MaCAM Project - Material Culture through Ancient and Modern Mediterranean

Research > Sapienza Research Projects > MaCAM Project - Material Culture through Ancient and Modern Mediterranean

Principal Investigator: Antonio F. Ferrandes

Research into the economies and trading systems of the ancient Mediterranean plays a central role in the study of the pre-industrial world. Between the late Republican period and the end of Antiquity, Mediterranean trade networks reached unprecedented levels of structural complexity and volume. Despite the abundance of archaeological evidence, there is still no long-term interpretative framework capable of reconstructing, in an integrated and systematic way, the supply and distribution systems of the different Mediterranean regions. In particular, the scarce epigraphic and literary sources have yet to be fully combined with the much more extensive material record, which is crucial for defining orders of magnitude that would otherwise remain unattainable.

The MACAM Project aims to provide an updated and comprehensive picture of Mediterranean trade dynamics between the sixth century BC and the seventh century AD through a systematic re-examination of available documentary corpora, including newly identified and unpublished contexts. Traditional archaeological approaches are complemented by advanced archaeometric analyses and digital humanities methodologies, alongside innovative solutions for the online publication of contexts and for the dissemination of results to both the scholarly community and the wider public.

The project is based on a multidisciplinary research team and on the development of a new open-source digital infrastructure designed to manage large and heterogeneous datasets, support analytical processes, and facilitate the construction of a coherent narrative on the material culture, economies, and societies of the ancient Mediterranean.

Collaborators:
Giulia Bison (metals specialist); Sara Carraro (conservator); Silvia Fortunati (specialist in wall paintings); Matilde Fortunato (ceramologist); Giordano Iacomelli (ceramologist); Cristina Lemorini (archaeometrist); Barbara Lepri (ceramologist and glass specialist); Alessia Masi (palaeobotanist); Claudia Minniti (archaeozoologist); David Nonnis (epigraphist); Giacomo Pardini (numismatist); Federico Parisi (ceramologist and archaeometrist); Alessandra Pegurri (ceramologist); Martina Revello Lami (ceramologist and archaeometrist); Gabriele Soranna (archaeozoologist); Fincons Group (IT specialists)

Bibliography

V. Cardarelli, Atlante degli stampi su sigillata africana. Tipologia, produzione, circolazione, Roma 2022 (MaCAM, 1).

A.F. Ferrandes, Strade, santuari e domus tra Palatino e Velia nella media età repubblicana (IV-III secolo a.C.). 1. Stratigrafie, contesti, ricostruzioni, Roma 2024 (MaCAM, 2).

Further details about this research:

Research type: Progetto di ricerca medio
Research topic: Material Culture
Fundings: Sapienza - Progetti di ricerca di Ateneo

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