QUANTIFYING THE SUPPLY OF ROMAN WINE AND OLIVE OIL IN FRANCE: AN AORISTIC ANALYSIS OF AMPHORAE ASSEMBLAGES

Journal article

Summary: This article analyses the dynamics of Roman olive‐oil and wine production and commerce in present‐day France from the second half of the second century bc to the mid‐fourth century ad, drawing on a corpus of more than 7000 amphorae recovered from Gallic and Romano‐Gallic settlements across the French territory, excluding Alsace. The methodology consists of a quantitative strategy based on aoristic distribution, assessing both regional and chronological trends according to production and settlement chronologies. The results highlight a clear preponderance of Italic wine in Late Republican Gaul, followed by imports from Hispania, before local Gallic wine came to dominate the domestic market and expanded to other provincial contexts. In parallel, the study traces initial Italic olive‐oil imports to southern Gaul, subsequently supplanted by the predominance of Hispanic oil and the growing presence of North African products. The article follows these dynamics up to the mid‐fourth century ad, considering both the impact of the crisis of the third century and the substitution of amphorae by barrels in northern Europe. The statistical methodology applied to this large amphora assemblage allows for a reassessment of production and distribution trends and of the chronological phases of wine and olive‐oil supply in Roman Gaul.

Authors: Hernández, ÁS

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Oxford Journal of Archaeology
• Article number: ojoa.70022
• Publication date: 2026-06-03
• Acceptance date: 2026-04-22
• DOI: 10.1111/ojoa.70022
• EISSN: 1468-0092
• ISSN: 0262-5253
• Language: English