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: first, 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. Secondly, what did Pompeians get out of their economy: how well-off were people in Pompeii? This involves discussion of the consumption of everyday consumer goods, analyzing archaeobotanical remains to highlight the quality of Pompeian diets and 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 center of the Roman world.

Andrew Willson is Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire, University of Oxford. His research interests include the economy of the Roman empire, ancient technology, ancient water supply and usage, Roman North Africa, and archaeological field survey. Recent publications include Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and Problems, Settlement, Urbanization and Population, The Roman Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment, and Production, Alexandria and the North-Western Delta, and Maritime Archaeology and Ancient Trade in the Mediterranean.

Miko Flohr is postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute for History of Leiden University, formerly assistant director of the Oxford Roman Economy Project. His main research focus lies with urban history in the Roman world, with a particular emphasis on economic issues in Roman Italy, and on textile economies. His first monograph, The World of the Fullo, was published with OUP in 2013. Since then, he has published on the textile economy of Pompeii and on public investment in commercial space.