Granary C113 from Karanis: A Case of Misidentification

Shelby Raynor, Oberlin CollegeFollow

Location

King Building 335

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-28-2017 4:30 PM

End Date

4-28-2017 5:50 PM

Abstract

Grain was the single most important food source for the Roman Empire, and a large portion of grain for the empire was supplied by farming in ancient Egypt. An elaborate system of granaries and transport methods were developed within Egypt to facilitate the movement of grain from Egypt to Rome, however, less is known about the storage processes used to store grain for local use. The ancient settlement of Karanis provides a rare opportunity to study local granaries from this time period. The settlement was excavated in the 1920s and 30s by the University of Michigan and at the time at least 10 large granaries were discovered and documented. It is thought that some of these granaries were part of the processes to move grain to Rome, but some appear to have been used for local grain storage. This project examines granary C113 which was likely a local granary that did not participate in the processes of moving grain to Rome. Through a close examination of the archaeological data, papyri, secondary sources, and GIS data available it becomes clear that C113 was a large granary participating in the local grain economy. Furthermore, the evidence shows that C113 was misidentified as a granary and that it was likely a bakery with provisions for the storage of a large amount of grain.

Keywords:

archaeology, grain, legacy data

Notes

Archaeological Studies Senior Project Panel
Session III, Panel 13 - Archaeological | Studies
Moderator: Amy Margaris, Associate Professor of Anthropology

Major

Latin Literature & Language; Archaeological Studies

Advisor(s)

Chris Trinacty, Classics

Project Mentor(s)

Chris Trinacty, Classics
Drew Wilburn, Archaeological Studies

April 2017

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Apr 28th, 4:30 PM Apr 28th, 5:50 PM

Granary C113 from Karanis: A Case of Misidentification

King Building 335

Grain was the single most important food source for the Roman Empire, and a large portion of grain for the empire was supplied by farming in ancient Egypt. An elaborate system of granaries and transport methods were developed within Egypt to facilitate the movement of grain from Egypt to Rome, however, less is known about the storage processes used to store grain for local use. The ancient settlement of Karanis provides a rare opportunity to study local granaries from this time period. The settlement was excavated in the 1920s and 30s by the University of Michigan and at the time at least 10 large granaries were discovered and documented. It is thought that some of these granaries were part of the processes to move grain to Rome, but some appear to have been used for local grain storage. This project examines granary C113 which was likely a local granary that did not participate in the processes of moving grain to Rome. Through a close examination of the archaeological data, papyri, secondary sources, and GIS data available it becomes clear that C113 was a large granary participating in the local grain economy. Furthermore, the evidence shows that C113 was misidentified as a granary and that it was likely a bakery with provisions for the storage of a large amount of grain.