Writing Culture and Econoic Life in Late Antique Ephesus

The proposed project will examine approx. 60 newly discovered potsherds with scratched texts retrieved from the ruins of late antique Ephesus (5th7th century CE). They were uncovered during excavations carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI) between the years 2011 and 2015. The new potsherds with scratched texts have been found close together at two sites: on the one hand, in the front of the entrance area of the church that was erected in the 4th/5th century on the foundations (within in the cella) of the Serapeion; on the other hand, in the rooms of the newly excavated late antique residence adjacent to the church of Mary to the south. About half of the incised potsherds were obviously used for writing short business letters, instructions or accounts and should therefore be classified as ostraca. As regards the other half of the pieces we are dealing with owners marks or commercial notations scratched into everyday artefacts (instrumenta domestica), in our case into the surface of (once) functioning ceramic products. A close examination of this new epigraphic material will show that it is of major importance for the study of the writing culture and the economic life in late antique Ephesus. To emphasize the significance of the newly discovered potsherds with scratched texts, the specific aims of the proposed project are as follows: 1.) The preparation of an open access online corpus which will make the new ostraca and inscriptions on pottery available to the public and also include 24 already edited late antique ostraca which have been found at the so-called Lukasgrab and stem from the same historical (economic/ecclesiastical) background. 2.) The presentation of the new ostraca and inscriptions on pottery in an in-depth print article addressing all the questions raised by this material. As ostraca from other regions or cities of Asia Minor have not been published so far, the ostraca from Ephesus add a unique reference material to the already edited evidence for the spread of ostraca in the ancient world. However, the significance of the proposed project is not limited to this aspect: Firstly, the intended online corpus represents a first initiative to digitize epigraphic material from Ephesus (which has great potential for further development). Secondly, from a historical point of view, the new ostraca and inscriptions on pottery indicate lively business activities in the immediate vicinity of ecclesiastical institutions, which is a completely new aspect of late antique city life in Ephesus. Finally, the use of ostraca that is documented in this context provides a major contribution to our understanding of the epigraphic habit in late antique Ephesus.