The Romans used to use a fermented fish sauce called Garum on everything. Probably something similar to Worcestershire sauce I’m thinking.
I doubt they tasted alike -- the Romans didn't have the spices. On the other hand I expect Garum was very close to Nuoc Mam sauce. The both are made with salt, small oily fish, and fermentation in a hot climate.
Sounds like Vietnamese nuoc mam. Some of my colleagues at the Combat Operations Research Center in Saigon were tasked with finding a way to airdrop nuoc mam to Vietnamese Army outposts. If you put it in a metal container it will corrode the container. If you put it in a ceramic container, the container will likely break in an airdrop. They ended up putting the stuff in plastic bottles that would survive both the nuoc mam itself and the airdrop.