, wine |
| Koufonisia | silver, lead |
| Paros | copper |
| Siphnos | gold, silver, lead (exhausted in Roman times) |
| Milos | obsidian |
| Samos | olive oil, wine |
| Thera (Santorini) | wine |
| Rhodes | purple dye |
| Crete | olive oil, wine |
| Cyprus | metals, olive oil, wine, perfume |
| Cilicia (Mersin) | metals |
| Syria (NW Iran & Afghan./Bactria) | tin, lapis lazuli |
| Levant | timber, metals, raw glass & fashioned glass, purple dye, olive oil, wine at Gaza, gems & perls & spices from Red Sea & Gulf/India |
| Egypt & Sinai | wheat, papyrus, metals & ebony from Nubia, gems, glass, ivory & silk & cotton & incense & spices from Red Sea/India |
| Libya | garum at Leptis Magna, olive oil in Cyrenaica |
| Tunisia | wheat, olive oil, garum, wine, purple dye, ceramics |
| Sardinia | silver, obsidian, olive oil |
| Algeria | metals, olive oil |
| Morocco | garum, olive oil, purple dye |
These tables are probably incomplete. Please help!
Similar studies can be conducted for other cultures: Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Mycenaeans, Minoans, etc. Results are provided in the xls table.
Realise that this result includes only primary imports, i.e. goods needed by the peoples for their own consumption, but does not take into account imports aimed at being re-exported, possibly after some manufacturing. Hence, this is only a first step towards a better understanding of ancient trade networks.
Further to the above-mentioned overview of ancient trades, the following hubs might be defined:
In addition to the four main hubs, the above survey of Roman imports provides a series of ‘regional hubs’, including Carthago Nova, Tarraco[2], Narbo[3], Arelate[4], Puteoli, Syracusa, Aquileia, Athens, Byzantium, Tomis, Crimea, the Tanaïs river area, Nicomedia[5], Ephesus, Rhodes, Attaleia[6], Cyprus, Antioch ad Orontem/Seleucia Pieria, Gaza (if it was more than a place of transit such as Myos Hormos and Berenike), Apollonia of Cyrene, Caesarea Mauretania, Lixus.
In addition to Indian places such as Muziris (Pattanam, north of Cochin), lesser known places such as Omana (possibly located at al-Dur, ed-Dur, in Umm al-Quwain Emirate) and Tylos (Bahrain) should be mentioned here too, in order not to under-estimate ancient traffic in the Gulf to Palmyra and Antioch[7].
A pattern of imbricated networks could be refined almost indefinitely as each regional hub may have its own trade with its hinterland and other nearby smaller ports. Like a fractal that exhibits a repeating pattern displayed at every scale.
Some trade routes
Sailing from cape to cape (cabotage) is the most obvious route for any seafarer, except for those sailing a direct route on offshore waters.
| Goods | Routes |
| Amber from Baltic | R Daugava, R Dniepr, Borysthenes, Bosphorus |
| R Vistula & R Oder, R Morava, Carnuntum (near Vienna), R Danube, Bosphorus | |
| R Vistula & R Oder, R Morava, Carnuntum (near Vienna), Aquileia, Adriatic, Delphi & Corinth & Mycenae, Crete, Levant & Egypt & Cyrene | |
| R Elbe, Prague, Brenner pass, Aquileia, Adriatic, Delphi & Corinth & Mycenae, Crete, Levant & Egypt & Cyrene | |
| R Rhine, Basilia (Basel), R Doubs/Saône/Rhône, Massalia (NB: Basel has same Latin name as Samland: coïncidence? Ships from Samland arrived at Basel …) | |
| R Rhine, R Danube, Bosphorus | |
| Tin from GB | Ictis, La Coruna, Gades |
| Ictis, Burdigala, Narbo | |
| Ictis (?), R Seine (?), R Saône/Rhône, Massalia | |
| Tin from Armorica | Poërmel, R Oust, R Villaine, Pénestin (?), Burdigala, Narbo |
| Tin from Galicia | Laza, R Ebro, Tarraco |
| Laza, R Sil, R Mino, Ourense, Gibraltar | |
| Tin from Anatolia | Uludag near Bursa, Bakla Tepe NW of Ephesos, Mersin area: Kestel/Göltepe mines, Anchialeia, Rhodes & Levant |
| Tin from NW Iran | Antioch, Rhodes & Levant |
| Incense from Dhofar | Moscha area (Salalah), Shabwa, Najran, Mecca, Medina, Petra, Gaza (100% overland) |
| Moscha area (Salalah), Qana, Leuke Kome (al-Wajh?), Hegra (Mada’in Saleh), Petra, Gaza (25% overland) | |
| Moscha area (Salalah), Qana, Berenike or Myos Hormos, Coptos, Alexandria (25% overland/river) | |
| Moscha area (Salalah), Hormuz, Babylon, Antioch (35% overland/river) | |
| Incense from Somalia | Mundus-Mosylium area (Heis-Bosaso), Nubia, Coptos, Alexandria (100% overland/river) |
| Mundus-Mosylium area (Heis-Bosaso), Berenike or Myos Hormos, Coptos, Alexandria (30% overland/river) |
Notes
[1] RICE, C., 2016, “Shipwreck cargoes in the western Mediterranean and the organization of Roman maritime trade”, Journal of Roman Archaeology, 29.
RICE, C., 2011, “Ceramic assemblages and ports”, in Maritime Archaeology and Ancient Trade in the Mediterranean, edt. D. Robinson & A. Wilson, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology Monographs.
BOETTO, G., 2012, “Les épaves comme sources pour l’étude de la navigation et des routes commerciales:
une approche méthodologique”, in: Rome, Portus and the Mediterranean, edt. S. Keay, British School at Rome, Oxbow Books.
GARNIER, N., 2023, “Usines à salaisons de Baelo Claudia (Andalousie, Espagne), un garum aux huîtres dans l’Antiquité tardive”, Les Nouvelles de l’Achéologie, N° 173, Septembre 2023, (p 30-34).
[2] Tarraco may have been the exporting place for metals from the north-western Tarraconensis (Galicia).
[3] Narbo may have been a place of transit of metals from Great Britain sailing to Burdigala.
[4] Arelate may have been a place of transit for goods originating in northern Europe.
[5] Byzantion and Nicomedia were both ancient Greek cities, but they were on each side of the Bosphorus, on different continents: Thracia on the western side, was rather undeveloped, and Asia Minor on the southern side, was highly developed since many centuries. Nicomedia was a major Roman city in the 2nd and 3rd c. AD, while Byzantium was reconstructing after Septimus Severus’ destructions in 195 AD and finally heading for becoming a capital city when renamed Constantinopolis as late as 330 AD.
[6] Pergé was part of the Roman Empire since 188 BC and was the capital city of Pamphylia. It had its own river port some 16 km from the sea, but the seaport of Attaleia could be used when the coast was free of pirates.
[7] SCHÖRLE, K., 2017, “Palmyrene merchant networks and economic integration in competitive markets”, in “Sinews of Empire”, ed. Teigen & Seland, Oxbow Books, (p 147-154).