Abstract
This paper presents the spatial and temporal distribution of square bottles in Pannonia and their frequency on different settlement types. Although a full catalogue of the relevant finds has not been assembled yet, a wealth of data is nevertheless available on this glass type/form. Also described are several new base marks that have hitherto not been attested in the Roman Empire. It would appear that these mould-blown vessels appeared in Pannonia at the end of the first century, reaching the height of their popularity in the second century, while only a few vessels are known from the late Roman period. In terms of their distribution, the use of these bottles was particularly widespread along the limes, especially around military forts. However, they can also be found in the province's interior, particularly around Baláca. Several of the burial mounds excavated in Transdanubia also yielded vessels of this type. Their use in the province's interior seems to be slightly different, as they are often found in burials. In the settlements along the limes in the Danube Basin, however, they are more likely to have been used in military contexts or as military equipment and not deposited in burials.
Square and other prismatic bottles were one of the most widespread and popular glass types between the first and third centuries (Figs 1–4). Following the invention and spread of glassblowing in the first century BC, mould-blown vessels soon made their appearance. This technique was initially used for producing decorative tableware, such as the elegant pieces made by the renowned Ennion. By the mid-first century AD,1 another range of everyday glass wares had appeared, made by inflating the paraison on the blow-pipe into a multi-part mould to form the body and the base, with the rim, the neck, the shoulder, and the handle formed by hand subsequently.2 Apart from the basic shape, the appearance of these vessels is fairly uniform.3 Square bottles represent the most common form; these vessels were the typical packing vessels used in trade. The practical shape of square bottles facilitated the efficient use of storage space because their shape allowed them to be placed side by side to save space, either on shelves or in wooden crates,4 while the sturdiness and thick walls of these vessels ensured the safe transportation of their valuable content.5 Additionally, being mostly thick-walled vessels, they could be repeatedly re-used after the original contents were finished.6 The square form corresponds to the following main types: Isings 50, Rütti 1991, AR 156, Goethert-Polaschek 1977, Trier 114/119, Cottam and Price 1998, Fig 89, Lazar 2003, Form 6.3.2, and Harter 1999, Form E1 (Figs 1–4).7 Square bottles have several variants and often bear trademarks on their base. Their use is depicted on several reliefs, sarcophagi and gravestones.8
Square bottle from the Inota tumuli (Laczkó Dezső Museum, Veszprém; inv. no. 73.2.2)
1. kép. Hasábos palack az inotai halomsírokból (Laczkó Dezső Múzeum, Veszprém; ltsz.: 73.2.2)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Square bottle from the Inota tumuli (Laczkó Dezső Museum, Veszprém; inv. no. 73.2.3)
2. kép. Hasábos palack az inotai halomsírokból (Laczkó Dezső Múzeum, Veszprém; ltsz.: 73.2.3)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Square bottle from the Inota tumuli (Laczkó Dezső Museum, Veszprém; inv. no. 77.2.24)
3. kép. Hasábos palack az inotai halomsírokból (Laczkó Dezső Múzeum, Veszprém; ltsz.: 77.2.24)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Square bottle from the Inota tumuli (Laczkó Dezső Museum, Veszprém; inv. no. 77.2.26)
4. kép. Hasábos palack az inotai halomsírokból (Laczkó Dezső Múzeum, Veszprém; ltsz.: 77.2.26)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
They were widely used from the late first century to the third century, and are commonly found throughout the Roman Empire. These mould-blown bottles often have various patterns and inscriptions on their base. While the range of motifs is quite broad, the most common variants are undoubtedly geometric ones such as concentric circles and their variations, followed by vegetal and, somewhat more rarely, figural patterns, alongside marks consisting of initials and names in Latin and Greek script. The Corpus des Signatures et Marques sur Verres Antiques (CSMVA) project was launched to classify and illustrate the base marks of all Roman glass vessel types, including square bottles.9
These vessels are traditionally regarded as having been used in long-distance trade as container and transport vessels, a view that has recently been challenged by Cool.10 Attempts at mapping the distribution of different base marks and building trade routes around them have so far not been very successful. Although some base marks have a well-defined spatial and temporal distribution, attempts at linking individual production sites and consumer markets have rarely yielded meaningful results. Cool argued that if these bottles had indeed been filled with some commodity and used in long-distance trade, there should be some trace of this in the archaeological record, for example in shipwreck finds, whose cargo often included raw glass and glass fragments collected for recycling as well as other glassware. Yet, there is no evidence of bottles having been transported as cargo.11 As Scatozza Höchrict has noted, an assemblage from Herculaneum can be interpreted as a group of vessels, a square bottle among them, put up for sale in a shop; they were still wrapped in straw and cloth and divided into as many packages by type. The group as a whole was interpreted as material fresh from the supplier and ready for sale. This assemblage indicates that in some cases, these vessels were sold empty.12
The discovery of limestone moulds in the legionary fort of Bonn and of the bottles stamped with them in auxiliary forts in Britain demonstrates the role of military settlements in the production and use of bottles. Although bottles were also objects used in civilian settlements and in villas, Cool highlighted the importance of their production in military contexts.13 The increased demand for olive oil could have led to the production of thick-walled glass bottles, which would have had a long life, being emptied and refilled many times and often showing signs of wear on the base. Oil was initially transported in Dressel 20 amphorae to their destination, where the oil was decanted for sale to individual households or military contubernia; square bottles would have been ideal for this purpose because they could be washed and repeatedly refilled, without affecting the taste of the oil.14
Recent studies indicate that a look at the distribution of Pannonian and other square bottles can yield interesting insights, although it should be noted that the current picture could be misleading since I did not have the opportunity to examine all the finds in various museum collections, including the fragmentary finds from various excavations. However, it would appear that the military settlements along the limes are of particular importance when studying square bottles (Fig. 5).
Distribution of square bottles in the Pannonian region (map by Bence Simon)
5. kép. Hasábos palackok elterjedése Pannoniában (térkép: Simon Bence)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Relatively few square bottles have been published from Pannonia, and even these have not been assessed systematically. In 1988, Barkóczi published the vessel glass, including the exemplars on display at the time, from the collection of the Hungarian National Museum and other major museums.15 The most common base patterns on the bottles in Barkóczi's catalogue are variants of concentric circles, sometimes combined with dots or L-shaped motifs in the corners and/or the centre.16
Barkóczi's catalogue lists 31 intact bottles in the category of square bottles, 11 of which are unfortunately unprovenanced and therefore do not provide any information regarding their context (Fig. 5).17 Looking at their distribution, we find that the fullest survey to date includes an Early Roman specimen from Savaria found on Rumi Street,18 another one from Benkő,19 a lost fragment from Kálóz, an exemplar from Ivánc,20 four bottles from Aquincum,21 one from Tác-Gorsium,22 a rosette-stamped bottle from the Kálvária Street cemetery of Arrabona,23 two exemplars from Brigetio and three from Intercisa.24 The bottle from Solymár was recovered from a burial, which contained a coin of Hadrian, dating the grave to the first decades of the second century.25 Three bottles could be identified among the intact glass objects from Scarbantia.26 The use of square bottles in the province's interior is also attested at an early date, as shown by the exemplars recovered from burial mounds. Four bottles are known from the tumuli of Inota (Figs 1–4),27 one from Kispirit and another four from Mezőszilas. The burial mounds of Mezőszilas were constructed between the late first and mid-second centuries.28 Vessels of this type were also used in the Roman villa at Baláca, where twelve typical fragments of square bottles have been found. A remarkable number of fragments of cups and square bottles were found in the cellar of the Baláca villa, which was occupied in the early second century.29 Two bottles, both dating from the late Roman period, were recovered from burials; one from the sarcophagus found at Szekszárd that had probably been in use for a long time before being deposited in the burial,30 the other from Grave 335 of the Ságvár cemetery. Aside from the latter two, the other bottles all date from the late first or early second century, suggesting that this was the main period when square bottles appeared and were widely used in the province. As already mentioned, the pieces reviewed here do not represent the entire corpus of these bottles because possible fragments of square or prismatic bottles found on settlements can only be identified by a systematic assessment of the vessel glass from these sites that will reveal whether they are typical fragments of the body, the reeded handle or the stamped base.
In addition to the above exemplars, my data collection yielded information on 15 additional square bottle fragments from Gorsium (although there could be more since only about one-third of the fragmentary vessel glass from that site has been examined to date). The number of pieces known from Savaria has also increased: five more bottles are known in addition to the pieces listed in Barkóczi's catalogue, and 33 square bottle fragments have been found in the Iseum Savariense, reflecting the widespread use of this bottle type in the sanctuary area.31
A total of 52 fragments of square bottles and eighteen base marks are known from Brigetio;32 the latter includes L PVBLIC (Fig. 7), which has exact parallels from Calvatone, Straubing (Sorviodurum), and Pfaffenhofen (Pons Aeni).33 The other inscribed fragment is marked P/CL/A/CP (Fig. 6). The letters are set along the sides of a hollow-sided diamond with a pine branch motif within a framing circle. Due to the lack of similar inscriptions, it is difficult to decipher. However, the pine branch motif and the hollow-sided diamond enclosed within a circle are characteristic of the products of the CLAVDIA ITALIA workshop and, less frequently (and with a slightly different design), of the C. SALVIVS GRATVS workshop, which also used different monograms (most frequently C / N / P / G).34 The products of Salvius Gratus and his fellow glassworkers are commonly found in northern Italy and the neighbouring province of Raetia (eastern Switzerland, western Austria and parts of southern Germany), Noricum and Dalmatia.35 Although it is rarely encountered outside of that area, its distribution can now be extended to the Brigetio area in Pannonia. This again confirms that the Danube acted as a major communication route in the second century, linking the settlements along the ripa Pannonica, including Brigetio, and the more northerly provinces along the limes.36
Base of a square bottle with a pine branch motif and the inscription P/CL/A/CP (after Dévai (2019) Fig. 3)
6. kép. Hasábos palack alja fenyőág motívummal és P/CL/A/CP felirattal (Dévai (2019) 3. ábra nyomán)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Base of a square bottle with the inscription L PVBLIC (after Dévai (2019) Fig. 2)
7. kép. Hasábos palack aljtöredéke L PVBLIC felirattal (Dévai (2019) 2. ábra nyomán)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
A total of 22 wall and base fragments of square bottles were recovered at Intercisa, where there was both a military fort and a civilian settlement near the limes in Pannonia Inferior. The auxiliary fort of Intercisa and the adjacent vicus were both prospering settlements.37 Eleven pieces were recovered from the vicus and six from the castrum. Most bear very simple patterns such as concentric circles, alongside geometric and floral motifs such as five- or six-petalled flowers. Three base fragments bear Latin inscriptions.38 When a square bottle broke, it could be easily recycled due to its thick walls, either as cullet or by reworking the fragments into game counters, lids, or tools.39 Some square bottle fragments from Intercisa appear to have been reused as game counters or possibly lids.40 In any case, this was a popular bottle type in the auxiliary fort.
One of the bottle bases bears the letters V T E and F E (C or L), an inscription that has not been previously attested (Figs 8 and 9). While the piece is described in the catalogue to the study on the square bottles from Intercisa, the inscription itself was not discussed in detail.41 The lower part of the bottle was found in a house with several rooms excavated by Visy in 1971 on the territory of the vicus. The house had terrazzo floors and underfloor heating, and lay at a distance of 550 m from the south-western corner of the castrum.42
Base fragment of a square bottle with Latin letters in two lines. Upper line: V T E, lower line: F E (C or L) (after Dévai (2024) Fig. 1. 1)
8. kép. Hasábos palack aljtöredéke két sorban latin betűkkel. Felső sor: V T E, alsó sor: F E (C vagy L) (Dévai (2024) 1.1. ábra nyomán)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Base fragment of a square bottle with Latin letters in two lines. Upper line: V T E, lower line: F E (C or L) (after Dévai (2024) Fig. 8. 1)
9. kép. Hasábos palack aljtöredéke két sorban latin betűkkel. Felső sor: V T E, alsó sor: F E (C vagy L) (Dévai (2024) 8.1. ábra nyomán)
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
No exact analogy is known to the inscription, for which alternative readings can be proposed. The upper line probably has the letters V T E, while the first two letters of the lower line are quite certainly F and E, followed by a letter fragment, probably an L (in view of its vertical stem) or possibly a C. Each line may have had two or three more letters, probably two, based on the size of the one-time bottle, and therefore each line of the inscription was originally most likely made up of about five letters. In this case, the first possible reading of the second line would be FEC, fecit. However, the identification of the third letter as a C is unlikely, as the remaining section seems to be vertical. It is nevertheless included as a possibility.
The small circles between the letters V and T in the upper row/line are probably tiny bubbles in the glass, rather than the punctuations known from Latin inscriptions. Additionally, the bottle was placed on a pontil to finish the rim, which left a wide circular impression on the vessel base. This pontil mark destroyed the upper stem end of the letter F and left an imprint on the letter E, possibly damaging the incomplete third letter, which I believe was probably an L.
As Price has noted, a name in the nominative is rarely combined with FECIT on square bottles and appears to be an early first–second-century feature in Britain,43 and the same holds for Pannonia, where it has not been attested to date, even though FEC-FECIT name stamps are known from the regions neighbouring on Pannonia, one case in point being the renowned Sentia Secunda [Fecit] stamps.44 However, it seems more likely that the letters F and E were accompanied by an L instead of a C on the Intercisa bottle, in which case the word was likely FELIX. The nearest known analogy, a bottle base fragment with a FELIX-FELICITER inscription, is known from present-day Austria.
The most frequent names appearing on bottle and flask bases from Austria are SENTIA SECVNDA, C. SALVIVS GRATVS, TITI FLAVI FELICIS, and IVCVNDI.45 Two such bottle fragments were found in the city of Iuvavum. The upper line of their two-line inscriptions reads TITI and FLAV, followed by FELICI in the lower line. Glöckner attributes the inscription to local glassmakers, possibly working near Sentia Secunda in the late first–early second century AD.46 Although the Austrian find is not an exact analogy to the piece from Intercisa because the accompanying names are wholly different, it is certainly evidence for the use of FELIX and FELICITER inscriptions near Pannonia. In sum, another possible reading of the inscription of the Intercisa bottle would be FELIX.
This reading seems the more likely of the two, as V T E and F E L together would read VTERE FELIX, and it is all the more feasible because even though this Latin inscription is not attested on glass vessel bases, it appears frequently on several other artefact types in the Roman period.47
The acclamation utere felix, which promised good luck to those using the object, was very popular throughout the empire during the second and third centuries and was inscribed onto a wide range of domestic utensils, as well as onto various objects made of precious metal, bronze and iron, alongside various vessels.48 The opaque, blue glass inlay of a finger-ring from the nearby settlement of Brigetio also bears this inscription.49
According to the Heidelberg Inscription Database, there are 66 occurrences of the formula utere felix in the Roman Empire (Fig. 10), not only on stone monuments, but also on various kinds of domestic articles, such as finger-rings, bracelets, brooches, belt fittings, mirror frames, spoons and other utensils. The same formula appears on the so-called Trierer Spruchbecher type.50 Interestingly, 26 of the 66 occurrences, roughly one-third, are Pannonian finds, suggesting that the use of the acclamation utere felix was quite popular in the province (Fig. 10).
Distribution of utere felix inscriptions in the Roman Empire based on the Epigraphic Database Heidelberg (map by Bence Simon)
10. kép. Az utere felix feliratok eloszlása a Római Birodalomban a heidelbergi epigráfiai adatbázis alapján (térkép: Simon B.)54
Citation: Archaeologiai Értesítő 2025; 10.1556/0208.2025.00094
Currently, the Intercisa bottle represents the single example of the utere felix acclamation on a square bottle. The acclamation itself is attested on other glass vessel types, such as a well-known bowl with blue blobbed decoration from Cologne.51 Kisa lists three glass vessels with the inscription utere felix: a colourless glass beaker engraved with the inscription VTE…ELIX Z [Ute(re f)elix z(eses)] recovered from a female burial, which contained a coin of Constans,52 a bluish bottle inscribed …REFELI [Ute(re feli)x] with gold letters,5354 and a vessel bearing a longer text found in a tumulus at Cortil-Noirmont in 1874.55 More recently, a glass jar with the engraved inscription utere felix (“use it with happiness”) came to light in a third-century sarcophagus at Zülpich, together with various other beauty products.56 These examples support the reading of the inscription on the base of the Intercisa bottle as utere felix.
The appearance of this inscription on a glass bottle is interesting, given the properties of glass. Glass containers were highly popular because they did not absorb the taste and odour of the liquid they contained, and the square bottles could be reused or recycled. Wishing the user good luck has not been previously attested on square bottles, but as the bottles could be refilled and used over a long time, it seems an appropriate medium for the acclamation.
Conclusion
Looking at the distribution of these bottles, it is apparent that in Pannonia they were found on the military and other settlements along the Danube, particularly in the Danube Bend, as well as in the province's interior, on villa settlements around Lake Balaton and in tumuli (Fig. 5). Interestingly, square bottles are common finds among the grave goods of eastern Pannonian tumuli. The custom of burial in tumuli was particularly common at the end of the first century and in the earlier second century. Regarding the Inota tumuli, it is likely that they had been erected by the local Eravisci, who retained their local traditions, but also used the artefacts of Roman culture. The large number of imported artefacts in the tombs indicates both the demand for high-quality wares and the necessary affluence to acquire them (the grave goods included thirteen terra sigillata and nine glass vessels).57 The tumulus at Mezőszilas similarly dates from the late first–early second century and was very rich in imported Italic objects (terra sigillata, glass). Here, too, the finds reflect both the Eraviscan tradition and the preference for imported Italic and Gallic products.58 Regarding the bottle finds from the inland areas, it seems possible that the veterans stationed along the limes took their long-used square bottles with them to their new estates after being discharged from military service and given land. This would explain how these vessels reached the province's interior (e.g. in the case of the bottle from Solymár). It should be noted, however, that the distribution map presented here only offers an approximate picture, which will undoubtedly be modified following a full assessment of the bottle finds from settlements and cemeteries. Nevertheless, I believe that the map is informative, with the caveat that it in part shows the sites where the author has undertaken the full assessment of the glass finds.
The positive properties of their material contributed to the popularity of glass bottles as containers. Glass does not absorb the odour of its contents and can therefore be repeatedly reused or recycled, which would have been particularly useful if these vessels were used for storing olive oil in the household after the oil was decanted from amphorae. The quotation in the title, taken from Petronius, is a reference to this: Trimalchio says that were it not so fragile, he would prefer glass to gold for its qualities, not least because it does not smell.59
More recent research has shown that the study of the distribution of square bottles on different settlement types can yield fresh insights. The role of the military has always been emphasised, but we should also look at recycling in a different light and take into account the fact that these vessels were used and re-used for a very long time – but were apparently not used in long-distance trade. In addition to the military contexts (contubernia), bottles were also part of domestic utensils as kitchen containers.
Sources
Titus Petronius Arbiter. Satyricon, Heseltine, M. (Transl.). William Heinemann, London, 1913. https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.petronius-satyricon.1913.
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Rütti (1991) 131–146, Kat. 2610–3222; Goethert-Polaschek (1977) 193, 201; Cottam and Price (1998) 194–198; Cool and Price (1995) 179–198; Lazar (2003) 150; Harter (1999) 105–111.
Barkóczi (1988) 171–181. The pieces published by Barkóczi do not represent the actual number of finds brought to light during various excavations. The vessels in his catalogue were later incorporated into Lazar's Corpus des Signatures series; see Lazar (2006) 263–273.
One specimen comes from Aquincum Viziváros, from a cemetery associated with the early auxiliary fort: Hable-Bertin (1998) 22–23, 2/9. Another piece came to light in the western cemetery of the canabae legionis (Óbuda, Cserfa utca, 1995): Zsidi et al. (2009) 119, Cat. 422. A base fragment with a pattern of concentric cirlcles is in the collection of the Aquincum Museum (inv. no. 47.6.8508): Barkóczi (1988) 177, Kat. 420. The fourth pieces is also a base fragment with a rosette motif (inv. no. 3156): Barkóczi (1988) 178, Kat. 423.
Palágyi (1981) 26; Palágyi (2004) 46–49. The Inota tumuli date from the late first century AD, the reign of Trajan or the beginning of Hadrian's reign.
Kiss (1957) 40–53; Palágyi and Nagy (2000) 27; Palágyi and Nagy (2002) 23; Palágyi (2004) 6, 51–52.
Author's own data collection will be published in 2025.
Walke (1965) 114, pl. 77; Seitter (2002) 525, Pl. 12; Bartus and Borhy (2016) 101–107; Dévai (2019) 249–251; Dobosi (2021) 313–335; Bartus et al. (2022) 235.
Dévai (2019) 249–251. With regard to the workshops of C. Salvius Gratus and his subsidiaries in northern Italy (Aquileia, Aquae Statiellae), it must be noted that the natural route for transporting glass from this region to Pannonia in the late first and early second centuries AD would have been the Amber Road, and that once the Danube was reached, merchants could also take advantage of water transport. In this case, then, the Amber Road was the main route, with the products of Salvius Gratus's workshop finding their way as far as Brigeto.
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/52237 (last access: February 27, 2025).
Petronius, Satyricon, 50.7.
“Ego malo mihi vitrea, certe non olunt” Hasábos testű palackok a pannoniai limes mentén
A hasábos testű üveg palackok jelentősége abban állt, hogy szögletes formájuk révén szorosan egymás mellé sorakoztatva praktikusan és helytakarékosan elhelyezhetők voltak, vastag falának köszönhetően biztonságos szállítást biztosított értékes tartalmának. Relief ábrázolásokról, szarkofágokról és sírkövekről ismerjük használatának módját. Formába fújt edények révén pedig sorozatgyártott göngyölegként gyárthatták. Aljuk gyakran tartalmazott névbélyegeket, különböző mintákat, ami gyártóhelyük meghatározásához nyújt segítséget. A névbélyegek és jelölések használata egyben segítségünkre lehet az üvegek kereskedelmi útvonalainak meghatározásában. Készítési technikájukat tekintve ezek a palackok formába fújással készültek. A legelterjedtebb a több darabból álló minta volt, amelyet levehettek az elkészült tárgyról. Leglényegesebb tulajdonsága ennek az volt, hogy újra felhasználhatták: a forma anyagának minőségétől függően sorozatgyártásra volt alkalmas. A hasábos testű változat, amellyel jelen cikk foglalkozik a következő típusoknak feletethető meg: Isings 50, Rütti 1991, AR 156, Goethert-Polaschek 1977, Trier 114/119, Cottam és Price 1998, Fig. 89, Lazar 2003, Form 6.3.2 és Harter 1999, Form E1 (1–4. kép).
Az egykori Pannonia területéről kevés feliratot, mintát tartalmazó hasábos testű palack került publikálásra, szisztematikus felgyűjtésük hiányzik. Barkóczi L., főként a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum és néhány nagyobb múzeum ép, kiállítási példányait publikálta 1988-ban. Az összesen 31 publikált palack jórésze azonban a Nemzeti Múzeum gyűjteményében található ismeretlen lelőhelyű példány, Gorsiumból kettő, Intercisából három, Aquincumból három példányt sorol csupán fel, emellett egy savariai, egy arrabonai és kettő Brigetiohoz köthető edényt említ. Érdekes, hogy a kései, 4. századra datálható daraboknál már általában hiányzik az aljon a minta, a készítő mester jelölése. Ezen példányoknak alján csupán a tartórúd nyoma (pontil mark) figyelhető meg.
Jelen tanulmány nem nyújt teljes körű gyűjtést a pannoniai hasábos testű palackok vonatkozásában, azonban az eddiginél számottevően több példányt vesz számba és elemzi idő és térbeli elterjedésüket is. Több új, feliratot tartalamazó palack közlését tartalmazza, mint például az Intercisából előkerült V T E és F E (C vagy L) bélyeget viselő edény bemutatása a felirat feloldásával (8–9. kép).
Míg korábban a távolsági kereskedelemmel hozták kapcsolatba a palacktípust, az újabb kutatások Cool munkássága nyomán más irányba mutatnak. A bonni legio táborban talált mészkőformák és a britanniai táborokban található, ezekkel bélyegzett palackok felfedezése bizonyítja a katonaság szerepét a palackok előállításában és használatában, ami miatt egy-egy palack akár nagyon hosszú ideig is használatban lehetett és igen nagy távolságra eljutottak gyártóhelyüktől. Bár a palackok polgári településeken és villákban is megjelentek, Cool kiemelte a katonai kontextusban történő előállításuk fontosságát. Az olívaolaj iránti megnövekedett kereslet vezethetett a vastag falú üvegpalackok gyártásához, amelyek hosszú élettartamúak lehettek és sokszor újratölthetők voltak. Az olajat amforákban szállították a rendeltetési helyükre, ahol átfejtették, hogy azt az egyes háztartások vagy a katonai egységek számára átadhassák; a szögletes palackok ideálisak erre a célra, mivel kimoshatók és többször újratölthetők anélkül, hogy az olaj ízét befolyásolták volna.
A hasábos palackok eloszlását vizsgálva látható, hogy Pannoniában a Duna menti katonai táborokban, különösen a Dunakanyarban, valamint a tartomány belső területén, a Balaton körüli villákban népszerűek és tumulusokból is előkerülnek sírmellékletként (5. kép). Ami a tartomány belsejében megtalált leleteket illeti, lehetségesnek tűnik, hogy a limes mentén állomásozó veteranusok a katonai szolgálatból való leszerelés és a földhöz jutás után magukkal vitték új birtokukra a régóta használt szögletes palackokat. Ez megmagyarázná, hogyan jutottak el ezek az edények a tartomány belsejébe (pl. a solymári palack esetében). Meg kell azonban jegyezni, hogy az itt bemutatott elterjedési térkép (5. kép) csak hozzávetőleges képet nyújt, amely a településekről és temetőkből származó palackleletek teljes körű kiértékelése után kétségtelenül módosulni fog.
Az újabb kutatások azt mutatják, hogy a hasábos palackok különböző településtípusokon való eloszlásának vizsgálata új ismeretekkel szolgál. A hangsúlyos katonai kontextusban történt használat mellett az újrahasznosítást más megvilágításban is meg kell néznünk, és figyelembe kell vennünk, hogy ezeket az edényeket nagyon hosszú ideig használhatták, de a jelek szerint nem a távolsági kereskedelemben. A katonai kontextusokon kívül a palackok az átlagos háztartások konyhai felszerelésének részét képezhették.
