Was intruiged by a scene in kingdom in heaven where Saladin gives one captive knight a cup full of ice to drink, froma chest. I Have also read a book by Conn Iggulden about the life of Julius Ceasar, where a roman nobleman have huge blocks of ice brought to his home i northen italy from the winter in north (scandinavia, i think). I wonder if it was possible and common in times as ancient Rome or Middle ages to produce or store ice for some times without it smelting? (In Conn Igguldens book they ship blocks of ice that weights several tones wiht carriges then store them in a deep cold cellar, and they then remark that they need to use it soon (dont remember if it was within hours, days or weeks). Is this possible and if so how did they stop it from melting?
I believe the Romans transported ice from glaciers in the Alps and not Scandinavia. Huge blocks of ice actually melt slower than you'd expect. They didn't stop the melting, they just cut ice blocks big enough to still be substantial by the time they arrived to their final destination. As you already mentioned, after being transported to various villas, ice was very likely stored in deep cellars (that's still done in different places around the world and was also often used in the brewing industry before freezers were invented). Temperatures down there weren't enough to stop the melting ofc, but it was like putting an ice cube in a really cold refrigerator.
hi! this question came up last month - check out responses (and links to more posts about ice) here
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/287ppm/in_kingdom_of_heaven_you_can_see_at_one_point/