Massaliota type Amphora

Amphora for the transport of wine produced in Marseille in the VI-II centuries BC.

The Massaliote Type II amphora (often classified as Bertucchi Type 2 or grouped within the broader "Ionian-Massaliote" tradition) is an ancient transport vessel produced primarily by the Greek colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) and surrounding workshops in the Western Mediterranean.

Overview & Chronology
Massaliote amphoras were specifically engineered to export locally produced wine across the Western Mediterranean and deep into Continental Europe (via river routes to Celtic territories), competing aggressively with Etruscan trade networks.
While the earliest Massaliote amphoras (Type I) began emerging in the second half of the 6th century BC, the Type II variant became the dominant commercial vessel during the Classical period, spanning the 5th century BC to the 4th century BC.

Morphological Characteristics
The evolution of the Type II amphora reflects a transition toward standardized, efficient maritime cargo containers:
• Body Shape: A transition from the strictly spherical/pithoid shapes of the early Archaic period toward a more ovoid, elongated body that tapers downward.
• Rim & Neck: It typically features a pronounced rolled or rounded rim resting atop a relatively short, distinct neck.
• Handles: Heavy, thick vertical loop handles attached firmly from the upper neck down to the shoulder.
• Base (Toe): The base tapers down into a prominent, heavy toe designed to anchor the vessels in the sand or within the stacked wooden racks in the hulls of cargo ships.
• Fabric: Characterized by coarse, mica-rich Western Greek clay, frequently lined internally with pitch or resin to waterproof the ceramic pores and prevent the wine from evaporating or spoiling.

Maritime & Archaeological Significance
Type II Massaliote amphoras are crucial chronological markers for Mediterranean shipwrecks and ancient trade routes. A famous example is the Quercianella / Etrusco wreck, where a Massaliote Bertucchi 2B amphora was found fused to an Etruscan vessel via leaked ancient pitch, allowing archaeologists to firmly date the trade voyage to the last quarter of the 5th century BC.

The object is made of quad polygons only with unwrapped and non-overlapping UV.
Two different sets of textures are included (color, ambient occlusion, roughness, specular, normal and bump) to get the same amphora with two different materials.