Archaeologists excavating parts of the ancient city of Pompeii made public new discoveries on Friday that provide a grim glimpse into the bleak existence of enslaved people two millenniums ago, including the existence of a “bakery-prison.”
The newly excavated area consists of a cramped space where donkeys and enslaved people lived, slept and worked together, milling flour to make bread. The single window that was found there provided dim light: it opened not to the outside world but to another room in the house, and was crossed with iron bars.
The brutality of the working conditions in the mills of the time is graphically described in Book IX of “The Golden Ass” by the second-century author Apuleius, the archaeological site noted in a statement issued Friday.
With their feet chained, and dressed in rags, Apuleius describes the workers as having “eyes so bleary from the scorching heat of that smoke-filled darkness they could barely see, and like wrestlers sprinkled with dust before a fight, they were coarsely whitened with floury ash.” The donkeys were no better off: “Their flanks were cut to the bone from relentless whipping, their hoofs distorted to strange dimensions from the repetitive circling, and their whole hide blotched by mange and hollowed by starvation.”
Buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. under tons of lapilli, ash and rock, which would help to preserve it, Pompeii has over the centuries become a powerful symbol of the transience of life, and human impotence, when nature unleashes its power.
Since excavations began in the 18th century, Pompeii has continued to provide precious insights into the lives and habits of its ancient denizens.
The iron bars on the window of the bakery were designed to prevent the enslaved workers from fleeing, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, said in a telephone interview.
The constricted work space had at least four tightly packed millstones. The floor around them is marked by a series of semicircular indentations of varying depth, to prevent the animals from sliding on the pavement, but also to “keep them in a kind a choreography,” Mr. Zuchtriegel said. “The space was so small that two donkeys could not pass at the same time, so they always had to be careful to keep in some kind of synchrony with the others, and this evidently helped” them moved through the tiny space, he added.
Under Mr. Zuchtriegel’s watch, visitors have been offered a more complex, interdisciplinary reading of the ancient city, as recent research has focused on the complex stratification of Pompeii’s society, including the lowest classes, which included the majority of its citizens.
The discoveries in the Pompeii bakery offered “a very harsh and grim image” of life there, Mr. Zuchtriegel said.
The bakery emerged during the excavation of a larger dwelling that has already provided some surprises, including a fresco that appears to show a doughy concoction that looks remarkably like a pizza. The bakery is behind the wall with the fresco. In another room — which contained the lararium, or household shrine — excavation earlier this year uncovered a series of political inscriptions, the ancient equivalent of today’s electoral manifestoes and posters. The inscriptions invite people to vote for Aulus Rustius Verus, a candidate for the position of aedile, an elected official during the Roman Republic. Mr. Zuchtriegel said the dwelling likely belonged to a supporter of the candidate, possibly one of his freedmen.
For researchers, the discovery of political slogans inside the house was a first for Pompeii, Chiara Scappaticcio, professor of Latin at the University in Naples Federico II, said, and it suggested the possible collusion between elected officials and the owners of bakeries.
The current excavation campaign aims to secure and consolidate the slopes along one edge of the unexcavated areas of the ancient city.
The excavations suggest that the house was amid a renovation when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius took place, and that the bakery was likely not in service at the time.
A correction was made on Dec. 9, 2023:An earlier version of this article misidentified which part of “The Golden Ass” describes working conditions in mills. It is Book IX, not Book XI.
Beep boop, I’m a human pretending to be a bot who copied the article text from archive.org. Meep Morp (RIP Andre Braugher)
Reading your list makes me better understand why I get kicked out of groups… I never realized that being the jokester actively harmed people’s ability to enjoy the game. Thank you for that.
I guess for me in my last campaign, it was less that I was trying to be a jokester and more that actions which seemed somewhat reasonable to me and high-risk/high-reward were not welcomed by the rest of the group and I didn’t realize how serious people were going to be. We were playing in the world of Firefly and I tried hailing an approaching ship to see what they wanted and if I could negotiate.
The fact that the DM was shocked should have been a hint that I was doing the wrong thing, but at the time I thought that I found a plot hole and was doing such a good job that the DM was blown away. I was wrong and my character has incapacitated by another member of the crew, which continued until I realized that I probably wasn’t welcome to continue campaigning with the group. When I realized this, I genuinely felt really bad that I’d probably upset the group, but it wasn’t until now that I realized how seriously people take this.
I’ve never before played with the specific intent of keeping my character alive, but I think that was more of a videogame mentality. Other folks in the group aren’t exactly excited that I’m putting their characters lives on the line because people obviously invest real time and care into this. My realization was less that I joke too much and more that I don’t take things seriously enough.
Thank you so much for this link! I’ve never realized before that RPGs are meant to be grounded characters in fantastical scenarios and that players have real connections to their characters. I’ve always viewed my characters as disposable and cannon fodder for risky scenarios.
I’m sure there was more to the story than that, but I’m an awkward person. Oh well. Live to try again another day, hopefully better and with more patience for people like me next time. Thanks again!
Fomenting war. Fermenting war would probably be a good thing, considering that part of the fermentation process is waiting. Ah, if only world leaders could take a page from your book, though. “Should I try some war? Nah, I think I’ll let it ferment some more…” Goes back to sharpening shiv to protect their toilet wine war.
Ugh, just do me now. Nothing sexier than some etymology from a stranger. Sincerely, I appreciate that tidbit more than sarcastic-sounding typed words can express.
Two proposed federal class action lawsuits, filed in the wake of a Markup investigation, accuse the grocer of disclosing private data through its online store and pharmacy...
I’m kinda in a political vacuum and, being Jewish, am kinda shielded from being called antisemitic, but are people for realsies being called antisemitic for saying statements like “a little girl was filming from her house when the IDF shot her,” or is it more hyperbolic than literal? I mean, I’ve known some assholes from the Jewish community who would probably pull that shit to get out of an argument, but does anyone actually listen to them? I mean, I’m not gonna take hygiene tips from someone covered in dog shit…
Either way, selfishly, I just want my family in Israel to be safe; idealistically, the Israeli state should have been checked before it had even gotten to this point. You can’t destroy people’s lives and homes and then think they’re gonna roll over when you corner them.
I hope against all logic that there’s a quick and less lethal end to all this. After that, it’d sure be fucking great to see some repercussions for war crimes and crimes against humanity for once. I can’t even imagine what the poor Palestinian survivors of this are gonna be like when it’s all over. How can you ever go back to any reasonable form of daily living?
Thank you for that answer! Fuck the terrorists in government on both sides destroying all the beautiful people between them. Also, I’ve met some non-beautiful people in both countries. So fuck them too, but small-scale.
I was gonna tell you to be careful with that JIDF stuff cuz conspiracies lead to blah blah blah and then did a quick look on ecosia. Jesus Christ my people suck sometimes…
Yeah, October 7th was pretty fucked up, but it’s not like Israelis aren’t under constant threat. What sucks is that kind of fear leads to suspicion and a strange flavor of xenophobia I’ve never really seen from other countries…
But I can tell you that, in a way, Israelis didn’t necessarily see Gazans as Hamas before, but they sure as fuck saw them as an other and a threat. I swear, the things I heard from even my most liberal Israeli family members was shocking. “They just breed like rabbits,” “they want to be in power so they can oppress us,” “they can’t hold their own elections because they’ll just vote for terrorists.” And then the most religious citizens of their country live part of the year in NYC, have so many kids that they forget to vaccinate them, and vote for Trump and Netanyahu in two separate elections.
As a professional Fartographer, I can confirm this is the correct answer. Sometimes you’re feeling confident that you’re hanging out with a fart, but then it comes out to you as poop.
Then you have to tell it, “look, I still appreciate you as something I created, but I can’t support your choice of being poop.” And then you tell it that it has until the weekend to get out of your pants.
Yeah, that’s fucking weird. Fathers and sons are meant to compete which is why my dad and I still hold our semi-annual Jerk-off Jam; I’ve won every single one since 2016. All the witnesses at the cemetery can confirm this.
Weird assumption. My mom’s still alive, who do you think drives me to the cemetery on my dad’s birthday and the day of his passing? You think I’m gonna be a quitter just because my dad gave me the ultimate handicap?
Hey, have you ever cried so hard that it made jerking off in the cemetery almost seem redundant?
At least five possible hate crime incidents at Stanford University since the Israel-Hamas war’s onset are under investigation, including an apparent hit-and-run crash involving an Arab Muslim student, according to the university’s public safety department....
X to be investigated for allegedly breaking EU laws on hate speech and fake news (www.theguardian.com)
Life for the Lowest Class in Ancient Pompeii? It Was Awful. (www.nytimes.com)
Excavations in the ancient ruins have unearthed a cramped space where enslaved workers and donkeys performed their grueling tasks....
Are you a microwave? (lemmy.world)
All lives rule (suppo.fi)
Connection [beetlemoses] (startrek.website)
This is great. You should try it. (startrek.website)
This is the fun part (startrek.website)
the reason for the season, idk (lemmy.world)
expandn’t the list (lemmy.sdf.org)
Hes very sophisticated (lemmy.world)
Russia limits women’s access to abortion, citing demographic changes (www.aljazeera.com)
Experts say crackdown on abortion drugs and services is part of a project to instil ‘certain values’ in society.
Guess I finally have a use for my archive of random internet shit (sh.itjust.works)
I have so much…
Kroger Sued for Sharing Sensitive Health Data With Meta (themarkup.org)
Two proposed federal class action lawsuits, filed in the wake of a Markup investigation, accuse the grocer of disclosing private data through its online store and pharmacy...
Why though (lemmy.ml)
Is Israel’s Gaza war the deadliest conflict for children in modern times? (www.aljazeera.com)
Palestinian girl filming Israeli soldiers gets shot at in the West Bank (streamable.com)
So let me refer to my “stop using antisemitic words” chart…...
I'm Lightning McQuick (lemmy.world)
USA: Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages (therecord.media)
Internet providers say the FCC should not investigate broadband prices (arstechnica.com)
Is a fart a fart before you fart it?
Just wondering
Grasshopper [OC] (lemmy.ca)
Landlord torches New York home after tenants stop paying rent, become squatters (www.foxbusiness.com)
Brooklyn landlord Rafiqul Islam faces arson and attempted murder charges
'Couldn't See Anymore:' Bored Ape Conference Attendees Wake Up With Searing Eye Pain, Vision Loss (www.404media.co)
Not a single statue of him! (lemmy.world)
This template lives rent free in my head....
Mike Johnson Admits He and His Son Monitor Each Other's Porn Intake in Resurfaced Video (www.rollingstone.com)
It’s like watching a clown show. Maybe he should watch more porn and grow up.
whys my hotel light glowing over my toilet - no other light does this (lemmy.ml)
this aint some creep cam is it? im at a five star hotel rn wtf
Arab Muslim student struck in hit-and-run as Stanford University investigates spate of hate crime incidents (www.cnn.com)
At least five possible hate crime incidents at Stanford University since the Israel-Hamas war’s onset are under investigation, including an apparent hit-and-run crash involving an Arab Muslim student, according to the university’s public safety department....