Cato the Younger, a Roman politician from the 1st century BCE, fearing losing the enormous wealth he had with him, amounting to seven thousand silver talents, figured out a way to secure his belongings on a long sea voyage. In ancient times, a boat trip across the sea was always risky, especially in winter or in the open sea. However, due to the speed of the ship compared to land transport and the possibility of taking more belongings, many people decided to take such a step.
Realizing the high risk, Cato thought he would hide all his talents in the numerous chests provided to him, each with a capacity of 2 talents and 500 drachmas. In addition, a long cord was tied to each trunk, at the end of which a huge piece of cork was attached. In this way, in the event of a ship crash, it was to be possible to find the treasures, as the cork floats on the water and could possibly indicate the location of the belongings.
