A Hellenistic fragmentary amphora handle with rectangular inscribed stamp bearing the inscription EΠI APIΣTOMAXOY / AΓ…OY.
 
Circa 4th - 2nd century BC (excavated in Israel).
 
Condition: an intact fragment, stamp very fine.
Length 10.5 cms (4.1 ins)
 
Provenance: Ex Dr. Richard Jaffe, coll., Jerusalem, with Israeli export licence.
 
To the archaeologist amphora stamps are clearly important for establishing chronologies: they are very widespread, are much less subject to damage than coins, and, following more than a century of research, some of them can be dated to the year, even down to the month. They can offer particularly useful clues for economic history and the study of commercial exchanges.
 
Three elements appear regularly in the legends of the stamps, in full or in abbreviated form: Firstly, the name of a magistrate whose purpose was to date the amphora; he could be either the city's eponymous magistrate or a subordinate official; Secondly, the name of someone conventionally described as the 'fabricant' (manufacturer), who played a part in the production of the amphora, but whose precise function is not easy to determine; Thirdly, an ethnic indicating the place of production.