Anicent History Pompeii- Trade & Commerce
Trade and Commerce in Pompeii
Before the tragic eruption on Pompeii it was a well established thriving market town situated right on the coast of Italy that was very advanced for its age. Evidence throughout the town suggests that Pompeii had a healthy commercial life but there has been little evidence of manufacturing and trade although still enough to show the importations and exportations of the town providing archaeologist with a sufficient amount to have a great knowledge and understanding of what life was like in Pompeii in terms of their trade and commerce.
Pompeii was known as the trade centre of southern Campania for around 600 years and traded with various areas around northern Italy which involved the importation and exportation of goods. The geological positioning made it ideal for trade having a great access to the Mediterranean shipping as well as the Sarno River allowing access to other smaller towns. The harbour was constantly active with ships merchants and sailors keeping the industry flowing.
The trade industry was severed as a leveller in society which had even concerned the elite. Investigations have shown the most prominent exportations of Pompeii were pottery, garum (fish-source), wine and olive oil. Workshop production was on a small scale so very few goods were produced to be exported. Despite their local producers there is evidence of a limited range of imported goods such as pottery from Gual, lamps from northern parts of Italy, wine from Spain, Sicily and Crete, and would even get oil from southern Spain. Most producers would trade their merchandise with negotiators in exchanges for goods from other regions. The majority Pompeian imports and export goods of Pompeian origin have been found throughout the Roman Empire but mostly within the city itself which reinforces the fact that the trade industry was not comprehensive yet has been able to supply evidence that there was an active trade industry.
Where as the trade industry can
Before the tragic eruption on Pompeii it was a well established thriving market town situated right on the coast of Italy that was very advanced for its age. Evidence throughout the town suggests that Pompeii had a healthy commercial life but there has been little evidence of manufacturing and trade although still enough to show the importations and exportations of the town providing archaeologist with a sufficient amount to have a great knowledge and understanding of what life was like in Pompeii in terms of their trade and commerce.
Pompeii was known as the trade centre of southern Campania for around 600 years and traded with various areas around northern Italy which involved the importation and exportation of goods. The geological positioning made it ideal for trade having a great access to the Mediterranean shipping as well as the Sarno River allowing access to other smaller towns. The harbour was constantly active with ships merchants and sailors keeping the industry flowing.
The trade industry was severed as a leveller in society which had even concerned the elite. Investigations have shown the most prominent exportations of Pompeii were pottery, garum (fish-source), wine and olive oil. Workshop production was on a small scale so very few goods were produced to be exported. Despite their local producers there is evidence of a limited range of imported goods such as pottery from Gual, lamps from northern parts of Italy, wine from Spain, Sicily and Crete, and would even get oil from southern Spain. Most producers would trade their merchandise with negotiators in exchanges for goods from other regions. The majority Pompeian imports and export goods of Pompeian origin have been found throughout the Roman Empire but mostly within the city itself which reinforces the fact that the trade industry was not comprehensive yet has been able to supply evidence that there was an active trade industry.
Where as the trade industry can