Cramped, rodent-infested room found in Pompeii sheds light on slavery in ancient times

Earlier this year, a luxury villa filled with colorful frescoes and marble baths was restored in Pompeii, offering a glimpse of life at the top in ancient Italy.

Now, a small, rodent-infested slave room has been discovered in the city, this time shedding light on life at the bottom of the totem pole.

The room, which is around 2,000 years old, was located inside a sprawling villa near the city walls, according to an Aug. 20 news release from the Pompeii Archaeological Park.

Like the rest of the city’s structures, the room was blanketed under a layer of ash spat up during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Though deadly and destructive, the disaster left Pompeii perfectly preserved beneath the volcanic sediment.

Spartan furnishings, including three beds and two small cabinets, were unearthed inside the room, indicating it was used as slave quarters, officials said.

Two of the beds were rudimentary, lacking mattresses, while one of them appeared more comfortable and expensive.

Also found were tools, including a hoe, and preserved casts of ceramic vessels, known as amphorae.

The remains of three rodents were also uncovered. Two mice were found inside an amphorae, while a rat was located in a jug underneath one of the beds.

The animals, which likely died trying to take shelter during the eruption, are indicative of the kind of discomfort slaves would have been accustomed to, officials said.

Absent though were signs of restraint, including padlocks or grates, suggesting control was exerted in ways other than physical force.

Slavery was featured prominently in ancient Roman society, and enslaved people could be found in cities as well as rural areas, according to the British Museum.

As Rome conquered the Mediterranean world, it enslaved foreigners captured in war and engaged in the slave trade with other territories, according to the museum. Criminals — including pirates and kidnappers — and people who failed to pay back debts were also enslaved, but that was less common.

“Enslaved people in ancient Rome had pretty horrible lives,” Jane Draycott, an ancient historian, archaeologist and lecturer at the University of Glasgow, told McClatchy News.

“Ancient literature tells us that enslaved people were kept under very strict, coercive control, not allowed to speak their own languages, their personal relationships with family members and friends used against them,” Draycott said. “Something like a nice bedroom, a bed with bedding and a blanket would have been a privilege, perhaps a reward for good behavior.”

The Pompeii Archaeological Park is located about 150 miles southeast of Rome.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the archaeological park.

This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Cramped, rodent-infested room found in Pompeii sheds light on slavery in ancient times."