The Economy: Trade, Commerce, Industries & Occupations

Industry: Olive Oil & Wine• The land around Pompeii featured different types of farms:

– luxury villas with agricultural plots– Working farms with absentee landlords (villae rusticae)– Tenant farmers working smaller plots

• These farms raised sheep, goats and cattle and produced a range of grain, fruit and vegetable crops as well olives and grapes

• Rich and respected families in and around Pompeii made their fortunes from the production of wine and olive oil

Industry: Olive Oil & Wine

• Wilhelmina Jashemski has taken plaster casts of vine root systems in the ground and established the presence of vineyards at farms such as the villa rustica at Boscoreale

• She also found evidence of commercial production inside the walls of Pompeii, where 1 vineyard had 2000 staked grape vines

Industry: Olive Oil & Wine

• Olive oil and wine were important local industries, both for local consumption and export

• Many farms had their own presses and vats for olive oil and win production• Pliny the Elder described Pompeian wine as dangerous, because

“it could cause a headache which last until noon the following day...”

Industry: Olive Oil & Wine

Industry: Fishing and Garum• Fishing was another local primary industry• Evidence for the fishing industry includes the remains of the fish market in the

macellum of Pompeii and frescoes and mosaics of fish• A macellum is an ancient Roman indoor market building that sold mostly

provisions, especially fruits and vegetables. The building normally sat alongside the forum and basilica, providing a place in which a market could be held. Each macellum sold very different produce, depending on the local speciality, but it was not uncommon to import goods

• The production of garum, a fish sauce, was another industry for local and export markets. Many labelled garum containers have been found

• The discovery of fish hooks, nets and large a wooden boat suggest fishing was also an important industry at Herculaneum

Industry: Fishing and Garum

Industry: Woollen Textiles• The production of woollen cloth was generally done within the household• However there were a number of workshops in Pompeii where larger scale textile

production was done

• A number of fulleries have been identified, where newly woven cloth was washed and bleached and sometimes dyed

• Fullers also received a lot of business cleaning the white toga of the Roman citizen

Industry: Woollen Textiles

• A dye works has been uncovered in Region 1 with 4 dying vats, amphorae for the dyes and washing vats for the final rinse

• Painted shop signs advertise the re-dying of clothes

Industry: Woollen Textiles

• In the forum at Pompeii the corporation of weavers, dyers and fullers dedicated a statue to Eumachia (a wealthy woman and public priestess responsible for the construction of the large building named after her)

• Felt-making was another form of textile manufacture and 4 felt-making workshops have been identified

Industry: Woollen Textiles

Industry: Pottery

• Pottery was an important commodity in ancient times and most of the pottery found at Pompeii was made locally

• Several potters’ workshops have been uncovered in Pompeii and a wall painting shows a potter using a kick-wheel

Industry: Metalwork• Iron, copper, bronze, silver and gold were the most commonly used metals used in

Pompeii and Herculaneum• Metal objects found include:

– Simple fish hooks– Nails– Hinges– Hammers– Saws– Braziers, pots and pans– Lanterns– Surgical instruments– Jewellery– Statuettes

• There were more than a dozen metalwork shops in Pompeii, identified by shop signs and inscriptions and specialised tools, moulds and casts found within them

• A metalworking shop equipped with a forge has been uncovered at Herculaneum

Industry: Metalwork

Industry: Bread Making• There were at least 30 bakeries in Pompeii• Most were equipped with mills for grinding wheat into flour• At the Bakery of Sextus Patulcus Felix at Herculaneum, the millstones were

turned by small donkeys whose remains were found nearby

• Some of the smaller bakeries were also retail outlets with a shop front• More than 10 different varieties of bread were made• The carbonised remains of 81 loaves were found in the remains of the Bakery of

Modestus in Pompeii• Millstones from local volcanic stone were produced for export to other regions

Industry: Bread Making