north-african production was based on ancient tradition which could be traced back to the phoenician colony of carthage. phoenician amphorae had characteristic small handles attached directly onto the upper body. this feature becomes the distinctive mark of late-republican/early imperial productions which are then called neo-phoenician. the types produced in tripolitania and northern tunisia are the maña c1 and c2, later renamed van der werff 1, 2, and 3. in the aegean area the types from the island of rhodes were quite popular starting from the 3rd century bc thanks to the local wine production which flourished for long time. this types developed into the "camulodunum" 184, an amphora used for the transportation of the rhodian wine all over the empire. imitations of the dressel 2–4 were produced in the island of cos for the transportation of wine from the 4th bc until the middle imperial times. cretan containers were also popular for the transportation of wine and can be found in the mediterranean from the augustan times until the 3rd century ad. during the late empire north-african types dominated the amphorae production. the so-called african i and ii were widely used from the 2nd until the late 4th century ad. other types from the eastern mediterranean (gaza), such as the so-called late roman 4, became very popular between the 4th and the 7th century ad, while italic productions ceased to exist.