208 TANIA PANAgOU
Ionian Sea (Figure 9.1).^1 Certainly, an exhaustive count of the known stamps,
especially those from the larger groups, is impossible, because new stamps are
published every year. New finds and new publications will always increase the
number of known amphora stamps and increase the totals from a given area.
On the other hand, it is now possible to discern some basic patterns of dis-
tribution, which future discoveries should not alter to any major extent. For
this reason, I hope that an attempt to collect as much data as possible about
amphora stamps and to provide a preliminary analysis of these findings can
point to some tentative conclusions and stimulate further discussion.
As one can see from the map in Figure 9.1, stamped amphoras in mainland
Greece, the islands, the western coast of Asia Minor and the Propontis can now
be assigned to at most fifty-eight cities (or regions). In three cases, the attri-
bution of stamps to cities is doubtful or uncertain: Achilleion, Halicarnassus
and Mylasa (Panagou 2010 : 118–19, 107–10, 317–19). In four more cases, there
are stamped amphoras that remain unpublished or require further study to9.1 Map: Production Centres of Stamped Amphoras, with Approximate Counts of their Stamps.