amphoras-msg - 6/16/09 Conical clay storage containers used in Classical times and sporadically into the Middle Ages. NOTE: See also the files: aquamaniles-msg, wine-msg, jugs-pitchrs-lnks, p-tableware-msg, Throwing-Pots-art, pottery-msg, commerce-msg, ceramics-bib, coopering-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: Eadric Anstapa Date: March 28, 2008 6:17:53 PM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] "Period Containers" Stefan li Rous wrote: > Other than for a few days storage, what evidence do you have for wine > being stored in ceramic jars or even jugs before 1600? Huh? Amphora were used to hold, haul, and store everything including wines and were ceramic jars/jugs. Used well into period and certainly way way way pre-period. Whole shipwrecks laden with Amphora that had been filled with wine have been found. Go to the Aphoras project at http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/amphoras/cgi-bin/well? and enter wine as a search term and you'll get plenty of documentation references. -EA From: Eadric Anstapa Date: March 28, 2008 7:11:37 PM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] "Period Containers" Stefan li Rous wrote: > I was actually thinking of storage of wine at table and > such that could be conveniently resealed. Rather than just the larger ones that were used for transport, smaller amphora where also used on the table and in the kitchen that could be resealed. Some had little racks to hand them in, others even had a base where they were freestanding. Like this one: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Anforagrega- atenas.jpg/377px-Anforagrega-atenas.jpg Or like Dressel types 28 or 29. http://www.abc.se/~pa/mar/dressel.htm -EA From: "John Atkinson" Date: March 29, 2008 6:30:33 AM CDT To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] "Period Containers" On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 6:56 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote: > On Mar 28, 2008, at 6:17 PM, Eadric Anstapa wrote: > Thank you. I was actually thinking of storage of wine at table and > such that could be conveniently resealed. But it is a good point that > amphora were used some past Classical times for transporting wine. > That site seems to give 6th century as the latest, and even then only > in the eastern Mediterranean. Not sure why the use of amphora seems > to have dropped off in the beginning of medieval times, unless it has > to do with the general demise of civilization and trade. ODB says amphora are in usage at least through the 13th century and have been found in 10th century sites in Cherson, Pliska, Tomis, and Dinogetia, but in the 14th century begin to be replaced, possibly by barrels (which do not survive). They are used for everything from large-scale shipping to household storage. The Book of the Eparch (10th century) refers to kapeloi (wine merchants) who sell in wine in three measures--stathmoi (30 litrai), angeia, and minai. The mina was 3 litrai. A litra is a unit of weight approx 320g, not sure precisely how that translates into a liquid measure. As for conveniently resealed, I doubt that is going to be an issue given the way even modern Greeks put it away. At any rate, the demise of the amphora in the West is undoubtedly linked to the near-total collapse of sea trade on the Med in the 7th century. I can recommend a good book on the subject. Ioannes Dalassenos From: "Anthony N. Emmel" Date: March 29, 2008 12:38:34 PM CDT To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org Subject: [Ansteorra] Amphorae From: Stefan li Rous <<< But it is a good point that amphora were used some past Classical times for transporting wine. That site seems to give 6th century as the latest, and even then only in the eastern Mediterranean. Not sure why the use of amphora seems to have dropped off in the beginning of medieval times, unless it has to do with the general demise of civilization and trade. Ward-Perkins in his book The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization uses the evidence in arachaelogical digs of pottery, including amphorae, as a clue to the breakdown in trade and production after the fall of Rome. Intersting study. http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Rome-End-Civilization/dp/0192807285/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206812096&sr=1-1 Bernhard von Bruck Rosenfeld Edited by Mark S. Harris amphoras-msg Page 3 of 3