Zabijanje u zemlju ili pijesak, slaganje u slojevima u brodsko potpalublje ili hvatište potrebno pri izlijevanju tekućine, uobičajena su tumačenja funkcije šiljatoga dna amfora. Pitanje je, međutim, radi li se doista o dovoljno uvjerljivim argumentima koji su naveli stare keramičarske majstore na proizvodnju ovih složenijih, skupljih i ne samostojećih oblika posuda. Povećanu čvrstoću amfora koju možemo zahvaliti zamjenjivanju ravnoga dna oblim ili konično zašiljenim dnom, te u kasnijem razdoblju i dodavanju masivnoga šiljka, naslutilo je već nekoliko autora, ne pridajući joj, međutim, odgovarajuću pozornost. Analiza podrijetla oblika, a potom i praktična provjera čvrstoće amfora provedena numeričkim modeliranjem u računalnom programu SESAM, metodom konačnih elemenata, potvrdila je izuzetno značenje oblika s masivnim šiljkom za izdržljivost ambalaže, što je vjerojatno bio i glavnim razlogom proizvodnje takvih amfora. Ova pretpostavka ne isključuje ostale nabrojene funkcije šiljka, ali im oduzima primarno značenje u tumačenju njegova nastanka.The need to sink amphorae into the earth or sand, to store them in layers below ship decks or to grip them conveniently while pouring out their contents – all these are habitual explanations of the function of the amphora spikes. The question is, however, whether these arguments were sufficiently compelling to lead ancient pottery masters to manufacture more complex and costly vessels such as these, which were even unable to stand by themselves.
The increased strength of amphorae resulting from the replacement of a flat bottom with a rounded or conically pointed one and, in later stages, from the addition of a massive pointed end, has already been suggested by several authors, however, without paying sufficient attention to this argument. An analysis of the origin of amphora shapes and, subsequently, empirical tests of their strength that were conducted by numerical modelling in the SESAM program using the finite element method, have confirmed the crucial importance of such massive pointed ends to the durability of containers so shaped, which was probably the main reason for the production of such amphorae. This assumption does not preclude any of the aforementioned functions of the spike, but divests it of their primary significance in the explanation of its development
