Various glass containers for liquids were made in ancient Egypt as early as 1,500 BC. But it was not until the invention of the glassmaker's pipe (and thus glassblowing) in the 2nd century BC by the Phoenicians in the area of Syria that the Romans were also able to produce glass bottles on a larger scale from the beginning of our era. The oldest wine bottle in the world is on display in a museum in Speyer. It was found in a Roman grave and dates from the 4th century AD. For transport and storage, however, mainly vessels made of clay or earthenware and wooden barrels continued to be used until the 17th century due to the fragility of glass. Moreover, wine was not marketed in small containers at that time, but almost exclusively in large containers (mainly wooden barrels).
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Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi