ABSTRACT
This paper attempts to pinpoint markers that identify Byzantine trade in the 8th century based primarily on archaeological evidence, and in particular on ceramics. The generally accepted picture is of the Mediterranean world system disintegrating c. 700, or shortly before that, into fragmented regional systems.1 The following quotation succinctly conveys the historian’s view of the archaeologist’s contribution to understanding a period that suffers from a paucity of written sources:
This statement appears to be a fair appraisal of the historical situation as revealed by archaeology; it is unquestionably a correct evaluation of the archaeologist’s attitude. Archaeologists have overlooked evidence to show that, far from no pottery being made in the provinces, rather it was being extensively traded. The following argument is based on a review of some 7th-century red-slipped wares leading to the observation that there has been a fundamental flaw in the chronology of important ceramic groups in the 7th to 9th centuries that are vital links in the trade chain.3 Having clarified the nature of the problem and proposed a new chronology, a preliminary survey of its effects on our conception of the
1 As demonstrated in B. Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization (Oxford 2005).
