,Imported Amphora Frc:igments from Area A. In H. Geva ed. Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusale1n Conducted by Nahn1an Avigad, 1969-1982. Volume 11: The Findsfrom Areas A, W and X-2. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, 2003. Pp. 224-230. CHAPTER SIX (c) IMPORTED AMPHORA FRAGMENTS FROM AREA A Donald T. Ariel INTRODUCTION The finds in this report complement the Greek stamped amphora handles published in the first vol- ume of the Jewish Quarter excavations final report (Ariel 2000). There, the stamped handles derived from all of the excavation areas in the Jewish Quarter excavations, but were restricted to the Greek material. Here we present unstamped fragments from Area A only. In addition, one amphora neck and handle bearing a Latin stamp (A 9) is discussed here. The need to examine unstamped amphora frag- ments as a complement to the often more exact results derivable from the stamped fragments is obvious. Work on amphoras found in the eastern littoral of the Mediterranean has lagged behind more advanced and much better published research regarding finds from western Mediterranean sites (Riley 1979: 112). Amore scientific approach (e.g. Whitbread 1995) may eventually help fill the gap. A summary of Greek amphoras, illustrated with photographs, is Grace 1979a. Empereur and Hesnard 1987 is more up to date and has good line drawings. While all of the stamped handles found in the excavations were brought to my attention, it should be noted that the unstamped fragments were processed less painstakingly. Not all unstamped am- phora fragments from Area A were saved during the excavation. Moreover, those retained underwent further selections by the excavation team in the process of preparing the material for publication. Only fragments from well-stratified contexts, which were believed to be imports, were presented to this author for analysis. Few imported amphora fragments were found in well-stratified contexts in Areas Wand X-2 (e.g., PL S.9:14). While almost a third of the stamped amphora handles come from those two areas, they were mostly found in earth fills: the only archaeological context in the area. The unstamped amphora fragments published here come only from Area A, and complement the mostly earlier stamped material, providing evidence for imports in Strata Sand 4: the late 1st century BCE-1st century CE-the Herodian period. From the well-stratified ceramics, the author was asked to select material for the plates. This mate- rial consists almost exclusively ofrim fragments. In many cases, the typology ofrim fragments alone does not allow for certain identification of the specific amphora class. Such identification is based on the typology of the whole vessel. This is especially true of the Italian/ Adriatic classes whose rims (and wares) are quite variegated within classes, where sometimes the overall size of the amphora and the shape of its body is what distinguishes one class from another. Sometimes the wares of the fragments contribute toward the identification of the provenance of amphoras. The analysis of the stamped amphora material (Ariel 2000) attempted to characterize that mate- [ 224]