Why did the ancient world use amphorae?

Question

Why did the ancient world use amphorae?

Answer 1

coz they didn't have plastic bottles

Answer 2

to store wine and possibly other things like water or oil.

In some parts of the world, clay vessels like amphorae are still used for water storage.  They do not have feet or flat bases to rest on, because they are meant to be partially buried in the ground, to keep the water cool.

Answer 3

In fact, the long, pointed bottom of the typical amphora gave it an excellent shape for stacking against a ship's hull, according to Dr. Shelley Wachsmann, a nautical and biblical archaeologist at the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.

"If you visualize three or four amphorae next to each other with the sides touching, there is a hole in the middle where the circles meet," he explained. "If they are stacked in layers, an amphora in the next layer would rest in that hole."

In the evolution of amphorae, Dr. Wachsmann said, they often began rounded and egg-shaped and shifted to pointed, because the long bottom of the brittle pottery jar better withstood the pressure of being pushed sideways.

The ancient shipper made sure his valuable wine or oil was carefully packed, Dr. Wachsmann said. In many shipwrecks, he said, amphorae are found still neatly stacked, though the packing between them has usually disappeared.

Many amphorae have what are called ear handles: small, round handles about as big as the hole made by the thumb and forefinger. "The shape doesn't make sense for carrying," Dr. Wachsmann said, "and although no ropes have been found, some archaeologists think the amphorae were probably tied down in rows through the handles."..

Answer 4

To carry wine and olive oil. Some were reused as cremation urns.

Answer 5

in that era, those items were the only real form of storage/shipping container that was easy to handle and widely available.  over the years boxes and wooden barrels evolved, and then metal containers came into the picture as the technology of time slowly evolved.  todays light weight plastics would be considered a miracle by their standards.  still in use are the amphoras of the ancients for common items like olives and olive oil, and still for the same reason.