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and began to import wine. The trade linked Waterford man-made wine storage caverns we visited at one of
with a host of European cities especially Bristol, Bor- the museums. Evidently, rats loved to eat the corks in
deaux, and Bruges. clay jugs and barrels. The builders decided to coat the
cavern ceiling with a mix of straw, clay and cat pee to
In the late 12th century and for the entire very pros- discourage the destructive and likely inebriated rats.
perous 13th century, one by-product of the wine trade It worked, but no one knows how or where the smart
was the importation of wine jugs used to store and wine keepers of the wine obtained vast amounts of cat
serve wine in taverns and homes. A vast number of pee.
these jugs was found in the excavations of the cen- One museum in Waterford’s Viking Triangle is the
tral city and is now are display in the city’s Medieval stately Bishop’s Palace Museum directly across the
Museum. street from the Waterford Crystal factory and show-
Here’s an interesting tidbit we learned about the

48 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018