O vinho na Lusitânia : reflexões em torno de um problema arqueológico

Abstract

In ancient times the maximum spread of wine production in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula must have been contemporary with the period of Roman rule. However, the information available in literary sources is scarce. Thus, only archaeological research can provide information on the geography of wine production and the chronology of its introduction and spread. The use of archaeological sources requires the discussion at "visibility" problems which, so far, have received little attention.\n\nAn essay on the history of wine in the area of the Roman province of Lusitania is presented. The data used relate to consumption: the amphorae used in transport, their chronology, volume and geographical distribution.\n\nMost scholars accept that, in southern areas, wine production existed already in pre-Roman times. In Republican times (2nd-1st centuries BC) Italian wine was consumed throughout the western part of Iberia. From the second half of the 1st century BC onwards we notice a remarkable presence of wine amphorae from other parts of Hispania -- some from the South-East (the future Tarraconensis province), most from Andalusia (the future province of Baetica) -- a trend already known in other areas of the Roman empire. In the second half of the 1st century AD a dramatic decay of the long distance wine trade can be seen as evidence that the local production of wine had become widespread throughout the Roman empire. However, there still is some residual circulation of "exotic" wines. A dramatic change occurs simultaneously in the morphology of amphorae, with many local flat-bottom forms produced all over the Roman world. Cities and fish-sauce industrial centres are the major receivers of the Lusitanian local amphorae (Lusitana 3), as they were the places where local production would not suffice to supply their inhabitants and workers. The dominance of local productions continues in the Late Roman Empire. New amphorae, such as Lusitana 9, may be related to the distribution of wine and there is no strong evidence of the appearance of other containers, such as barrels. Exotic productions, previously unknown, are now documented as well. There are important numbers of oriental amphorae, some of them may have been wine containers. This may reflect new consumption patterns associated with the spread of Christianity.

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