La distribuzione marittima dei laterizi da copertura nel Mediterraneo di epoca romana

Despite being among the most flourishing market segments in the Roman world, the ceramic roofing materials have rarely been subject of attention from the archaeologists, especially with regard to the aspects related to their circulation. It seems clear that, during the Roman period, most of these materials circulated by sea and probably through different forms of navigation. However, of 50 cargoes so far detected in the Mediterranean basin, only a few have been investigated and studied in a complete manner that considers also the morphological, epigraphic and archaeometric data. A catalogue is here proposed of the cargoes of roof tiles and cover tiles in the Mediterranean of Roman times, followed by an analysis of the shipwrecks that includes an outlining of the stowage techniques and an attempt of reconstruction of the types of hulls involved in this transport, along with their tonnage.