/tags/engineering/Recent content in Engineering on FermentHiveHugoen-usSat, 28 Mar 2026 05:37:00 +0100/fermentation-science/airlocks-weights-technical-guide/Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:37:00 +0100/fermentation-science/airlocks-weights-technical-guide/<p>Roman field quartermaster records from the 2nd century AD — specifically the logistics sections of the Codex Theodosianus — describe a practice of storing wine in clay dolium sealed with pine resin and submerged in cool water. The physics was accidental but correct: the resin cap excluded oxygen while the water bath held temperature steady. It was the earliest documented anaerobic seal. Thirteen centuries would pass before the glass airlock replaced it. The Romans solved the one-way gas exchange problem with pitch and a ceramic pot. The challenge hasn&rsquo;t changed — only the materials have.</p>