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Tuns

Tuns are large casks historically used for storing and transporting liquids, especially wine, and by extension they came to denote a unit of volume based on the capacity of such a vessel. The term derives from the Old English tun, meaning a large container or cask.

In English wine measures, a tun was standardized as 252 gallons, approximately 954 liters. This size is

Today, the tun is largely obsolete as a measurement, surviving mainly in historical texts and discussions of

four
hogsheads,
since
a
hogshead
was
commonly
defined
as
63
gallons.
The
exact
capacity
of
a
tun
could
vary
by
time
and
region,
but
the
252-gallon
reference
served
as
the
conventional
standard
in
medieval
and
early
modern
England.
In
maritime
and
mercantile
contexts,
a
tun
also
functioned
as
a
unit
of
cargo
capacity,
reflecting
the
volume
of
liquid
a
vessel
could
carry
and
influencing
provisioning
and
trade.
traditional
wine
and
beer
casks.
Modern
standards
use
liters
or
cubic
meters,
and
the
term
is
largely
confined
to
historical
or
literary
contexts.
The
concept
remains
part
of
historical
vocabulary
and
is
encountered
in
descriptions
of
old
taverns,
inns,
and
ship
provisioning,
where
the
tun
is
referenced
as
a
symbol
of
bulk
storage
and
commerce.