We generally do not consider the critical role that storage plays in our food-supply networks or the risk-buffering this provides until we are confronted with a crisis (the Covid-19 pandemic being a particularly current example). Similarly, if stores are closed, we can order goods online, or if we require excess space for our possessions, we can rent storage space in fridges, lockers or even warehouses. Indeed, a brief pause for thought quickly reveals the fundamental importance of storage in modern life. In the ancient world storage and surpluses were at least as important as they are today. This volume considers storage within the Roman world in its historical, cultural, economic, conceptual and theoretical context. The book provides an innovative, intelligent and highly engaging study of a complex, and often-overlooked, aspect of ancient (and modern) society.
V.O. is a renowned specialist in Roman archaeology, with particular interests in the fields of social and cultural history, craft production, economies and ceramics. V.O.'s How Things Make History. The Roman Empire and its Terra Sigillata Pottery (2016) in some ways sets the tone for the current work in that it examines archaeologically well-represented and mostly quotidian sets of data (pottery in the case of the former and storage in the case of the current work) and reconstructs economic, social and cultural narratives around these material indices. This type of research should serve as an example of what can be done by asking more holistic sets of questions of everyday remains, which all too often are left understudied and gathering dust in archaeological storerooms throughout the Mediterranean and its connected regions.
The volume is composed of seven chapters and an epilogue. Chapter 1, ‘Surplus’, serves the function of an introductory chapter and sets out the agenda for the book by framing concepts of storage and surplus, and how these are manifest globally and across time. Finally, this chapter provides an outline for the rest of the book.
‘Needs/Wants (Matter): Villas in Central Italy’ (Chapter 2) represents the first material-based chapter in the book and presents an economic and cultural analysis of villas and farming in Roman Italy. The material discussed in this chapter focuses mostly on villas from central Italy and addresses ideological and economic tensions between small-scale farming and large villa-farms. This chapter is particularly concerned with observed increases in the size of storage facilities during the early Empire and presents a fascinating section on storage units as objects of display. Another impressive aspect is the consideration of rural water storage, which, while a critical component of farming and production, does not often make it into discussions of rural landscapes in a systematic manner.
‘Future (Practice): Silos and Granaries in Gaul and Iberia’ (Chapter 3) considers case studies mostly from the coastal areas of the Balearic Sea and the Gulf of Lion (such as Emporion and Massilia). This chapter examines changes in practices mostly relating to grain storage and wine production by the inhabitants of these regions between the Iron Age and the Roman era. The relationship between cultural practice and modes of storage, silos and dolia (or local dolia-style vessels) serves as a cautionary tale for archaeologists against being overly rigid with our categorisations. This chapter highlights some of the fascinating and complex dynamics at the interface of local and Roman cultural, economic and social practices.
‘Knowledge (Assemblage): Houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum’ (Chapter 4) and ‘Control (Flow): Warehouses in the Ports of Ostia and Portus’ (Chapter 5) present a fresh set of approaches to some well-trodden Roman archaeological ground. These chapters serve as thematic and methodological complements to one another and consider evidence of Roman storage practices on multi-scalar levels. Private practice and social order are viewed on a household scale in Chapter 4, while Chapter 5 explores the intersection of public and private spheres, also presenting a considered discussion of some important macroeconomic issues (logistics and risk-buffering) in relation to storage facilities at Rome's two main ports.
‘Reproduction (Scale): Family State and Accumulation’ (Chapter 6) shifts towards a more synthetic narrative based around the discussion in the preceding chapters. The key theme of this chapter is the issue of scale, especially how the Roman empire scaled up to meet increased economic demands. V.O. proposes a ‘kaleidoscopic’ model (pp. 166–72) for addressing the issue of scale, which presents the Empire as a series of complex and interlinked systems of production and consumption, from the individual household right up to the Imperial level. Despite the macroeconomic changes that come about with the growth of the Empire, these micro-systems continue to operate within their own spheres with each level (from family scale to large commercial or state scales), retaining sufficient elasticity to enable adaptation to respond to changes in other parts of the system that may not be directly interlinked.
This book is not intended to be a complete and systematic account of storage throughout the Roman empire; rather, it puts some fresh perspectives on an often overlooked, yet critical aspect of Roman society. That said, it raised a few issues in my mind that are worth considering in relation to storage: (1) the focus of Chapter 3 on the coastal areas of the Balearic Sea and the Gulf of Lion struck me as a useful case study for considering cultural change relating to storage practices and imperial growth. Can similar considerations be made for areas of the empire that were more food-critical (and by extension storage-critical) for Rome, places such as Sicily, Baetica, Africa or Egypt? How did the interplay of local/regional practice and imperial growth manifest itself in these critical areas? (2) Related to the latter point about Egypt, grain storage rightfully plays a significant role throughout this book. I was left wondering, however, about the role that storage played in the intermediate links in the chaîne opératoire of Roman grain. For example, while not considered in this study, grain storage at Alexandria or temporary storage on ships (the latter, perhaps, being a partially unanswerable question) represent vital storage-related stages in the Roman grain networks.
The above-mentioned points are not criticisms of the book; rather, they are intended as ideas about potential avenues for future researchers who may be stimulated by this study. The volume is written in a highly engaging style, and despite dealing with some very complex data and theoretical approaches, the themes and arguments remain clear throughout. The volume is richly illustrated with photographs (many taken by V.O.), maps and plans. It will find an audience amongst Roman archaeologists, historians and those with interests in economic and cultural histories/archaeologies alike. This is an outstanding study, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it breaks new ground in the social and economic history of the Roman Empire, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. I will be listing this as essential reading for undergraduate students on my Roman Economy module.
