Tar derived from pine or birch wood—thick, viscous, and pungent—sold in clay pots or leather vessels. Shipwrights seal hull seams with it; tanners use it to waterproof leather; rope-workers tar cordage to prevent rot. A slow-boil distillation process yields small batches from pitch kilns in forest holds.
Tar
Pine-birch pitch sold in pots; seals hull seams, waterproofs leather, tars rope.