Trade in the Ancient World (Patreon)

You may be aware of the intriguing sherd of Samian ware discovered at the Iron Age settlement in Cornwall that we will be digging this year. What on earth was it doing there?

In this general discussion, Tim Taylor and Helen Geake ponder over trade in the ancient world. We know it was happening to some extent. But how might it have worked in practice? How established were international trade networks? What happened before the introduction of coinage? And what can Helen tell us about sources of Alum?

New scientific techniques are helping to shed light on some of these questions, while other answers remain more enigmatic...

This is an open debate so, as usual, we welcome your input in the comments section below.