Cork

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The Assyrians, Egyptians and Greeks were already familiar with the cork stopper in early antiquity. Cork stoppers were also used to seal amphorae. In most cases, stoppers made of terracotta (clay) were used, which were fastened with string and then sealed with varnish, clay or pitch. Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) wrote that the wine jugs had to be sealed with cork and pitch after fermentation. The Romans were already familiar with this type of closure, but it was forgotten again with the fall of the Roman Empire. The Iberian Peninsula, the main source of cork bark, was conquered by the Moors in the 8th century and ruled for a long time. Until the late Middle Ages, vessels were sealed with wooden plugs dipped in oil and wrapped in hemp, pitch or wax.

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Cork

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