The Busy Countryside of Late Roman Corinth: Interpreting Ceramic Data Produced by Regional Archaeological Surveys

by David K. Pettegrew

Hesperia, Volume 76, Issue 4
Page(s): 743-784
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25068042
Year: 2007
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ABSTRACT:

Using data generated by the Eastern Korinthia Archaeological Survey, the author examines the evidence for the frequently attested "explosion" of Late Roman settlement in the Corinthia, assessing the degree to which the differential visibility of pottery from the Early and Late Roman periods affects our perception of change over time. Calibration of ceramic data to compensate for differences in visibility demonstrates a more continuous pattern of exchange, habitation, and land use on the Isthmus during the Roman era. The author also compares excavated and surface assemblages from other regional projects, and suggests new ways of interpreting the ceramic evidence produced by archaeological surveys.