UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Royal Purple or Pickled Fish? The use of analogy for reinterpreting the Roman “Purple Dye Factory” at Tel Dor (Israel) as a salsamenta and garum production facility A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Anthropology by Jackson Thomas Reece Committee in charge: Professor Thomas E. Levy, Chair Professor Geoffrey Braswell Professor Isabel Rivera-Collazo 2020 SIGNATURE PAGE The thesis of Jackson Thomas Reece is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California San Diego 2020 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ..................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................viii ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS ....................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Analogy .............................................................................................................................. 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES ............................................................ 4 Rock-Cut Pools ......................................................................................................................... 6 Water Channels ......................................................................................................................... 8 Rectangular Vats ..................................................................................................................... 10 Oval Basins ............................................................................................................................. 11 Central Building ....................................................................................................................... 12 Central Courtyard .................................................................................................................... 13 Dating and Original Interpretation ........................................................................................... 14 ARGUMENT BY ANALOGY: RELEVANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARALELLS AS ANALOGOUS FORM DATA ............................................................................................................................... 16 Roman Cetariae in Baelo Claudia ........................................................................................... 18 1. Cetaria C.I. I ................................................................................................................. 20 2. Cetaria C.I. IV ............................................................................................................... 21 3. Cetaria C.I. V ................................................................................................................ 22 4. Cetaria C.I. VI ............................................................................................................... 22 5. Cetaria C.I. VII .............................................................................................................. 23 6. Cetaria C.I. X ................................................................................................................ 23 7. Cetaria C.I. XI ............................................................................................................... 23 8. Cetaria C.I. XII .............................................................................................................. 24 9. Discussion of Common Features at Baelo Claudia ...................................................... 24 A Roman Cetaria in Cotta ....................................................................................................... 30 1. Factory Structure and Salting Vats ............................................................................... 31 2. Storage Area ................................................................................................................ 32 3. Tunny Watchtower ........................................................................................................ 32 4. Freshwater Features .................................................................................................... 32 5. Hypocaust System ........................................................................................................ 33 6. Comparing the Features at Cotta with Baelo Claudia .................................................. 33 iv Summary of Features at Fish-Processing Facilities ................................................................ 34 A Note About Piscinae and an Example from Israel ............................................................... 35 ANALYSIS BY ANALOGY: THE CHAÎNE OPÉRATOIRE AS ANALOGOUS FUNCTION DATA .................................................................................................................................................... 39 A History of an Anthropology of Technology ........................................................................... 39 Defining Technology ................................................................................................................ 42 Chaîne Opératoires and the Relationship Between Form and Function ................................. 44 Chaîne Opératoire for Roman Murex-Purple Dye Production from c. 100 BCE – c. 300 CE .. 48 1. Identifying Murex Snail Habitats ................................................................................... 51 2. Capturing the Snails ..................................................................................................... 51 3. Hypobranchial Gland Removal ..................................................................................... 52 4. Soaking the Glands in an Alkaline Solution .................................................................. 52 5. Reducing the Solution over Artificial Heat .................................................................... 53 6. Soaking the Fabric in the Dye ...................................................................................... 54 7. Exposing the Fabric to Sunlight .................................................................................... 54 Chaîne Opératoire for Salsamenta Production from c. 100 BCE – c. 300 CE ........................ 56 1. Identify Fish Migration Channels .................................................................................. 57 2. Catching the fish ........................................................................................................... 58 3. Washing the Fish in Fresh Water ................................................................................. 58 4. Gutting the Fish ............................................................................................................ 60 5. Immediate Transportation of Fish to a Cetaria ............................................................. 60 6. Salting the fish .............................................................................................................. 61 Fish Sauces and Other Byproducts of Salsamenta Production .............................................. 62 Salt Production in Antiquity ..................................................................................................... 66 REINTERPRETING THE FUNCTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX ................................. 68 Rock-Cut Pools: Hatching Piscinae, Salt Pans, or Washing Basins ....................................... 70 Water Channels: Saltwater Mixing and Freshwater Sources .................................................. 73 Rectangular Vats: Fish-Salting ................................................................................................ 75 Oval Basins: Additional Fish-Salting or Garum Production ..................................................... 78 Central Building: Additional Processing Features ................................................................... 80 Central Courtyard: Preparation Area ....................................................................................... 82 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 83 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 85 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Diagram showing the format of the present argument by analogy, in the style proposed by Binford (1967) .......................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2: Regional map of the eastern Mediterranean, with inset map showing the location of the Tel Dor industrial complex (map by J. Reece, data: Esri Imagery Basemap). ........................ 4 Figure 3: Top plan of the industrial area (Raban 1995, Fig. 9.5) .................................................