for what it's worth, i helped excavate a roman harbour site at
ijmuiden, west of amsterdam in 1989 - we had lots of barrels sunk into
the ground, used as wells - when they silted up they were used as
coffins for roman soldiers (including armour) -
could any of these things have been used to keep things cool somehow?

Quoting Elizabeth Pena <[log in to unmask]>:

> Donna,
>
>     In excavations last summer at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY,
> we
> found an intact barrel adjacent to and slightly tucked under the
> foundation of a bake house that was built in 1869 (there are photos
> on
> our web site,
> http://fortniagara.buffalo.edu. Photo #9 from 6/18/01 shows some
> barrel
> staves; Photo #1 from 6/14/01 shows the feature and its relationship
> to
> the bake house foundation). The barrel was filled with ash and slag.
> I
> thought that perhaps the barrel had been installed at the time of
> bake
> house construction as a receptacle for ash, which could have been
> used
> for lye. We removed the lowest barrel hoop intact. In a few places,
> portions of the barrel staves were preserved, and exhibit what appear
> to
> be copper alloy sheeting under the iron nails. The barrel measured 21
> in
> in diameter and 17 1/2 in in height. Perhaps this is too small for
> a
> rain barrel? I really hadn't thought about this use, as there was a
> well
> nearby and Fort Niagara (which is located right on Lake Ontario)
> has
> easy access to fresh water.
>
> Elizabeth Peņa
> Dep't of Anthropology, University at Buffalo