Quick questions on Economy, trade, and occupations in Pompeii and Herculaneum: HSC Ancient History

The volcanic soils of Campania produced exceptional wine, olive oil, fruit, and grain. Around 30 villas rusticae (working farms) have been excavated in the Pompeian hinterland, including the Villa Regina at Boscoreale, the Villa of the Mosaic Columns, and the Villa of the Mysteries (which combined agricultural production with elite residence).

Garum production. Pompeii was a major Mediterranean centre for garum, the fermented fish sauce used in nearly every Roman dish. The workshop of Aulus Umbricius Scaurus produced four named grades (highest "flos floris," second, third, fourth). Urceus jars labelled "G(ari) F(los) Scauri" have been found across the empire. Robert Curtis (Garum and Salsamenta, 1991) catalogued 30 garum producers in Pompeii.

Over 600 shops have been identified at Pompeii. The Via dell'Abbondanza and Via di Mercurio were the main commercial streets. Thermopolia (fast-food bars with sunken counter-jars) were ubiquitous; over 150 have been identified. The thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus preserves the counter, the lararium, and a deposit of around 1,300 sestertii.

The Forum at Pompeii was the commercial and civic centre. The macellum (food market) on the Forum's east side preserves the market stalls, the tholos (central feature), and the painted decoration of food being sold.

Slave labour underpinned the economy. The walls of bakeries, fulleries, and brothels (the Lupanare) show graffiti naming individual slaves. The skeleton remains of slaves identified at the Boscoreale and Boscotrecase villas show the rural labour force. Roman law (the Lex Aquilia, 286 BC) treated slaves as property; the AD 79 evidence preserves both the legal abstraction and the lived reality.

Walter Moeller (1976) treats Pompeii as a major textile centre with hundreds of fulleries.

Pompeii was a major Mediterranean centre for garum, the fermented fish sauce used in nearly every Roman dish. The workshop of Aulus Umbricius Scaurus produced four named grades (highest "flos floris," second, third, fourth). Urceus jars labelled "G(ari) F(los) Scauri" have been found across the empire.

The fullonicae cleaned and treated wool. The Fullery of Stephanus on the Via dell'Abbondanza preserves the basins where wool was trampled with urine (collected in amphorae outside the shop), the press, and dyeing facilities. The "Procession of the Fullers" fresco from the Fullery of Veranius Hypsaeus shows fullers worshipping Venus, who was both Pompeii's patron deity and patron of the trade.

Over 30 bakeries (pistrina) have been identified. The Bakery of Modestus produced 81 loaves carbonised in the oven on the day of the eruption. Lava-stone millstones turned by donkeys ground the grain; the loaves were marked with a cross to break into eight portions.

The kilns of the Eumachia family produced amphorae and tiles. Bronze and metal workshops along the Via dell'Abbondanza produced cookware, tools, and votive items.

Herculaneum was smaller, more residential, and less industrial. Wallace-Hadrill stresses the difference.

Cite Jongman's critique of Moeller. A 7-mark answer that ignores the debate loses marks.

The AD 79 electoral campaign provides a directory of occupational groups. The bakers, muleteers, goldsmiths, and dyers all endorsed candidates.

Dolia: large fermentation jars. Amphorae: shipping containers (wine, oil). Urceus: small jars for garum.