Great point about points. I'd add that learn from your mistakes

The Ryanair bag sizer test: if you pack well and your 40L is not overstuffed, it passes. Don't challenge the gate agent with a visibly overpacked bag.

Ancient trade in textiles — wool from Mesopotamia, linen from Egypt, silk from China — was more economically important than trade in luxury goods, though it's less archaeologically visible. Wool amphoras don't survive the way ceramic ones do.