the economy; trade, commerce, industries and occupations Flashcards
how did P and H compare in terms of their economic activity?
- H was a quieter fishing/resort town whilst P had evidence to be a bustling commercial centre.
- P largely based on agricultural production. No evidence of H manufacturing as not excavated.
- P had markets, shops, trade, inscriptions to show economic activity.
- P making profit and accumulating wealthy favoured by gods.
3 evidence which reveal commercial life:
- the high no. 600 excavated of privately owned shops, workshops, bars and inns shows the economic activity of selling and renting out places/things in P. Show trade and import/export which may have occurred. retail workforces.
- trade signs depicting various manufacturing processes show P was involved in exports of god from production of local commodity. Made large scale commodities which were later traded. Industrial workforce
- images of Mercury, god of commerce, displayed everywhere to gain blessing, show importance of economy and commerce in Pompeian life. Many ppl had jobs based around commercial life on city ( profit and accumulation of wealth)
The economies of Vesuvian towns were largely based on…
agricultural production and fishing
The Wine and Oil Industry: Why is assumed that only wealthy landowners cultivated vineyards and olive groves?
the cost of the long wait between planting and the first harvest, and cost of wine and olive presses were very expensive an only wealthy landowners could afford it. Pay ppl to help produce these wines.
The Wine and Oil Industry: Explain how wine made?
- winde made pressing grapes (torcularia), fermentation ( cellae vinariae) and storage
- torcular (press) consisted of solid wooden cross bar fixed at one end and pushed downwards by which winch with an arm lever
- wine stored in large jars, often dug and buried
The Wine and Oil Industry: what is the wine storage jars buried half in ground called?
dolium
The Wine and Oil Industry: what was dolium purpose according to Pliny?
- storage jars for wine buried completely or partially in ground, protecting it form weather, spaced out to prevent any tainting of wine to affect another
The Wine and Oil Industry: How do we know that Vesuvian wines were of good quality?
from PLiny’s ‘Natural History’ and evidence from labelled wine jars
The Wine and Oil Industry: what was used to make olive oil?
olive press - trapetum
The Wine and Oil Industry: explain how the trapetum worked?
- presses and storerooms had to be warmed by large fire
- these trapeta 1st pressing, to separate flesh form pip so that oil didn’t get bitter taste
- second pressing used same press as grapes
The Wine and Oil Industry: How was oil use din P and H?
- basic ingredient in perfume
- cooking, particularly in thermopolia (bar serves hot snacks/drinks)
- used in thermae (bath complexes) and palaestra to rub in body
- lighting
Garum: What is garum and how is it made?
- a fish sauce, one of main condiments use for flavouring Roman cuisine (various flavours based on quality and type of fish/method of preparation)
- made form potent mix of guts of fish and other useless parts (grills, intestines, blood) -> finely chopped, pounded, crushed, stirred, mixture left in sun and fermented, 6 weeks evaporate, filter residue = bottle.
- due to stench, likely manufactured outside city walls.
Garum: Why do you think it was such a highly valued item in the Mediterranean world?
- in Mediterranean world, the food would have been bland/plain, so product which gave alot of flavour would have had high demand.
- great product from great product (quality)
- export item
Cloth Manufacture and Treatment: What things were done with wool-based cloth as fulleries (fullonicae)?
- raw wool sent to officina (workshop) lanifricariae where degreased by boiling in leaden boilers
- once carded, taken to spinners and weavers ( in private homes)
- cloth sent to officinae tinctoriae for dyeing
- finish product distributed to cloth merchants
Cloth Manufacture and Treatment: what type of chemicals were used in these processes?
- workers trod on cloth in mixture of fuller’s earth, potash, carbonate of soda and urine (due to ammonia content) (camel urine most prized)
- cloth bleached with sulphur then dyed
- heated vinegar
Cloth Manufacture and Treatment: what do we know about Stephanus?
- fuller, owner of very large fullery of Stephanus
- hung wet clothes over canes on upper floors and in courtyard
- once dried, cloth bleached with sulphur then dyed.
Bakeries: why were having pistrinae in P a luxury?
- most houses didn’t have functioning kitchens usually and could provide quick meals
- saved ppl from buying grain, milling into flour and baking own bread
Bakeries: What is pictured in the photograph on the right? how did they function? (the image shows bakery in P) identify the features of them.
- bakery with grain mills
- lava stone mills to refine grain
- table for kneading dough
- brick oven to bake
Why are bread shaped like rodini? (carbonised)
- bread (loaf of carbonised bread)
- shaped like to to tear off and eat
- bread marked off in 8 sections for easy breaking, dispatched to various shops and stalls in surrounding streets.
Service industries: What type of evidence revel the presence of prostitution in P?
- masonary bed in small room
- cluster of sexual graffiti
- presence of erotic paintings
However, Thomas McGinn questions reliability of these criteria and suggest it wasn’t limited to location but an integral part of P life.
Service industries: Comment on the social acceptance of prostitution in P.
- not stigma attached to visiting brothels and taverns, but those engaged in sex for payment were stigmatised.
- it was an economic enterprise
- ‘normal’ for men only in their time as moral values set by men, part of their everyday sex life
Markets: List the various products that could be bought and sold in Macellum.
- fish/garum/ crustaceans, molluscs.
- meat - lamb, beed, veal, pork, poultry
- fruit
- vegetables
- dried cereal and pulses sold at market ‘olitorium’
- manufactured goods, e.g. shoes
- agricultural and garden products from local farmers and owners of market gardens
Markets: where is the Macellum?
on north eastern side of Forum so pedestrian traffic wont disturb normal life main forum space.
