SC - test

[CBlackwill@aol.com]

I was reading through the cargo listing of a 9th cent shipwreck being explored
by the INA (http://nautarch.tamu.edu/ina/) and among other things, the list
included 'cooling pottery'.  Now, I seem to remember reading somewhere that
thin-walled clay pots were filled with water, and hung from the ceiling near
windows, so that the water would slowly seep through the sides of the pots and
provide some degree of cooling via evaporation.  Would this support such an
early form of air conditioning to the 9th century?

wajdi

Lady Ysabeau of Prague wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I seemed to have read somewhere about a way to make a cooler out of unglazed
> pottery, like terracotta flower pots. The theories involved could have
> worked in period. Basically, all you did was soak the pot in water, place
> the food on a plate or the saucer of the pot and turn the pot upside down
> over the two. As the water evaporated, it reduced the temperature inside the
> pot keeping the food cool.
>
> I would think it would be too cumbersome to use for large items or for an
> extended period of time but I could see it being used to keep items brought
> from a spring house cold until serving time. I have been thinking about
> giving it a try at an event sometime. A "period" ice chest?
>
> I don't have any documentation on it and I think I saw in Mother Earth News.
>
> Ysabeau of Prague