Pompeii preserves abundant evidence of ancient slavery, with remains in the town and the surrounding countryside highlighting the back-breaking drudgery of agricultural work and urban construction — and the harsh lives of the enslaved individuals.

But there is a flip side to Roman slavery, for enslaved people were not just beasts of burden. Inscriptions also show that “higher status slaves” held positions of relative responsibility, not only working in their master’s businesses but also running them — and enjoying social roles as attendants in certain Roman religious cults.

Roman Slaves in Agriculture

In his On Agriculture, the writer Cato advises owners on how to treat agricultural slaves. He recommends a balance to achieve the greatest amount of labour while avoiding making living conditions so hard servants might rebel (IV. 2. V).

Evidence from rural villas suggests that life was much harder for agricultural slaves than for domestic slaves. Food and clothing would have been basic — and while county villas did have separate living quarters for slaves, this was for practical reasons rather than for the comfort and convenience of the enslaved because the sheer numbers of agricultural slaves made it impractical for them to sleep in stables and storage areas. 

The remains of these slave quarters in the archaeological record demonstrate just how basic a rural slave’s life was. The cells where they rested had plain walls and earth floors. Windows were slits and while slaves did have their own dedicated quarters, equipment was often stored in the places they slept, as demonstrated by a room for slaves excavated in 2021 at a villa at Civita Giuliana just outside Pompeii.

Country villas were also usually equipped with underground prisons for unruly slaves. At the Villa of the Mosaic Columns just outside Pompeii, the skeleton of a slave was found in such a prison, chained by both legs. No one had deemed it worth freeing him during the eruption. 

Enslaved Urban Manual Labour 

Life could be no easier within the town. Many enslaved people worked in construction and repair work in Pompeii, as well as other unpleasant manual tasks such as stoking the furnaces of public bathhouses. If they were not involved in hard labour, physically fit enslaved men could find themselves sold as gladiators. Good-looking slaves of either sex could also find themselves working in Pompeii’s brothels.  

The remains of a bakery excavated in Pompeii in 2023 illustrate the harsh reality of life for urban slaves involved in manual labour. Situated in Region IX, Insula 10, the property consisted of a house and attached commercial premises. The baker’s residence was stylish and comfortable, decorated with the latest fourth-century frescos. However, the living quarters for the bakery’s enslaved workforce were somewhat different. 

Excavators discovered three bodies, victims of the eruption of Vesuvius, in a room used to grind the grain used to make bread. Here, the human workers worked side by side with the donkeys used to turn the four mill wheels, leading them for hours in circles, as indicated by the indentations on the floor.

The fact that both people and donkeys lived and worked in the same area is suggested by the fact that the mill room’s only entrance/exit point was through to the atrium of the house — an unlikely exit point for manual slaves at the end of the working day. While the mill wheels occupied the middle of the room, to one side were stables where the animals — and presumably slaves —both rested. The enslaved people in the mill room were little better than prisoners, denied even a glimpse of the outside world, as the only light and ventilation came from small windows set so high in the walls its occupants would not have been able to see outside.

Roman Slaves in Business

However, slaves who were highly skilled and worked closely with their masters could become a trusted and essential part of the business — and enjoy a more comfortable life with better prospects for manumission. The Murecine tablets were found outside Pompeii and date to the time of the 79AD eruption. They detail the business affairs of a Pompeian citizen in Puteoli. However, the citizen did not keep these records; one of his slaves did it for him.

In the case of the Murecine tablets, the master could not write. But even if a master was literate, it was common for slaves to keep accounts and records on his behalf. For example, a slave sold by his master to the Pompeian banker Lucius Caecilius in 54AD wrote out the receipt for his own sale. Such highly skilled slaves were well-placed to earn their freedom.

Usually, freedmen acted as their old master’s business representatives. However, slaves could also manage their master’s business. Some even had their own seals inscribed with their names so that they could act on their master’s behalf. Inscriptions relating to the fish sauce business of a man called Umbricius Scarus in Pompeii show that one of his many manufacturing workshops was run by a female slave named Eutyche. Likewise, a property magnate called Alleius Nigidius Maius used his slave, Primus, as an agent for rentals and sales.

Slaves and Roman Religion

Slaves could not take part in the main cults of civic Roman religion. However, various minor cults were open to them.

One example was the cult of Mercury and Maia, which later became dominated by the genius of the Emperor Augustus. Inscribed plaques for 14-2 BC show that slaves from important families in Pompeii played a significant part in the cult, assisting the freedmen who officiated.  

Another cult that encouraged slave participation was the cult of the district Lares. The Lares were ancient Roman deities, each responsible for a particular area of land. They were regarded as the guardian spirits of specific neighbourhoods, with their shrines occupying street corners. Evidence from a shrine on the Street of Abundance shows that slaves did not just assist freedmen in the cult; they could also be presidents of the cult.

However, roles in these Roman cults were not open to every slave; they were usually allocated to slaves marked for freedom. The responsibilities and expectations of cult life were a way of preparing the enslaved for their new roles as freedpersons. 

Resources

Cato and Varro (trans. Hooper, W. D and Ash, H. B).“On Agriculture”. Loeb Classical Library

Cooley, Alison E and M.G.L. (2004) Pompeii: A Sourcebook. Routledge: London and New York.

 Dobbins, J J and Foss, PW. (2007). The World of Pompeii. Routledge. London and New York.

The Room of the Slaves — The latest Discovery at Civita Giuliana. Institutional Portal of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. 6 November 2021.

Pompeii: Prison Bakery Emerges. Institutional Portal of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. 8 December 2023