I used to think the Roman Empire was all about soldiers and emperors until I saw a number from Pompeii

I was reading a report about the House of the Faun and saw they found over 1.5 million mosaic tesserae just in that one villa. That's not just a rich person's house, that's a whole industry of artists and workers we never talk about. It made me realize how much we miss by only focusing on the big political stories. Has anyone else had a find change their view on what daily life was really like in an ancient city?

2 comments

2 Comments

benk2620d ago

Yeah, that bit about the 1.5 million tiles really hits you. It's easy to forget there were just... regular people doing jobs, not just famous generals.

janab8220d ago

Totally get that. A buddy of mine worked on a big museum project, and he said the most moving part was cataloging hundreds of worn-out leather shoes from one site. Just thinking about all the different folks who walked in them, doing their daily stuff, really got to him. It makes the past feel close, you know? Those little things tell a bigger story than the dates and names sometimes.