Editing Amphora (section)

===Ancient Rome===
[[File:Roman Holy Land 1st-3rd century AD lead pilgrim's votive amphora "Ampulla".jpg|thumb|right|Miniature Roman Holy Land 1st–3rd century AD lead pilgrim's votive amphora "Ampulla"]]

By the Roman period utilitarian amphorae were normally the only type produced.

The first type of Roman amphora, Dressel 1, appears in central Italy in the late 2nd century BC.{{sfn|Panella|2001|p=177}} This type had thick walls and a characteristic red fabric. It was very heavy, although also strong. Around the middle of the 1st century BC the so-called Dressel 2-4 starts to become widely used.{{sfn|Panella|2001|p=194}} This type of amphora presented some advantages in being lighter and with thinner walls. It has been calculated that while a ship could accommodate approximately 4500 Dressel 1, it was possible to fit 6000 Dressel 2–4 in the same space.{{sfn|Bruno|2005|p=369}} Dressel 2-4 were often produced in the same workshops used for the production of Dressel 1 which quickly ceased to be used.{{sfn|Panella|2001|p=194}}

At the same time in [[Cuma (Italy)|Cuma]] (southern Italy) the production of the ''cadii cumani'' type starts (Dressel 21–22). These containers were mainly used for the transportation of fruit and were used until the middle imperial times. At the same time, in central Italy, the so-called [[Spello]] amphorae, small containers, were produced for the transportation of wine. On the Adriatic coast the older types were replaced by the Lamboglia 2 type, a wine amphora commonly produced between the end of the 2nd and the 1st century BC. This type develops later into the Dressel 6A which becomes dominant during Augustan times.{{sfn|Bruno|2005|p=369}}

In the Gallic provinces the first examples of Roman amphorae were local imitations of pre-existent types such as Dressel 1, Dressel 2–4, Pascual 1, and Haltern 70. The more typical Gallic production begins within the ceramic ateliers in [[Marseille]] during late Augustan times. The type Oberaden 74 was produced to such an extent that it influenced the production of some Italic types.{{sfn|Panella|2001|p=194}} Spanish amphorae became particularly popular thanks to a flourishing production phase in late Republican times. The ''[[Hispania Baetica]]'' and ''[[Hispania Tarraconensis]]'' regions (south-western and eastern Spain) were the main production areas between the 2nd and the 1st century BC due to the distribution of land to military veterans and the founding of new colonies. Spanish amphorae were widespread in the Mediterranean area during early imperial times. The most common types were all produced in Baetica and among these there were the Dressel 20, a typical olive oil container, the Dressel 7–13, for [[garum]] (fish sauce), and the Haltern 70, for [[defrutum]] (fruit sauce). In the Tarraconensis region the Pascual 1 was the most common type, a wine amphora shaped on the Dressel 1, and imitations of Dressel 2–4.

North-African production was based on an ancient tradition which may be traced back to the [[Phoenicia]]n colony of [[Carthage]].{{sfn|Panella|2001|p=207}} Phoenician amphorae had characteristic small handles attached directly onto the upper body. This feature becomes the distinctive mark of late-Republican/early imperial productions, which are then called neo-Phoenician. The types produced in [[Tripolitania]] and Northern Tunisia are the Maña C1 and C2, later renamed Van der Werff 1, 2, and 3.<ref>Van der Werff 1977-78.</ref> In the Aegean area the types from the island of [[Rhodes]] were quite popular starting from the 3rd century BC due to local wine production which flourished over a long period. These types developed into the ''Camulodunum'' 184, an amphora used for the transportation of Rhodian wine all over the empire. Imitations of the Dressel 2-4 were produced on the island of Cos for the transportation of wine from the 4th century BC until middle imperial times.{{sfn|Bruno|2005|p=374}} Cretan containers also were popular for the transportation of wine and can be found around the Mediterranean from Augustan times until the 3rd century AD.{{sfn|Bruno|2005|p=375}} During the late empire period, north-African types dominated amphora production. The so-called African I and II types were widely used from the 2nd until the late 4th century AD. Other types from the eastern Mediterranean (Gaza), such as the so-called Late Roman 4, became very popular between the 4th and the 7th century AD, while Italic productions ceased.

The largest known wreck of an amphorae cargo ship, carrying 6,000 pots, was discovered off the coast of [[Kefalonia]], an [[Ionian Islands|Ionian]] island off the coast of [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/roman-shipwreck-kefalonia-fiskardo/index.html|title=Biggest ever Roman shipwreck found in the eastern Med|last=Buckley|first=Julia|date=2019-12-16|website=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>