The barrel

[Eleatic Guest]

New day, new topic.

Was the barrel really a Celtic invention and how widespread was it among the Romans? Did it look like our wine barrels?

[M. Demetrius]

If Romans used wooden barrels, were they cylindrical, or the tapered top and bottom we're more familiar with?

[Martin Moser]

They normally used barrels that looked like an elongated version of modern ones. An interesting one was found in Aquincum / Budapest IIRC, there was a message on it, saying that the wine contained therein was to be treated as customs-free on the basis that it was to go to the valetudinarium for medical purposes.

Some tricks never die out ;-) )

[john m roberts]

When did barrels come into use, both generally and in the Mediterranean specifically? I've wondered about this for some time.

[Viventius]

Found this on Lacus Curtius:

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/enc ... horae.html

By the first century BC, the Romans were distributing wine throughout the Mediterranean in amphorae known as Dressel 1. By the end of the century, this type had been replaced by Dressel 2-4, which were much lighter and had a greater volume-to-weight ratio (as much as 30%). They continued in use until the end of the first century AD, when there was a precipitous drop in wine exports. (The replacement of amphorae, which were airtight, by wooden barrels in the second century AD meant that vintage wines would not reappear until the seventeenth century, with the development of the glass bottle and cork.)

Don't know how correct this is, as there were still amphora around after the 2nd century.

I remember seeing some very tall Roman barrels in the Museum of London (can't find a photo unfortunately)

[Carlton Bach]

Found this on Lacus Curtius:

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/enc ... horae.html

By the first century BC, the Romans were distributing wine throughout the Mediterranean in amphorae known as Dressel 1. By the end of the century, this type had been replaced by Dressel 2-4, which were much lighter and had a greater volume-to-weight ratio (as much as 30%). They continued in use until the end of the first century AD, when there was a precipitous drop in wine exports. (The replacement of amphorae, which were airtight, by wooden barrels in the second century AD meant that vintage wines would not reappear until the seventeenth century, with the development of the glass bottle and cork.)

Don't know how correct this is, as there were still amphora around after the 2nd century.

I remember seeing some very tall Roman barrels in the Museum of London (can't find a photo unfortunately)

Barrels seem to have come into use in the Roman Empire from the Celtic world, but there is no indication they entirely supplanted amphorae. we still have amphorare in Byzantine contexts, The 'Lexikon des Mittelalters' links the gradual replacement of amphorae by barrels in the Middle Ages to the rising influence of Italian maritime cities. BUt depictions from Spain and the Middle East as late as the twelfth century still show wine being stored and served in large pottery containers. Looks like it was a lengthy process.