“amphora”
Am I the only one who had to look up the definition? I don’t understand HOW something with a pointed bottom and shaped like pictures shown by googling can FIT TIGHTLY together....
“”An amphora (/ˈæmfərə/; Ancient Greek: ἀμφορεύς, romanized: amphoreús; English pl. amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container[1] with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land or sea.””
There’s never been a structure found to explain how they didn’t just rock against each other and crack and spill and for that matter lead to capsizing the entire craft. While it’s not reasonable to expect rope to survive this long, AFAIK no one has ever discovered any kind of wood structures, spools, hooks, or the like.
My guess is, the cargo consisted of grain filling the gaps between the amphorae. That’s also the reason for their pointy ends, which otherwise don’t have a reasonable explanation. :^)