The term covers a range of large storage jars that were used across the Mediterranean and in Roman provinces from roughly the eighth century B.C. through the fifth century A.D. — a span of more than a thousand years.

Dolia were made for a specific purpose: bulk storage.

They held wine, olive oil, grain, salted fish, olives, and other agricultural products in quantities that smaller vessels could not accommodate.

The largest examples — and these are extraordinary objects — could hold over 1,000 liters, or about 260 gallons.

To put that in scale: 260 gallons is more than the capacity of a standard hot tub.

These were not pots or amphoras; they were effectively room-sized containers made of fired clay.