Duration of the period classical wine amphorae were used

This article examines the length of time Hellenistic and Roman wine amphoraewere used and the exact dating of archaeological assemblages on the basis of amphoraeused as wine containers. For this purpose complexes are used containing several Herakleanor Rhodian stamped amphorae or those on which the date when they were filled with wineis marked. Assemblages in which the amphorae were used only once, i. e. as containersfor wine in transit, are examined separately from those including amphorae which wereused subsequently as vessels. It has been established that amphorae used to transport wineusually did not last longer than 5-7 years (Plate 1). Amphorae used again for secondarypurposes usually survived for between 12 and 20 years and in rare cases even longer(Plates 1 and 2). This makes it possible to date closed complexes of amphorae used justfor transporting wine to within 5-7 years and assemblages of amphorae subsequently usedas vessels generally to within 20 years