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Question: Using Source A (Fullery Painting p.52) + B (Bakery mill p.54) + C (Olive press p.55) +your
Mysteries and in farmhouses, fermentation rooms (cellae vinariae) were found with wine presses
own knowledge outline the economy of Pompeii.
(torculariae) and earth ware storage jars (dolii). Religious significance of wine is shown in the House
of the Vettii and wine shops with wall paintings and frescoes of Hercules pouring a libation between
)::he-economy of Pompeii was a thriving one, mainly consisting of small scale manufacturing such as
(w~-~~~_nJextiles,
a nude Dionysus and another figure, or that of the Roman wine god Bacchus. Pompeii mainly
pottery, olive oil, wine and bread, which was mostly made or handled by slaves.
exported its wine and received imports such as wine from other places. Archaeological evidence
These were very common-in the local markets as well as other places in the city.
shows wine jars from the Aegean, Crete and other parts of Italy.
Textiles and clothing were a significant feature in the economy of Pompeii. There have been more
t_han 15 workshops discovered in Pompeii that have bee.n identified as possible fulleries where newly
woven cloth was taken to be washed and bleached. Paintings on the walls of a workshop (Source A)
indicates the different stages involved in cleaning and processing newly woven cloth, one of which
involved treading the cloth in tubs in a mixture offullers' earth, potash, soda and urine. Urine was
collected in pots which peopleJassing by could use. These pots were either located outside a fullery
or on street corners.
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Thus the businesses and industries of Pompeii proved to be quite popular and successful with many
buildings such as fulleries, workshops along with olive oil and wine presses, ovens & millstones
discovered throughout the town. Slaves also proved to have been useful and even trusted by their
uiasters to the point of managing their business; however their use is theorised to have halted any
development of technology and larger-scale manufacturing.
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Chattel slaves were an important asset in the economy of Pompeii. Almost half of the population of
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Pompeii was made up of slaves, resulting in them carrying out the tasks of manual labour. However,
not all slaves did manual labour, some were educated or skilled enough that they were trusted
enough by their masters or mistresses to manage their businesses. However, the widespread use of
slavery in Pompeii has left historians theorising that slavery halted the development of technology
and large-scale manufacturing due to their usefulness.
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Pottery was an extensive and also significant factor in the economy of Pompeii. Pottery was used for
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range of utilitarian objects and containers such as lamps, jugs, strainers, pots, bowls, plates
and amphorae for wine and oil. The discoveries of potters workshops within the city of Pompeii,
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been found in parts of Greece, North Africa, Germany, Britain, Rome and other parts of Italy..
As well as pottery, olive oil was a very'prosperous product in the economy of Pompeii. Olive oil was
used for a variety
that the producti
(Source C) d
ohh~gs such as co;;J<ing~'ilg.htl~g,
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massages, soap and perfume. Evidence shows
f olive oil was an important industry in Pompeii with several olive presses
vered in farm houses and houses in the town, such as the House of the Painted
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Capitals. Source C illustrates that the stone olive presses ~ed olive oil from the olives at it was.
turned, the oil was collected while the squashed olives were either thrown away or used in foo~
Bread baking proved to be very common in Pompeii and may have been of some significance to its
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economy. Many houses in Pompeii had brick ovens where bread could have been baked, and also
millstones made of porous stone for grinding wheat. Evidence suggests th.at bread was an important
~art of the Pompeian's diet, where at least 10 different types of bread were made. Some families
may have baked their own bread, but archaeological evidence sugg~·that at the time of the
eruption, most people bought their bread from bakeries (Source
ef, Out of the 30 bakeries
discovered, some were large with millstones and no retail outlets, as illustrated in Source B, while
others were smaller with ovens similar to today's modern wood-burning pizza oven.
Wine was an important commodity as its industry made a significant impact on Pompeii's economy.
Archaeological evidence shows that there were wine plants in the garden fields with people
employed to manage the vines to harvest its grapes for production. In houses such as the Villa of
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suggest that pottery was a business that was local. Pompeian pottery was so extensive that it has
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