In the ancient world of the eastern Mediterranean, these types of terracotta vessels were made for transporting oil and wine across land and sea. In Greece, the main centres of production were in Athens or Euboea. Numerous examples have been discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, often the result of shipwrecks, which prove the international nature of the trade in oil and wine at this period. The present ovoid shape of this example replaced the long-established eastern form, which was typically neckless, with smaller loop handles and became more conical with time. As a result, they needed to be supported on a base when they were not being stacked on their sides during transport. These pots often survived as they are of very high quality and in Egypt some were kept for water storage after they had served their original purpose and were even imported empty.