cask

History

In medieval and early modern Northern Europe, wooden casks were the primary container for wet and dry cargoes carried by ships, akin to the ceramic amphora transport jars used from antiquity in the Mediterranean region. Wooden barrels carried foodstuffs such as fish, beer, honey, butter, apples, raisins, nuts, malt, beans, peas, grain, barley, and oats. Gunpowder, iron, tar, coals, potash, lime, vinegar, and candles were transported in barrels; and no doubt much more. As with amphoras, different production centers applied various volumetric standards to the casks. This was enforced in some places by using sophisticated methods of gauging the casks, and then certifying the standard by municipal seals. In other places, such as the Hanseatic League town of Rostock, barrel volume was determined by the number of dressed and salted herring packed into them. Some Hanse traders enforced their standards by destroying casks that did not conform. Standardized cask volume was therefore an indicator of political economy.