THE RÔLE OF SUPPLY-CHAINS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CROSS-CHANNEL EXCHANGE IN THE ROMANO-BRITISH PERIOD GRAHAM J. BARTON A thesis submitted to the University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Gloucestershire Business School July 2015 ABSTRACT THE RÔLE OF SUPPLY-CHAINS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CROSS-CHANNEL EXCHANGE IN THE ROMANO-BRITISH PERIOD by Graham J Barton This thesis explores the early phases of marketing activity in Britain by investigating the supply-chains through which imports arrived during the Roman period. The study adopts a cross-disciplinary approach which draws on archaeological evidence, as few written records survive from this era. The investigation commences with a review of the structure of the Roman economy, after which the characteristic features of a traditional supply-chain are presented and the rôles and relationships of its key members examined. The empirical evidence relating to cross-channel exchange in the Romano- British period (c. 120 BC-AD 410) is reviewed by means of four product- based case studies; two of which relate to amphorae-borne commodities (olive-oil and wine) and two involve types of ceramic pottery (samian ware and Rhenish-beakers). The contribution of this thesis is to combine methodologies from apparently disparate fields such as archaeology and marketing to enable new questions to be asked of existing data to enhance understanding in each discipline. In addition to using archaeological evidence to trace the evolution of marketing practices in the Romano-British period, the reciprocal aim of the study was to explore ways in which archaeologists may be able to utilize economic and marketing models to offer new insights into their own subject area. i Supply-chain analysis forms the central focus of this thesis. Its main insight is to recognize that through their contacts with clients in both Britain and Gaul, Romano-British and Gallo-Roman merchants must inevitably have gained asymmetric knowledge of market conditions in each location, thus enabling them through their choice of cargoes to control the vital ‘choke- point’ of the channel-crossing. In addition to the principal theme of supply- chain analysis, the inclusion of economic and marketing models such as industrial location criteria (Weber, 1929; Ohlin, 1933) and product-cycle analysis (Vernon, 1966; Wells, 1968) all represent new applications of business theories to the archaeological domain and add to the uniqueness of this research. ii AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Gloucestershire and is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text. No part of the thesis has been submitted as part of any other academic award. The thesis has not been presented to any other educational institution in the United Kingdom or overseas. Any views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University. Signed Date 2/2/2016 iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to the individuals and organisations that have assisted me in the course of preparing this thesis. In particular I am grateful to my two supervisors, Professor Barry Cunliffe (University of Oxford) and Professor Barry Davies (University of Gloucestershire) for the constant support each has given me throughout the course of my studies. Both have been extremely generous in the time they have given me I have benefited greatly from their advice and encouragement. Thanks are also due to Professor Andrew Wilson (University of Oxford) whose concluding remarks at the 4th OXREP conference in October 2008 provided the inspiration for my choice of topic. I am also indebted to Dr Ryan Hughes (University of Buffalo) who provided me with a copy of his unpublished M.A. thesis and Tim Copeland (University of Gloucestershire) who kindly offered to read the final draft of my thesis and offered a number of constructive suggestions as to how it might be improved. I am grateful to both Lisa Brown and Peter Davenport who gave me access to their personal book collections while undertaking this research and to the librarians and inter-library loan team at the University of Gloucestershire provided their support throughout the research. Thanks are due to Louise Clough and Lorna Scott, honorary librarians to the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society (B&GAS), who provided access to the society’s library during the course of my investigation. Finally, special thanks are due to my wife Cathy, for both her patience and forbearance while I have been engaged in this study and the practical help she has provided in carefully proof reading my finished thesis. Any errors or omissions which remain are clearly my own. v vi LIST OF CONTENTS Section Page TITLE PAGE ABSTRACT i AUTHOR’S DECLARATION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v LIST OF CONTENS vii LIST OF FIGURES xix 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 RESEARCH CONTEXT 1 1.1.1 Contemporary Research in Marketing 1 1.1.2 Researching Marketing’s History 2 1.1.3 Choice of Investigative Framework 4 1.2 RESEARCH JUSTIFICATION 8 1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES 10 1.3.1 Research Aims 11 1.3.2 Research Objectives 11 1.4 DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL MODEL 12 1.5 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL PARTICIPANTS 17 1.6 OUTLINE STRUCTURE 18 1.6.1 Research Methodology 18 1.6.2 Context of Exchange within Socially-Embedded 19 Economies 1.6.3 The Structure of Production in the Roman Empire 19 1.6.4 The Rôle of Rome’s State Administered Supply Network 19 1.6.5 Evidence of Mercantile Activities in the Roman Economy 19 1.6.6 The Rôle of Consumers in the Roman Economy 20 1.6.7 Case Studies of Romano-British Ceramic Imports 20 1.6.8 Conclusions 21 vii 2 METHODOLOGY 23 2.1 INTRODUCTION 23 2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 24 2.2.1 Research Philosophy 25 2.2.2 Social Science Research Approaches 26 2.2.3 Historical and Archaeological Research Approaches 27 2.2.4 Mixed Method Research Approaches 27 2.2.5 Critical Realism Approach 28 2.3 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 31 2.3.1 Data Collection Methods 31 2.3.2 Analytical Techniques 33 2.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 33 2.5 TRANSITION 34 3 THE ROMANO-BRITISH ECONOMY 35 3.1 INTRODUCTION 35 3.2 THE ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY ECONOMICS 35 3.3 THE STRUCTURE OF THE MODERN MARKET 36 ECONOMY 3.4 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ROMAN ECONOMY 37 3.4.1 Labour Supply 37 3.4.2 Agricultural Output 39 3.4.3 Household Production 41 3.5 FORMALIST AND SUBSTANTIVIST APPROACHES 43 3.5.1 The Formalist Perspective 44 3.5.2 The Substantivist Perspective 44 3.6 SOCIALLY EMBEDDED AND ECONOMIC 46 EXCHANGE 3.6.1 Reciprocal Exchange 47 3.6.2 Redistributive Transfers 49 3.6.3 Market Exchange 51 3.6.4 The Balance of Reciprocal, Redistributive and Market 55 Exchange viii 3.7 PRIMITIVIST vs MODERNIST INTERPRETATIONS 55 3.7.1 Primitivist Perspectives 56 3.7.2 Modernist Perspectives 57 3.7.3 Intermediate Models 58 3.8 THE CONCEPTS OF NEW INSTITUTIONAL 59 ECONOMICS 3.8.1 Transaction Costs 60 3.8.2 Institutional Developments 60 3.9 DEDUCTIONS 61 4 THE STRUCTURE OF ROMAN PRODUCTION 63 4.1 INTRODUCTION 63 4.2 ROMAN PRODUCTION PATTERNS 64 4.3 AGRICULTURAL SURPLUS 64 4.4 WINE PRODUCTION 65 4.4.1 Harvesting and Grape Selection 66 4.4.2 Juice Extraction 67 4.4.3 Inclusion of Additives 69 4.4.4 Wine Fermentation 70 4.4.5 Racking Wine into Amphorae 71 4.4.6 Maturing Wine Prior to Sale 71 4.4.7 Wine Distribution 72 4.5 OLIVE-OIL PRODUCTION 72 4.5.1 Harvesting and Olive Selection 73 4.5.2 Olive Milling 73 4.5.3 Olive Pressing 74 4.5.4 Oil Separation 76 4.5.5 Oil Distribution 77 4.6 CERAMIC PRODUCTION 77 4.6.1 Bricks and Tiles 78 4.6.2 Amphorae and Dolia 79 4.6.3 Kitchenwares 81 4.6.4 Tablewares 83 4.7 SAMIAN PRODUCTION 86 4.7.1 Chronological Development 87 4.7.2 Samian Production Techniques 88 ix 4.7.3 Application of Potters’ Stamps 89 4.7.4 Scale of Operations 89 4.7.5 Migration of Production Centres 91 4.7.6 Comparative Advantage of Manufacturing Locations 94 4.7.7 Migration from Lyon to Central and Southern Gaul 95 4.7.8 Migration from Central to Southern Gaul 96 4.7.9 Reverse Migration from Southern to Central Gaul 98 4.7.10 Migration from Central to Eastern Gaul 99 4.7.11 Appraisal of the Samian Industry’s Migratory Cycle 100 4.8 DEDUCTIONS 102 5 STATE-ADMINISTERED SUPPLY 105 5.1 INTRODUCTION 105 5.1.1 Roman Provincial Administration 105 5.1.2 Legionary Deployments 108 5.1.3 Taxation and Military Supply 109 5.2 MILITARY SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS 110 5.2.1 Grain 112 5.2.2 Olive-Oil 112 5.2.3 Salt 113 5.2.4 Wine 113 5.2.5 Fish Sauces 114 5.2.6 Leather 115 5.2.7 Metals 115 5.2.8 Pottery 117 5.2.9 Textiles 118 5.3 CAMPAIGN SUPPLIES 118 5.4 SUPPLY NEEDS OF THE ARMY IN PEACETIME 121 5.4.1 Strategic Considerations 121 5.4.2 Self-Sufficiency 123 5.4.3 Access to Local Resources 126 5.4.4 Availability of Provincial Resources 127 5.4.5 Long Distance Supply Requirements 129 5.5 STATE-ADMINISTERED SUPPLY NETWORKS 134 5.6 DEDUCTIONS 136 x 6 MERCHANT ACTIVITIES 139 6.1 INTRODUCTION 139 6.2 MERCHANT INTERMEDIATION 140 6.2.1 Benefits of Intermediation 140 6.2.2 Merchants’ Risks 142 6.3 TYPES OF ROMAN INTERMEDIARY 145 6.3.1 Negotiatores 145 6.3.2 Mercatores 147 6.3.3 Navicularii 149 6.3.4 Nautae 151 6.4 MERCHANTS’ SOCIAL STANDING 152 6.5 PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE ROMAN PERIOD 155 6.6 SECONDMENT OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS 159 6.7 DEVELOPMENT OF PARALLEL SUPPLY-CHAINS 164 6.8 PRIVATE CIVILIAN SUPPLY 167 6.8.1 Down-the-line-trade 168 6.8.2 Entry Gateways 169 6.9 DEDUCTIONS 171 7 ROMANO-BRITISH CONSUMERS 173 7.1 INTRODUCTION 173 7.2