(Phoenician Age)

The term "amphora" indicates a terracotta container with a tapered or globular shape, provided with two handles, used in antiquity to transport liquid (wine, oil) or solid (wheat or other grains) foodstuffs.

In the historical centre of Posada, archaeological research has enabled the discovery of the presence of imported Phoenician and Punic materials, among which the oldest ones date back to between the end of the eighth and the sixth century B.C. and which testify to the existence of trade between Oriental populations and Sardinia.

Among the imported items which relate to Greek trading there are three fragments of type A Corinthian amphorae, used to transport oil (figs. 1, 2, 3).

The first two have two-colour rims; the second fragment also has an enlarged trumpet-shaped neck, an element which can be placed in a Greek colonial context; the last one, however, refers to a handle (fig. 4). The three pieces can be dated between the late seventh and the sixth century B.C. This type of amphorae, amply documented in Olbia, would seem to indicate a hypothetical trade route which mainly concerned the east coast of Sardinia.

Fig. 1 - Type A Corinthian amphora (from CARAVALE, TOFFOLETTI 1998, p. 64).

Fig. 2 - Type A Corinthian amphora (from CARAVALE, TOFFOLETTI 1998, p. 64).

Fig. 3 - Type A Corinthian amphora (from CARAVALE, TOFFOLETTI 1998, p. 64).

Fig. 4 - Fragments from Type A Corinthian amphorae (from SANCIU 2010, Figs. 14-15).