Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by djur on Saturday November 06, 2021 @04:46PM
(#29133688)
Slaves, plebians, and patricians were very distinct social classes. There really wasn't such a thing as a free servant, with the occasional exception of some freedmen. Roman villas had two separate living areas, one for the owner's family and one for the slaves. We know enough about Roman architecture to identify this as the pars rustica, the slaves' quarters.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by rightbyte on Saturday November 06, 2021 @08:34PM
(#29135258)
Ok fair enough.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by Tagbert on Saturday November 06, 2021 @01:23PM
(#29132025)
I assume that they have compared these accommodations to others already found and see a noticeable difference in the quality of the furnishings and other components.
Slaves made up 30-40% of the population so it not unreasonable to conclude that the shabby accommodations would be intended for slaves.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by rightbyte on Saturday November 06, 2021 @01:49PM
(#29132256)
Sure, it is likely that slaves lived there. But I would not state it as a fact.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by frostburg on Saturday November 06, 2021 @01:49PM
(#29132254)
Pompeii was a place where rich people lived, not an average town.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by sydthrowaway on Sunday November 07, 2021 @12:16AM
(#29136518)
I guess the outcome was deserved
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by throw63738 on Saturday November 06, 2021 @01:41PM
(#29132190)
Bed luxury? Wood was cheap and with basic tools it takes a few hours to make.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by rightbyte on Saturday November 06, 2021 @01:47PM
(#29132242)
Ye OK beds in general were no luxury. But:
"The webbed bases of the beds were made of ropes"
Does not sound like cheap 79 AD bed to me.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by jasonhansel on Saturday November 06, 2021 @05:58PM
(#29134188)
That's how all beds were made prior to the advent of box springs (or modern mattresses, which don't require a separate box spring). Very old beds still have the hooks necessary to hold up the ropes that supported the mattress.
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by pbhjpbhj on Saturday November 06, 2021 @09:41PM
(#29135666)
I've seen medieval beds in the UK that were a wooden 'tray' (on legs, or built into a wall) and the guides said a hessian bag was filled with straw (dried stems of wheat/corn/barley; straw and hay are often used interchangeably though, so it might have been dried wild grasses) for bedding.
I assumed poor people slept on the floor with whatever coverings they could muster. Suspended beds seem very decadent.
The stretched fabric, like canvas, over a rectangular frame design seems pretty common and would have surely been a more natural early bed. Similarly hammocks - which I thought were common on ships (at least in the later middle ages).
Guess I've discovered I'd like to read a history of beds!
Re:An intact slave's room found in Pompeii's ruins
by verve_rat on Saturday November 06, 2021 @06:55PM
(#29134620)
Not wooden slats with straw mattress?
Surely the scrappiest room in the villa was for servants, some distant poor relative or rented out to students or what not. I just don't buy that the inhabitants for sure were slaves.