TITULI PICTI BETA ON DRESSEL 20 AMPHORAE FROM THE COLLECTION OF EMILIO RODRÍGUEZ ALMEIDA FROM MONTE TESTACCIO (ROME)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.13.2.2026.1586Keywords:
amphorae epigraphy, Dressel 20, Baetica, Roman trade, olive oil, Mount TestaccioAbstract
The tituli picti beta found on Dressel 20 amphorae provide information about the merchants involved in the trade of Baetic olive oil. These inscriptions, painted systematically on amphorae, belong to a very specific field of epigraphic study in which the scholar Emilio Rodríguez Almeida excelled. This paper presents data on the history of the collection and epigraphic developments of the tituli picti beta that Emilio Rodríguez Almeida did not publish or was unable to read completely, originating from his prospecting campaigns. The study of this epigraphic treasure from Monte Testaccio in Rome makes it possible to reinterpret or complement his work, deepening our knowledge of Roman merchants of Baetic olive oil through new data, connections, and interpretations. Specifically, the different subtypes of tituli picti beta are analyzed, related to private merchants or to Rome as an agent of these transports from Baetica to the city of Rome. Furthermore, the specimens discussed here, taken out of context from their stratigraphy on the Mount, are related to parallels that are available to us, mainly from Dressel's publications and the latest excavations on the Mount, thanks to which we can obtain other data such as chronology and other associations between merchants, without forgetting the specific epigraphic differences of each inscription.
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