1. The Economy: Trade, Commerce,
Industries & Occupations

2. Commerce
• Pompeii was a market town for the sale of agricultural produce and a centre for
small-scale manufacturing
• The number and variety of shops and 2 collections of wax tablets recording
business transactions suggest that Pompeii had a healthy commercial life
• Although there is little evidence of manufacturing or trade at Herculaneum, a
number of shops have been uncovered, most of which sold food and clothing

3. Commerce
• In Pompeii commerce was conducted in
public buildings in and around the
forum and in private shops extending
along the main street and scattered
among residences in most blocks
(insulae)
• Owners of large houses often rented out
rooms as workshops, shops or taverns
INSULA ARRIANA POLLIANA

4. Commerce
• Goods sold in these shops were usually made on the premises or in adjoining
workshops, or sometime bought from local merchants or foreign traders
• Food shops were common
• More than 130 hot food and drink shops (thermopolia) and 20 taverns (cauponau)
have been identified in Pompeii
Thermopolium of Vetutius
Placidus

5. Commerce
• The macellum in the north-eastern corner of the forum at Pompeii was the main
food market
• Around the perimeter were small shops and stalls and in the centre was a covered
fish market
• Raw and prepared foods were also sold in street stands at fixed locations

6. Commerce
• A stone table of official weights and measures (mensa ponderaria) was built into
the eastern wall of the Temple of Apollo near the macellum
• Early inscriptions show that Oscan weights and measures were first used, but the
table was later modified to suit Roman standards

7. Commerce
• 2 collections of carbonised waxed wooden tablets record a variety of business
transactions
• In the house of the banker Lucius Caecilius Jucundus, 154 tablets were found
recording the receipts for rents and loans

8. Commerce
• Another collection of waxed tablets belonged to
the Sulpicii, a firm of freedmen operating as
financiers
• They lent large sums of money to local
businessmen
• More than 80 of the Sulpicii tablets are business
documents, including contracts of sale, loan and
lease, IOU’s and accounts
• 40 of the texts relate to judicial matters , court
proceedings and oaths

9. Commerce
• In Herculaneum no forum or commercial centre has been found
• However, there were shops including a bakery, a number of thermopolia and a
tavern
• The shop at the front of the House of Neptune and Amphritrite is an example of
the mixture of residential and commercial activity which characterised both towns

10. Commerce
• There was a sex industry in Pompeii and Herculaneum and some prostitutes
operated from brothels
• The largest identifiable brothel was a multi-roomed establishment in Pompeii called
the lupinarium
• Other prostitutes operated from single rooms at the back of houses or taverns

11. Occupations
Area Examples
Agriculture Farmer, grape picker
Animal Husbandry Herdsman, pig breeder
Fishing Fisherman, net maker
Manufacturing Iron monger, potter
Textiles Fuller, weaver, dyer
Art and Craft Gem cutter, fresco painter
Commerce Money lender, landlord, banker
Food and Drink Baker, inn keeper
Transport Mule driver, waggoner, porter
Construction Carpenter, stone mason
Technical occupations Doctor, architect, surveyor
Service occupations Bath attendant, prostitute, barber