Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient times, mostly for utilitarian purposes. Jars and vases like these were used as storage and transport vessels for anything from water to grain. Where baskets could be preferred for transport earthenware was best for storing food, as it kept out water, dirt, insects and rodents. Large pithos (plural pithoi) like the one to the right, filled with oil, were a major fire hazard and needed special protection: an enemy would only have to knock one over and set fire to it to destroy the whole place! Most of the great palaces of the Bronze Age Aegean were burned at one time or another in this way. How about that for a novel game objective!