Not mention the fact that it has been strongly suggested for years now that these might not be water canteens at all, but rather oil flasks, which, by the very nature of their contents would not be subject to corrosion in the same way.
Crispvs
Who is called \'\'Paul\'\' by no-one other than his wife, parents and brothers. :!: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" />:!:
"Maybe this version (with waxy coating from the inside) would be more appropriate for cool northern Europe as Mainz Germany"
Hmm I remember in the summer of 94 or 95 it was 44 centigrade.. after 3 weeks at an event mostly stripped to waste I had a brilliant tan and that was in Denmark, because of the heat there were few visitors and for something to do I made a heat hardened leather canteen lined with beeswax, I still have it, its not brilliant to look at but works fine...
The leather was stitched around a rough wooden core and then gently "cooked" over an open fire, once hardened it was split and re-stitched and finally coated inside and out with beeswax... lost the stopper though.
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
the mystery of the metal canteen continues to trigger me, especially now I read an article which has a very intriguing alternative view on the exact function of the bag til now called loculus (article by Marquita Volken in Journal of Roman Archaeology 21, 2008, pp. 264-274: the water bag of Roman soldiers). I will come to that in the topic fitted for that.
It has been suggested by some of you, in my view very well argumented for the factor of oxidation, that this canteen should very well have contained oily substances, but:
does anyone know if any academic has ever performed chemical research on the contents of the found metal canteens? If so, can you please give me some contact data of that person or the title of that paper/article if there was ever written one? I would be much obliged.
FWIW I also use a pottery "bottle" shape canteen (from Venetian Cat) for a good few years now and it's held up surprisingly well.
(Lasts better than the hemp netting & shoulder strap but I digress)
I'm also on the school of thought that the metal canteens/flasks we see may have been meant for other liquids (oils) or substances
and not meant for drinking water. It's my understanding that military canteens in 19th-20th century contexts is they [were] made of tin or perhaps tin-lined, and not iron. I seem to recall most canteens from the American Civil War were predominately made of tin, a handful made of wood. (and wood canteens, leather costrels certainly dating back to 15th century). The ACW canteen that my unit uses is all tin, copied from an original. As long as it's emptied/dried out after use, rust usually isn't a big deal.
I can't really see iron being practical for a water canteen, but hey, maybe I'm missing information.
Recently I'm wondering if Romans had more of shared/communal water 'stations', sort of like the ubiquitous "water-tank bubbler/cooler in the Office", and everyone brings their own cup.
Water being kept in large cisterns in Roman-Egypt, with some guards to monitor it is known (Bagnall); and with the use of large amphora and pottery, I wonder if that was part of a system, again not unlike the water-tank bubbler with 'regular deliveries' via cart (or some such).
It is indeed frustrating where something seemingly so mundane and not recorded (or that had survived) for us to glean more information about. Either way, be it pottery, skin, wood, whatever, just stay hydrated.
Andy Volpe
"Build a time machine, it would make this [hobby] a lot easier." https://www.facebook.com/LegionIIICyr/
Legion III Cyrenaica ~ New England U.S.
Higgins Armory Museum 1931-2013 (worked there 2001-2013)
(Collection moved to Worcester Art Museum)
Good find! I would see no reason why glass bottles such as that might not have been used quite regularly as canteens. The French army in the early nineteenth century mainly used glass bottles covered in basketwork or netting as canteens after all.
My own canteen is a pottery one which I got from Armillum.
Crispvs
Who is called \'\'Paul\'\' by no-one other than his wife, parents and brothers. :!: <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" />:!:
![[Image: m96e.th.jpg]](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/m96e.jpg/)
![[Image: 7a03ac950bc7.jpg]](http://s47.radikal.ru/i117/1306/4d/7a03ac950bc7.jpg)
![[Image: nqgx.th.jpg]](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/nqgx.jpg/)
