# Airy Ice, Royal Indulgences, & Cold Hard Cash The short story I'm writing takes place on a very high mountain and the protagonist needs to trade with people from a nearby island. There aren't many resources since they live well above the tree-line, but there's plenty of ice. I can work with that... ## Fun Facts - Saltpeter dissolved in water was [used](http://www.history-magazine.com/refrig.html) to produce very low temperatures for making ice. - The snow line varies by latitude, from 0m by the poles, to 3000m in the Alps, to 5700m in the Himalayas. - Atmospheric gases make up about 10% of the volume of [glacial ice](https://www.npr.org/2020/12/26/949159524/scientists-have-found-some-truly-ancient-ice-but-now-they-want-ice-thats-even-ol). - Ice was not mined on a large scale before the 19th century. - Ice was the main reason simple syrup started to be used in cocktails, since sugar doesn't dissolve well in cold liquid. ## Royal Ice People in Bronze Age Syria dug trenches and filled them with water to make ice in the winter, then made ice-houses resembling Persian yakhchāls. The ice-houses were heavily guarded and restricted to royalty. [[Read More](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ckduf5/how_did_ancient_civilizations_living_near_the/evn32sn/)] ## Diplomatic Ice When he heard that Richard the Lionheart was ill with a fever (and probably scurvy), Saladin sent Richard a box full of ice and some exotic fruit as a goodwill gesture. The ice was mined from the top of Mount Hermon. [[Read More](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/io70tf/in_kingodm_of_heaven_the_movie_saladin_offers_a/)] ## Surface Ice During Indian winters, before refrigeration, porous clay pots filled with sanitized water were placed atop of straw in shallow trenches in hopes that a layer of ice would form on the surface overnight. The ice was harvested, combined, and sold. [[Read More](https://books.google.com/books?id=aMMpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108#v=onepage&q&f=false)] ## Insulated Ice The Romans and Greeks created ice-houses filled with snow and ice from the Alps. They used tightly-packed straw and wood as insulation to keep the contents cool. After the Empire fell, it wasn't until the 16th century that it came back into common use. [[Read More](https://www.alcoholprofessor.com/blog-posts/blog/2018/03/19/a-brief-history-of-ice)] <div class=infobox>If you found this interesting, you may also enjoy </div>