Roman lamps in the far Western Mediterranean as evidence of cultural adoptions: between originality and (re)productions

Abstract

The long and complex process of Roman conquest of Hispania, also involves, aside from social, political and administrative issues, a period of cultural integration. In fact, the main artefacts reflect the transmission of some Roman traditions that demonstrates the relations between Romans and locals. The contact with the products brought by Romans promoted the circulation of new types of vessels, but also inspired the local productions. If, on one hand, we can suggest that italic products promoted the ‘Romanity’ of Hispanic populations, on the other, we must consider these artefacts as a symbiosis between two different cultures. We present an overview of the Hispanic productions of Roman lamps, from the 2^nd century BCE to the 1^st century AD, exposing some chronological and typological questions that are relevant to the understanding of the Roman social-cultural adaptation. The more antique lamp (re)produtions are linked to military movements and the conquest of Hispania, but some artefacts show different influences, materialised in lamps with Roman morphologies and local details.

Some strategic settlements will be presented in order to establish a coherent and diachronic perspective of the consumption and production of Roman lamps. This analysis is relevant to the understanding of the evolution of the production of lychonological artefacts in the far Western Mediterranean and its morphological features.