"Archeologia dell'artigianato" nella provincia Sicilia: nuove prospettive di indagine ed il ruolo del Roman Sicily Project

The paper presents a general overview and some preliminary observations on trade in Sicily through ceramic based on the results of the «Roman Sicily Project: Ceramics and Trade» (www.Romansicilyproject.org), a multidisciplinary research project led by the Italian National Research Council and based in the Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali in Catania (Sicily). The paper is based on the investigation of micro and macro areas of Sicily and attempts to establish the economic trend evident from the production and importation of fine tablewares and transport amphorae found in Roman Sicily from the first century AD until the early Byzantine time. Its aim is also to establish some regional economic patterns and to obtain new information about how the local handcraft production and imported ceramics reflect the complex phenomena of long-distance trade within the Mediterranean basin.