Canterbury, England · 12th century
The first “bottled water” was connected to a murder
After Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, stories of miraculous healing spread. Pilgrims visiting his shrine could buy “St Thomas’ Water”, a mixture of water and Becket’s blood, and carry it home in small metal containers called ampullae.
Why it matters: Long before the modern bottled-water industry, people were already filling small containers with special water and taking them home.
“Long before water became an industry, people already understood that some water was worth carrying home.”
Source: British Museum
Ancient Persia
The underground water network that crossed the desert
Thousands of years ago, Persian engineers developed qanats: underground tunnels that tapped groundwater and carried it over long distances using gravity alone. Some systems ran for kilometres and supported whole settlements and farming communities in extremely dry regions.
Why it matters: It wasn’t just engineering. The water was managed by the community and shared among its users, following long-held traditions.
“They did not fight the desert. They learned how to bring water through it.”
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Ancient Egypt & Greece
The day water became a clock
Before mechanical clocks, people used water itself to measure time. The ancient Egyptians used water clocks more than 3,000 years ago. One surviving example, linked to the reign of Amenhotep III, used slowly draining water to mark the passing of the night. Later, Greek water clocks, called clepsydrae, were even used to limit the length of speeches in court.
Why it matters: A person’s time to argue a case could literally depend on how quickly water moved.
“Before the clock measured our lives, water measured our time.”
Source: Science Museum Group Collection
Europe · 17th–19th centuries
The water that became medicine, and then fashion
For centuries, Europeans travelled to mineral springs, believing their waters had medicinal benefits. By the 18th century, visiting famous springs had become fashionable. People didn’t just bathe there. They drank the waters and eventually shipped them in bottles across Europe, and some spa towns came to depend on their springs.
Why it matters: What began as a healing tradition gradually became part of travel, leisure and social life.
“People once travelled across countries simply to drink water from a particular spring.”
Source: Science History Institute
Ancient Peru
The water that was believed to become the sea
The Chimú people of ancient Peru kept a remarkable creation story. According to a 16th-century account, a first couple received a container of water from a creator god. They broke the vessel, and the water that escaped became the sea.
Why it matters: Water wasn’t seen simply as something to drink. In this story, water becomes the origin of a whole world.
“In one ancient story, the sea began with a single broken vessel of water.”
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ancient Greece
The ancient water jar that was more than a container
The Greeks designed the hydria especially for carrying and pouring water: a rounded body to hold it, a narrow neck to reduce spills, two side handles for lifting and a vertical handle for pouring. Many were richly decorated with myths and scenes from Greek life.
Why it matters: Thousands of years ago, people were already combining water, container, design and storytelling, which is remarkably close to what water brands do today.
“The bottle has changed. Our relationship with water has not.”
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ancient Athens
When water decided who could speak
In the courts of ancient Athens, a clepsydra (water clock) set how long each speaker could talk. As the water flowed out, the speaker’s time ran out with it.
Why it matters: Water wasn’t just something people drank. Water became the judge of time.
“In ancient Athens, your argument had a deadline you could see: falling water.”
