A pot on the ash
Besides the big houses, rich of frescos, statues and decorums, emerges from the excavations a more modest reality, but not less important for the recovery of the whole city.
The emerging daily life is impressive. In a house of the Regio I it has been found the kitchen as if it had been left a few minutes before: the terracotta pot is still on the ash in the superior part of the fireplace, while in the inferior part, under the arc made of bricks, other dishes kept foods hot. Some amphoras, for water, are against the wall.
In a close room, other amphoras are still lined upside-down, to make them drained before bottling the wine of the vintage. A lot of families had piece of grounds were they cultivated vines for domestic use or for a small commerce.
The rusticity, the raw state of the walls, the stone floor must not amaze. In the most elegant houses, the environments of service were deprived of every comfort: in fact, they were frequented by slaves where they worked hard and nobody cared to mitigate their work.
It is known that Romans, so good in resolving technical matters about great buildings, never tried to resolve small domestic difficulties. It was slaves’ job, not paid, therefore without an economic value.
The emerging daily life is impressive. In a house of the Regio I it has been found the kitchen as if it had been left a few minutes before: the terracotta pot is still on the ash in the superior part of the fireplace, while in the inferior part, under the arc made of bricks, other dishes kept foods hot. Some amphoras, for water, are against the wall.
In a close room, other amphoras are still lined upside-down, to make them drained before bottling the wine of the vintage. A lot of families had piece of grounds were they cultivated vines for domestic use or for a small commerce.
The rusticity, the raw state of the walls, the stone floor must not amaze. In the most elegant houses, the environments of service were deprived of every comfort: in fact, they were frequented by slaves where they worked hard and nobody cared to mitigate their work.
It is known that Romans, so good in resolving technical matters about great buildings, never tried to resolve small domestic difficulties. It was slaves’ job, not paid, therefore without an economic value.