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2.2. Dressel 1 amphoras

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Typology
Cylindrical amphora with angular shoulders and long straight handles, generally oval in section. There are two sub-categories:
DR1A
Short triangular rim with short spike.
DR1B
Collared rim with longer, slightly flared, spike.
Commonly stamped on rim or neck; generally small square or rectangular stamps with one or two letters or symbols.
Fabric and technology
Peacock (1971) defines three fabrics. Fabric 1 is the product of a wide geographical region and varies in detail; generally red or light red with a white or cream slip, hard, with inclusions of quartz, feldspar, and occasional black grains and composite rock fragments. The most characteristic (fabric 2) ware is dark brick-red (Munsell 10R 6/8) with white or off-white slipped surfaces (Munsell 10YR 7/1 or 8/2) abundantly tempered with distinctive `black sand' (identified as green augite). This `black sand' fabric is shared by Pompeian-Red ware 1 (PRW1) Dressel 2-4 amphoras and other coarse wares, e.g. Camulodunum 139 and seems to be a product of the Pompeii-Herculaneum region. Augst TG 12-13
Capacity
24l.
Date
The conventional dates for the production of the Dressel 1A amphora is pre-Caesarian (i.e. pre-50 BC), with the Dressel 1B type appearing shortly before the middle of the 1st century BC. However, it has been argued that this chronology is too late and that the Dressel 1A is essentially a product of the 2nd century BC (Parker 1992, 32). The Dressel 1B was produced until c. 10 BC; the date of the latest tituli picti on the form is 13 BC. The British assemblage includes both the Dressel 1A and 1B variants.
Source
Italy, principally Etruria, Latium and Campania, where numerous kiln sites are recorded. The Dressel 1B form is also produced in different wares in small quantities in Provence and the Rhône valley (Laubenheimer, Odiot and Leclère 1989; Sabir et al. 1983) but the distribution of these vessels is not known.
Contents
Principally wine, including some of the most celebrated crus of antiquity, such as Falernian and Caecuban. A minority carried defrutum, olives, nuts and other products. The contents may be recorded on painted inscriptions on the amphoras.
Distribution
Extensive distribution around the western Mediterranean; very large number of wrecks carrying these amphoras, particularly along the coast of Provence and Liguria (Parker 1992, fig.8). In Gaul, abundant in the Rhône-Saône valley system, and widespread (but thin) on 1st cent. BC sites in the north and west. A few examples on Augustan military sites along the Rhine and in Switzerland. The British distribution is in two parts: the south-west (Dorset, Hampshire) and south-east (Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire). The DR1A is more common in the south-west, rarer in south-east.
Aliases
Augst class 3. Peacock and Williams classes 3 (Dressel 1A, Ostia XX) and 4 (Dressel 1B, Ostia XX, Cam. 181, Callender 1).
References
An extensive literature. Sealey (1985, 21-6) gives a thorough survey, with references. For the petrology and sources: Peacock 1971; Hesnard et al. 1989. For the Gaulish and British distribution: Galliou 1982; Fitzpatrick 1985. The Bibracte collection of Dressel 1 stamps (one of the largest outside the Mediterranean) is reported in Laubenheimer and Rodriguez 1991.
Bibliography

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