2. Industry: Olive Oil & Wine
• The land around Pompeii featured different types of farms:
– luxury villas with agricultural plots
– Working farms with absentee landlords (villae rusticae)
– Tenant farmers working smaller plots
3. Industry: Olive Oil & Wine
• These farms raised sheep, goats and cattle and produced a range of grain, fruit and
vegetable crops as well olives and grapes
• Rich and respected families in and around Pompeii made their fortunes from the
production of wine and olive oil
4. Industry: Olive Oil & Wine
• Wilhelmina Jashemski has taken plaster
casts of vine root systems in the ground and
established the presence of vineyards at
farms such as the villa rustica at Boscoreale
• She also found evidence of commercial
production inside the walls of Pompeii,
where 1 vineyard had 2000 staked grape
vines
5. Industry: Olive Oil & Wine
• Olive oil and wine were important local industries, both for local consumption and
export
• Many farms had their own presses and vats for olive oil and win production
• Pliny the Elder described Pompeian wine as dangerous, because
“it could cause a headache which last until noon the following day...”
6. Industry: Fishing and Garum
• Fishing was another local primary industry
• Evidence for the fishing industry includes the remains of the fish market in the
macellum of Pompeii and frescoes and mosaics of fish
• A macellum is an ancient Roman indoor market building that sold mostly
provisions, especially fruits and vegetables. The building normally sat alongside the
forum and basilica, providing a place in which a market could be held. Each
macellum sold very different produce, depending on the local speciality, but it was
not uncommon to import goods
7. Industry: Fishing and Garum
• The production of garum, a fish sauce, was another
industry for local and export markets. Many labelled
garum containers have been found
• The discovery of fish hooks, nets and large a wooden boat
suggest fishing was also an important industry at
Herculaneum
8. Industry: Woollen Textiles
• The production of woollen cloth was generally done within the household
• However there were a number of workshops in Pompeii where larger scale textile
production was done
9. Industry: Woollen Textiles
• A number of fulleries have been
identified, where newly woven cloth
was washed and bleached and
sometimes dyed
• Fullers also received a lot of business
cleaning the white toga of the Roman
citizen
10. Industry: Woollen Textiles
• A dye works has been uncovered in Region 1 with 4 dying vats, amphorae for the
dyes and washing vats for the final rinse
• Painted shop signs advertise the re-dying of clothes
11. Industry: Woollen Textiles
• In the forum at Pompeii the corporation
of weavers, dyers and fullers dedicated a
statue to Eumachia (a wealthy woman
and public priestess responsible for the
construction of the large building named
after her)
• Felt-making was another form of textile
manufacture and 4 felt-making
workshops have been identified
12. Industry: Pottery
• Pottery was an important commodity
in ancient times and most of the
pottery found at Pompeii was made
locally
• Several potters’ workshops have
been uncovered in Pompeii and a
wall painting shows a potter using a
kick-wheel
13. Industry: Metalwork
• Iron, copper, bronze, silver and gold were the most commonly used metals used in
Pompeii and Herculaneum
• Metal objects found include:
– Simple fish hooks
– Nails
– Hinges
– Hammers
– Saws
– Braziers, pots and pans
– Lanterns
– Surgical instruments
– Jewellery
– Statuettes
14. Industry: Metalwork
• There were more than a dozen metalwork shops in Pompeii, identified by shop
signs and inscriptions and specialised tools, moulds and casts found within them
• A metalworking shop equipped with a forge has been uncovered at Herculaneum
15. Industry: Bread Making
• There were at least 30 bakeries in Pompeii
• Most were equipped with mills for grinding wheat into flour
• At the Bakery of Sextus Patulcus Felix at Herculaneum, the millstones were
turned by small donkeys whose remains were found nearby
16. Industry: Bread Making
• Some of the smaller bakeries were also retail outlets with a shop front
• More than 10 different varieties of bread were made
• The carbonised remains of 81 loaves were found in the remains of the Bakery of
Modestus in Pompeii
• Millstones from local volcanic stone were produced for export to other regions
