Book Series Jerash Papers, vol. 5

Hellenistic and Roman Gerasa

The Archaeology and History of a Decapolis City

Achim Lichtenberger, Rubina Raja (eds)

  • Pages: xviii + 390 p.
  • Size:216 x 280 mm
  • Illustrations:196 b/w, 21 col., 31 tables b/w.
  • Language(s):English, French
  • Publication Year:2020

  • € 115,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-58504-8
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  • ISBN: 978-2-503-59019-6
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This volume examines local and imported ceramic wares from Gerasa, exploring this material in a broader cultural and historical context in order to improve our understanding of consumption, trading, and networks in the wider Decapolis area.

Review(s)

« En définitive, on saluera l’énergie des auteurs et leur volonté inébranlable de faire progresser la recherche en offrant à leurs collègues la possibilité de publier les résultats de leurs travaux. » (Laurent Tholbecq, dans Syria, mis en ligne le 15 juin 2021)

BIO

Achim Lichtenberger and Rubina Raja are professors of classical archaeology and directors of the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project. They are the founders of Jerash Papers.

Summary

The Graeco-Roman Decapolis city of Gerasa was a flourishing centre of population from the Late Hellenistic up to the Early Islamic period. It was also home to a vibrant ceramics industry. Kilns found throughout the city, with a concentration in the Hippodrome, suggest that Gerasa was in fact a mass-production centre in the Decapolis region over a number of centuries, manufacturing a vast array of material to suit the changing needs of daily life.

Drawing on finds yielded during excavations by the Danish-German Northwest Quarter Project and other archaeological projects, as well as the research undertaken within the Ceramics in Context project, this volume evaluates the pottery from Gerasa produced in the Late Hellenistic and Roman periods. Typology, development over time, and variations in the Gerasene pottery are explored, and rare examples of imported material are analysed in order to shed light both on the inner workings of the city, and on the networks that extended beyond Gerasa’s walls. The contributions gathered here examine the archaeology and history of Gerasa and assess ceramic remains alongside other finds from both the city and neighbouring urban centres. In doing so, they seek to contextualize this material in a broader cultural and historical context, and to improve our understanding of consumption, trading, and networks in the wider Decapolis area.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations

1. Invisible Pasts, Urban Fates and the Central Role of Ceramics: Gerasa in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods — ACHIM LICHTENBERGER AND RUBINA RAJA

2. Late Hellenistic and Roman Antiochia on the Chrysorrhoas, also Called Gerasa: A Reappreciation of the Urban Development in the Light of the Findings of the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project (2011–2017) — ACHIM LICHTENBERGER AND RUBINA RAJA

3. Ceramics in Cities in Context: An Overview of Published Roman Imperial to Umayyad Pottery in the Southern Levant — PHILIP BES, TOM BRUGHMANS, ACHIM LICHTENBERGER, RUBINA RAJA, AND IZA ROMANOWSKA

4. Les productions céramiques locales de Jerash au début de la période romaine (Ier siècle avant J.-C. – IIe siècle après J.-C.) : influences et diffusion — ANNE-MICHELE RASSON-SEIGNE ET JACQUES SEIGNE

5. La céramique importée à Jerash pendant l’époque romaine (fin Ier siècle avant J.-C. – fin IIIe siècle après J.-C.) : l’apport des fouilles du sanctuaire de Zeus — ANNE-MICHELE RASSON-SEIGNE ET JACQUES SEIGNE

6. Les timbres amphoriques trouvés à Jerash — STEPHANE DUPLESSIS ET FRANCESCA DI NAPOLI, AVANT-PROPOS DE JACQUES SEIGNE

7. Late Antique Ceramic Imports in Gerasa: New Light on the Macellum Finds (with a Special Reference to the Neighbouring Region) — ALEXANDRA USCATESCU

8. Roman-Period Roof Tiles from the Northwest Quarter of Jerash — PHILIP EBELING

9. Pottery from Sanctuaries in the Hinterland of Gadara/Umm Qays (Jordan) — LISA BERGER

10. Pottery from Abila and Gadara — NORA M. VOSS

11. Quantifying Ceramic Trends at Umm el-Jimal — ELIZABETH A. OSINGA

12. Roman City Coins of Gerasa: Contextualizing Currency and Circulation from the Hellenistic to the Late Roman Period — ACHIM LICHTENBERGER AND RUBINA RAJA

Indices