Everything about Amphora totally explained
» This article is about the type of container. For other uses, see Amphora (disambiguation).
An
amphora (plural:
amphorae or
amphoras) is a type of
ceramic vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body. The word
amphora is
Latin, derived from the
Greek amphoreus (αμφορεύς), an abbreviation of
amphiphoreus (αμφιφορεύς), a compound word combining
amphi- ("on both sides", "twain") plus
phoreus ("carrier"), from
pherein ("to carry"), referring to the vessel's two carrying handles on opposite sides.
Amphorae first appeared on the
Lebanese-
Syrian coast around the
15th century BC and spread around the ancient world, being used by the
ancient Greeks and
Romans as the principal means for transporting and storing
grapes,
olive oil,
wine,
oil,
olives,
grain,
fish, and other
commodities. They were produced on an industrial scale from Greek times and used around the
Mediterranean until about the
7th century. Wooden and skin containers seem to have supplanted amphorae thereafter.
They are of great benefit to
maritime archaeologists, as amphorae in a
shipwreck can often indicate the age of the wreck and geographic origin of the cargo. They are occasionally so well preserved that the original contents are still present, providing invaluable information on the eating habits and trading systems of the ancient Mediterranean peoples.
Two principal types of amphora existed: the neck amphora, in which the neck and body meet at a sharp angle; and the one-piece amphora, in which the neck and body form a continuous curve. Neck amphorae were commonly used in the early history of ancient Greece but were gradually replaced by the one-piece type from around the
7th century BC onwards. Most were produced with a pointed base to allow them to be stored in an upright position by being partly embedded in sand or soft ground. This also facilitated transport by ship, where the amphorae were tightly packed together, with ropes passed through their handles to prevent breaking or toppling during a rough sea voyage.
Amphorae varied greatly in height. The largest could stand as much as 1.5 m (5 ft) high, while some were under 30 cm (12 inches) high - the smallest were called
amphoriskoi (literally "little amphorae"). Most were around 45 cm (18 inches) high. There was a significant degree of standardisation in some variants; the wine amphora held a standard measure of about 39 litres (41 quarts), giving rise to the
amphora quadrantal as a unit of measure in the
Roman Empire. In all, around 66 distinct types of amphora have been identified.
High-quality painted amphorae were produced in significant numbers for a variety of social and ceremonial purposes. Their design differs significantly from the more functional versions; they're typified by wide mouth and a ring base, with a glazed surface and decorated with figures or geometric shapes. Such
amphorae were often used as prizes. Some examples, bearing the inscription "I am one of the prizes from Athens", have survived from the
Panathenaic Festivals held between the
6th century BC to the
2nd century BC. Painted amphorae were also used for funerary purposes. The
loutrophoros, a type of amphora, was used principally for funeral rites. Outsize vases were also used as grave markers, while some amphorae were used as containers for the ashes of the dead.
Testaccio
Amphora's price was too low to return to the filling places and when empty they were broken in an area named
Testaccio, close to
Tiber, in a manner that avoid falling of pieces, later wet with
Calcium hydroxide (
Calce viva)
The amount of the broken pottery created a
hill named
Monte Testaccio 45 meters tall and more than 1 km circumference
Further Information
Get more info on 'Amphora'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://amphora.totallyexplained.com">Amphora Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
