Amphora

[gfish]

I've been on a Time Team watching kick recently. And it has left me wondering... why were amphora shaped that way?



It seems like a really stupid shape, particularly given their bulk carrier status.

Comments

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Maybe they were intended to be buried in the dirt to keep the contents cool?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

actually Kip says they were set into sand, about 1/3 of the way up their sides--and even carried on ships this way--apparently because ancient Greece didn't have a whole lot of flat surfaces to set large liquid-holders down on.

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Hrm, interesting. That could be a bias of modern thinking on my part. Still seems a bit odd for the Romans, though. They were so obsessed with right angle architecture.