The Economy of Pompeii

This volume presents fourteen papers by Roman archaeologists and historians discussing approaches to the economic history of Pompeii, and the role of the Pompeian evidence in debates about the Roman economy. Four themes are discussed. The first of these is the position of Pompeii and its agricultural environment, discussing the productivity and specialization of agriculture in the Vesuvian region, and the degree to which we can explain Pompeii's size and wealth on the basis of the city's economic hinterland. A second issue discussed is what Pompeians got out of their economy: how well-off were people in Pompeii? This involves discussing the consumption of everyday consumer goods, analyzing archaeobotanical remains to highlight the quality of Pompeian diets, and discussing what bone remains reveal about the health of the inhabitants of Pompeii. A third theme is economic life in the city: how are we to understand the evidence for crafts and manufacturing? How are we to assess Pompeii's commercial topography? Who were the people who actually invested in constructing shops and workshops? In which economic contexts were Pompeian paintings produced? Finally, the volume discusses money and business: how integrated was Pompeii into the wider world of commerce and exchange, and what can the many coins found at Pompeii tell us about this? What do the wax tablets found near Pompeii tell us about trade in the Bay of Naples in the first century AD? Together, the chapters of this volume highlight how Pompeii became a very rich community, and how it profited from its position in the centre of the Roman world. Contributors to this volume - Wim Broekaert is a postdoctoral researcher in Ancient History at Ghent University Girolamo Ferdinando De Simone is director of the Apolline project Steven J.R. Ellis is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Cincinnati Domenico Esposito is postdoctoral researcher at the institute for classical archaeology at the Free University, Berlin Miko Flohr is postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute for History of Leiden University Richard Hobbs is curator of the Romano-British collections at The British Museum Willem Jongman is Reader in Economic History at the University of Groningen Estelle Lazer is an Honorary Research Associate in Ancient History at the University of Sydney Nicolas Monteix holds a position as associate professor in Roman history and archeology at the University of Rouen Eric Poehler is Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Nick Ray is Assistant Director of the Oxford Roman Economy Project, University of Oxford Damian Robinson is Director of the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford Erica Rowan is Levantis Associate Research Fellow at the Department of Classics and Ancient History in the University of Exeter Koenraad Verboven is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Ghent Andrew Wilson is Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire, at the University of Oxford