Pompeii's Dual Purpose: Uncovering the Bakery-Prison Connection

The Pompeii Archaeological Park announced on Friday the discovery of an ancient bakery that was operated by slaves in the ruins of Pompeii. Enslaved individuals and donkeys were found to have been locked up together and utilized to power a mill for grinding grain to make bread, as detailed by the park.

In the Regio IX section of the well-known tourist site, there is a narrow room with small, high windows covered by bars. These windows allow minimal light to enter the room. Indentations in the floor were also found, used to guide blindfolded animals forced to walk around for hours. This discovery was made during an ongoing archaeological dig as part of a project to secure and maintain previously excavated areas of the Roman city.

The discovery was made during the excavation of a home in Pompeii.

The bakery was unearthed by archaeologists during the excavation of a renovated ancient Pompeiian home, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., which covered the city of Pompeii in ash.

In recent months, the bodies of three victims of the eruption were discovered, believed to be residents of the home rather than slaves. The house was split into a living area adorned with "refined frescoes," and a commercial bakery. Adjacent to the bakery was a dimly lit prison area, as stated by Pompeii Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel in a YouTube channel interview.

The evidence shows the grueling labor that men, women, and animals endured in the ancient mill-bakeries," he noted.

Zuchtriegel explained that the Roman writer Apuleius described these prison bakeries in the 2nd century C.E. in his novel "Metamorphoses" (also known as "The Golden Ass"). The protagonist, Lucius, was transformed into a donkey and sold to a miller, based on the writer's first-hand knowledge of animals and humans living and working together.

The prison area had no doors to the outside world.

Parco Archeologico Di Pompei/Reuters

The newly discovered prison area had no doors to the outside, only to the inner atrium.

In other words, it is a space where we must envision the presence of enslaved individuals whose owner wanted to restrict their movements," Zuchtriegel explained. "It represents the most distressing aspect of ancient slavery, where trust was absent and brutality prevailed, as evidenced by the iron grates closing off the few windows."

New discoveries by archaeologists shed light on the daily lives of ancient Pompeii's slaves. It is now believed that the indentations in the floor were intentionally carved to guide animals in a circular motion for grain grinding, resembling a clockwork mechanism rather than being formed by repetitive movement.

Zuchtriegel suggested that based on both iconographic and literary sources, it was common for a millstone to be operated by a tandem of a donkey and a slave at the tomb of Eurysaces in Rome.

Expansion of the ancient Roman site of Pompeii is imminent.

The latter individual not only pushed the grindstone, but also had the important responsibilities of encouraging the animal, monitoring the grinding process, adding grain, and removing flour.

The site will be a valuable addition to the upcoming exhibition opening on December 15, titled "The Other Pompeii: Common Lives in the Shadow of Vesuvius." The exhibition is dedicated to the "myriad of individuals often forgotten by historical chronicles," such as the slaves who made up the majority of the population and played a significant role in the economy, culture, and social fabric of Roman civilization, as emphasized by Zuchtriegel.