Societas Via Romana - Discussion Archives

Salvete!

I thought we maybe could start a thread about the specialities of some cities in the ancient Roman Empire.

e.g. What was capua known for? What was Lugdunum known for? What was Athens' speciality? Olives? Olive oil? Cheese? Silver?


Valete,

Locatus Barbatus

Salve Locate
That could prove to be difficult. In order to know this, people must research it and even so, they must find the answer. It can be done, but it would be difficult. Maybe this idea is good for an research project.
Vale
Romulus

Salvete

This question might not be as difficult as one thinks. A few days ago I visite the university's coin collection. The coins of Metapontum very often show a barley ear. This was because Metapontum (in Lucania, Italy) was famous for its barley. Some images of these coins can be seen at the Wildwinds website.

Archaeology also shows the great importance of Athenian pottery throughout the Greek world. Typical Athenian pottery can be found in Spain, France, Africa, Egypt, Greece and the East. Some more information at the website of the Getty Museum.

I will try to find some more information on this topic, I am sure there's more to find.

Valete bene

Aquileia was, apart from being the second largest city in Italy and her major port before Ostia was expanded, known for its signet rings. Its craftsmen, both native and Greek, produced exquisite artworks at at least two factories. Most common are illustrations of gods and goddesses, animals, and mythical scenes. I am personally particularly intrigued by the grylloi - strange depictions of man-monsters - and magical symbols on the signets.

Signets are still being discovered regularly by farmers in Aquileia. Every family has some illegally squirelled away...

Tergestus

Some more interesting items I found on the internet concerning this topic, this time from the Roman period:

A nice map listing the trading products in the Roman empire per province.

Another map (Shockwave) with trading products and trade routes.

A large map with trade information per city/region, and trade routes.


Valete bene