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VERSION:2.0
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CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
X-WR-CALNAME:Lunch Club Series | Network Modelling of Maritime Commerce in 
 the Eastern Mediterranean: Wind\, Wine\, and Markets in late Antiquity
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Pacific Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260907T091131Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_51153565337527
DTSTART:20260128T200000Z
DTEND:20260128T210000Z
DESCRIPTION:Lunch Club provides affiliates of the Stanford Archaeology Cent
 er with a community-oriented forum for engagement with current issues in a
 rchaeology. On January 28\, 2026\,  we will host Dr. Naseem Raad from Amer
 ican University of Beirut\n\nAbstract:\nThe Roman Mediterranean comprised 
 a vast web of interconnected maritime commercial networks operating across
  multiple scales. These trade routes enabled the large-scale distribution 
 of wine\, olive oil\, and other agricultural products transported in ampho
 rae. This talk presents recent research that strives to better understand 
 the decision-making processes of the seafarers who sustained this commerce
 . This work applies geocomputational methods to model the most efficient s
 ailing routes for Roman cargo ships across different times\, days\, and se
 asons. The models are derived from wind and current data\, which are trans
 lated into sailing speeds and\, ultimately\, transport costs. These “nat
 ural” optimal routes are then compared with amphora distributions and hi
 storical evidence from selected port sites which represent the routes that
  were materially realized by ancient mariners. By juxtaposing modeled effi
 ciency with archaeological reality\, this study aims to reveal how environ
 mental conditions\, economic incentives\, and human agency collectively sh
 aped maritime trade in Antiquity.The Roman Mediterranean comprised a vast 
 web of interconnected maritime commercial networks operating across multip
 le scales. These trade routes enabled the large-scale distribution of wine
 \, olive oil\, and other agricultural products transported in amphorae. Th
 is talk presents recent research that strives to better understand the dec
 ision-making processes of the seafarers who sustained this commerce. This 
 work applies geocomputational methods to model the most efficient sailing 
 routes for Roman cargo ships across different times\, days\, and seasons. 
 The models are derived from wind and current data\, which are translated i
 nto sailing speeds and\, ultimately\, transport costs. These “natural”
  optimal routes are then compared with amphora distributions and historica
 l evidence from selected port sites which represent the routes that were m
 aterially realized by ancient mariners. By juxtaposing modeled efficiency 
 with archaeological reality\, this study aims to reveal how environmental 
 conditions\, economic incentives\, and human agency collectively shaped ma
 ritime trade in Antiquity.
GEO:37.425892;-122.16938
LOCATION:Building 500\, Archaeology Center\, 106
SUMMARY:Lunch Club Series | Network Modelling of Maritime Commerce in the E
 astern Mediterranean: Wind\, Wine\, and Markets in late Antiquity
URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.stanford.edu/event/lunch-club-series-network-m
 odelling-of-maritime-commerce-in-the-eastern-mediterranean-wind-wine-and-m
 arkets-in-late-antiquity
CATEGORIES:Lecture/Presentation/Talk
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR