Caroline Cheung is assistant professor in the Department of Classics at Princeton University. She is the author of Dolia: The Containers that Made Rome an Empire of Wine (Princeton University Press 2024).

Dolia, large ceramic storage vessels capable of holding hundreds to over a thousand liters, were valuable vessels in antiquity. Making dolia was a specialized and challenging process that drew on expert skill. Dolia were also vulnerable to breakage and were often required to retain their value and functionality. This paper explores the life histories of dolia and the workers and skills needed to make and mend them.