The Amphora - The Container of the Ancient World
Standardized containers allows us to transport goods efficiently and in large number across the oceans. What sounds like a modern idea is actually quite old. 2,000 years ago, humans used the same concept for transporting both staple goods and luxuries across the Mediterranean sea and beyond. Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians or Cathargans - many peoples traded goods with each other in the ancient world. One of the most common type of goods were liquids, from wine over olive oil to garum, the popular fish-based condiment of the day. They all needed a way to be stored on a ship. The technology was a kind of bottle made from ceramic, the amphora (plural: amphorae). Also other kinds of food could be stored in the amphorae, like figs or dates from North Africa. ...