Dennis Braekmans receives funding from the Byvanckfonds for the research "Regional economy in the ancient Mediterranean: a materials approach to the exchange networks of Carthage (North Africa)."
The ancient city of Carthage (modern Tunisia) developed, from its establishment around 814 BC, into a hub for Mediterranean trade by the end of the 6th century AD. The city became a center of commerce for a large network of colonies in the western Mediterranean. During the late 4th & 3rd century BC, two interconnected artificial harbors (commercial and military) were constructed south of the Punic city.
The project endeavors to reconstruct the provenance and production technology of mercantile material culture as well as explore new ways to identify transfer and change in technological capabilities from the (Late) Punic to Early Roman period. Specific questions include the characterization of locally produced and imported ceramic materials, the identification of single and/or multiple production entities, the constitution of chemical material reference groups and add to the reconstruction of exchange networks and trade capabilities.
The project will be carried out in close collaboration between Leiden University, TU Delft, Leuven University and Harvard University Semitic Museum.
