Spatial Concentration and Dispersal of Roman Textile Crafts

This chapter discusses the spatial clustering of textile crafts. It starts from the papyrological evidence from Roman Egypt. Tax and property registers show how, in Roman Egypt, textile crafts such as dyeing and fulling were not clustered, but appear to have been more or less equally distributed over the urban quarters. Using modern cluster theory, the chapter argues that this also makes sense, as most textiles are convenience goods, rather than shopping goods, which means that clustering would actually be disadvantageous for entrepreneurs. This leads to a rethinking of the craft-related toponyms known from textual sources, which need to be approached with caution, and to a comparison with medieval Europe, where local governments and guilds, much more than in Roman cities, played an active role in establishing craft clusters.

Archaeology · Biological dispersal · Geography · Sociology · Textile · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · Demography · Environmental Science

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