Finds from Miletus XXVII. Amphora Stamps from the Excavations at Miletus, 1899–2007

Abstract

The Rhodian amphorae stamps from Miletus confirm a finding also suggested by Milesian coins: namely that the years from c. 177 to 161 B.C. represent a highpoint in Milesian trade. To date, Miletus, Phocaea and Panormos have not figured among the numerous production centres of stamped amphorae in the Hellenistic period. Several handles from Miletus now correct this picture.The municipal monogram of Miletus used on the coins, handles bearing the names of coinage officials and/or stephanephors from Miletus, the dating to a period after the Milesian stephanephoria as well as other factors indicate that a number of amphorae stamps originate from Miletus.Two stamps bear the monogram of Phocaea; as to the ethnikon Πaνoρμoς on stamps from Iasos and Miletus, it can probably be related to the harbour of Didyma. Further evidence is provided by the stamped double handles of the Hellenistic period. So far this type of amphorae has been regarded as originating exclusively from Kos, but several handles from Miletus now reveal that transport amphorae with stamped double handles were also produced at Miletus in the Hellenistic period. Further information will be yielded by the results of neutron activation analysis of samples taken from several handles during the 2008 summer campaign.