Pithos

Ancient Greek storage container PithosPithos from Iron-Age Crete. About 1.6 m tall. br>Below: Pithoi at Knossos. Placed out of the pits for viewing, the pithoi stood in the pits for access and stability.MaterialCeramicSizeApproximately the size of a human, some larger, some smaller.WritingSometimes inscribed with an identifying mark.CreatedNeolithic, Bronze Age, Iron AgeDiscoveredMost frequently at large administrative centersPresent locationCircum-Mediterranean Pithos (/ˈpɪθɒs/, Ancient Greek: πίθος, plural: pithoi πίθοι) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the succeeding Iron Age. Pithoi were used for bulk storage, primarily for fluids and grains; they were comparable to the drums, barrels and casks of recent times.[clarification needed]The name was different in other languages; for instance, the Hittites used harsi-. Secondarily, discarded pithoi found other uses. Like the ceramic bathtubs of some periods, the size of a pithos made it a convenient coffin. In Middle Helladic burials in Mycenae and Crete,