The ERC project aims to rethink the ancient economy: the existential dependence on supply routes via the sea characterised the economy of antiquity and was also a frequent cause of conflict. Using state-of-the-art methods, including statistical analyses from the financial sciences and geoinformatic simulations, Pascal Warnking and his team not only want to deepen our understanding of the maritime economy of antiquity, but also provide insights into today's trade conflicts.
When was blood shed for grain?
‘Our project is about trade conflicts over critical resources in antiquity. How was the supply of grain secured across the sea? To put it more luridly: When was blood shed for grain?’ says Pascal Warnking, summarising his research project. ‘When we look into the Red Sea or the Black Sea, we are still dealing with similar questions today.’
While comparatively much research has been done on the ancient superpowers Athens, Sparta and Rome, the project is investigating the role of Syracuse in Sicily in the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in a case study. ‘The role of Syracuse is particularly interesting in today's multipolar, conflict-ridden world,’ says Warnking. The city owed its power to a combination of natural resources, especially grain, and its strategic location at the most important trading crossroads of the Mediterranean. For centuries, Syracuse pursued consistent strategies in trade and warfare, which were closely interwoven. Pascal Warnking and his team will focus in particular on this connection between trade, geography and war.
Cutting-edge research in Classical Studies at Trier University
‘With the successful acquisition of the ERC Consolidator Grant, Classical Studies at Trier University has once again been able to demonstrate that it plays in the top international league of research,’ says Prof Dr Eva Martha Eckkrammer. At the same time, the University’s President emphasises that the close cooperation with the Leibniz Centre for Archaeology (LEIZA) also contributed to the success of the project.
‘This funding shows how important and fruitful the collaboration between Trier University and LEIZA as a Leibniz Research Museum is,’ emphasises the Director General of LEIZA, Univ-Prof Dr Alexandra W. Busch. ‘The research results of the ERC project will not only enrich the academic world, but will also flow directly into the exhibition of our Museum of Ancient Shipping and other transfer formats. This will make the factors and consequences of trade conflicts understandable and tangible for a wide audience.’
Experiments with antique ship models
Pascal Warnking wants to reconstruct nothing less than the complete budget and balance of trade of Syracuse for this period. To this end, he is working together with the Trier economist Prof Dr Ludwig von Auer. The researchers are using the latest statistical methods and economic models to obtain as complete a picture as possible of the economy of the ancient world. ‘The unusual thing about our project is that it combines very different scientific disciplines and, for example, links Classical Studies with Economics,’ emphasises Warnking.