Description

The ancient typology of Greek vases has long been a difficult and important issue of discussion for the scholars of the ancient world. The gap between verba and realia is great, as objects usually come without labels and labels without objects. Thus, not a large number containers may be satisfactorily identified with the corresponding objects. At the same time, the analysis of the technical vocabulary of the containers in the papyri is a desideratum in papyrology. The present study provides a detailed analysis of a representative sample of terms denoting containers used for the transport and storage of spices, food, and medicinal drugs. Papyri are the starting point, as they are a treasure-trove of concrete linguistic information and yield new insights into the nature and the diachronic development of Greek vocabulary. The methodology employed in this study is interdisciplinary. It involves critical and comparative examination of the written sources (papyri, literary passages, inscriptions, tituli picti) and the archaeological artefacts, and allows the revaluation of the entire material at our disposal. This interdisciplinary approach provides a useful tool for the study of the language and material culture of the Graeco-Roman world.

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