Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/12/smashing-success-studying-romes-hill-of-53-million-jars.html
…
10 Likes
Amazing what all those slaves can achieve.
2 Likes
Amphorae are not jars. Their closest modern analogue is a barrel or drum. They’re transport containers.
9 Likes
Well, if you’re gonna be like that then maybe a jug would be a better analogue. They were mostly for shipping, sure, but they were designed to be carried, not rolled. In fact, the pointy bottom is good for making sure they don’t roll far on their own.
Also, the term “amphora” refers to the shape, and though most were just about a third of a person’s height, a lot were smaller for table use and for smaller, more valuable fluids.
I kinda like them, to be honest. At first they seem so impractical, but then it slowly dawns on you just how perfect they were for the job. Their main failings are that they are hard to make with glass, and that they are not ideal for industrial use like bottles, barrels and kegs are.
5 Likes
There’s a very good restaurant built into Monte Testaccio called, Flavio al Velavevodetto. They have a window in the dining area that allows you to see the stacked shards of amphorae.
5 Likes
And a visit by Garret from Told In Stone – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6QxFTExL0
1 Like
Prospectors’ cabins from the Klondike gold rush often feature mounds of rusting tin cans out back, the food and fuel transport containers of their day.
Of course empty cans are a useful resource for making a variety of gadgets.
Sorry, no One Box.
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/18103/19442
2 Likes
Sounds like my brother’s dirty laundry when growing up. Layers of history.
2 Likes
I have no questions. Nope. None.
2 Likes
The Romans knew that they had to dispose of the amphora in an organized manner after the Great Terracotta Dump Fire of 154 BC, when the olive oil impregnated clay caught fire and burned for months. The smell of the olive oil, crushed garlic and other spices enraged the lower classes who survived on plain bread, and there were riots.
/s
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
