New find throws light on life of slaves in ancient Rome’s Pompeii
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A small bedroom was found in an ancient Roman villa near Pompeii that was almost certainly used by slaves.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ROME – Archaeologists have discovered a small bedroom in a Roman villa near Pompeii that was almost certainly used by slaves, throwing light on their lowly status in the ancient world, the Culture Ministry said on Sunday.
The room was found at the Civita Giuliana villa, some 600m north of the walls of Pompeii which was wiped out by a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.
It contained two beds, only one of which had a mattress, two small cabinets and a series of urns and ceramic containers in which the remains of two mice and a rat were found.
“These details once again underline the conditions of precarity and poor hygiene in which the lower echelons of society lived during that time,” the ministry said in its statement.
Materials such as wood and fabric, covered by the devastating blast of rock fragments, gas and ash from Vesuvius, decomposed over the years, leaving a void in the debris.
When filled with plaster, this void reveals the original shape and contours of the long-gone material, including the outline of a crumpled blanket left on the bed netting.
“It looks like a photograph... However, this is an image from almost 2,000 years ago,” the ministry said.
No traces were found of grates, locks or chains to restrain the room’s inhabitants.
“It seems that control was primarily exerted through the internal organisation of servitude, rather than physical barriers and restraints,” said Dr Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Excavations at the Civita Giuliana villa were carried out from 1907 to 1908, and then again from 2017, when police realised the site was being plundered by illegal diggers.
Archaeologists said part of one of the beds had been destroyed by a tunnel used by robbers to access another part of the villa.
Pompeii and the surrounding countryside were submerged by volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius exploded in AD79, killing thousands of Romans who had no idea they were living beneath one of Europe’s biggest volcanoes.
The room contained two beds, only one of which had a mattress, two small cabinets and a series of urns and ceramic containers.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The eruption buried the city in a thick layer of ash, preserving the remains of many of its residents and buildings.
The site has seen a burst of recent archaeological activity – aimed at halting years of decay and neglect – largely thanks to a recently concluded €105 million (S$155 million) project funded by the European Union.
Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said on Sunday that conservation and research efforts would continue.
“What we are learning about the material conditions and social organisation of that era opens up new horizons for historical and archaeological studies,” he said. REUTERS
