A fabulous bound wooden barrel, used for the storage of the ships food supplies late 1700s. The bottom part of the barrel has been replaced over the years.

Storage of food was a major problem - there were no refrigerators and canned meat did not appear until 1816. Food and drink was stored in the hold in large barrels or casks. Prior to 1816 the only means of preserving meat was to store it in salt. This made the meat very hard and dry - and if there had not been enough salt added to the barrel when the meat was packed, it was probable that the meat would have rotted. Bread did not keep so flour was baked into hard biscuit. These became soft in storage and tasted unpleasant by the time they were issued. Weevils and maggots infested the biscuit - men were advised to eat biscuit with their eyes closed so that they did not see the soft bits!

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