Economic Activity: Manufacturing and Production

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Economic Activity: Manufacturing and Production

Metallurgy and Metalworking. The huge and increasing mining of metal ores precipitated a comparable industry in metallurgy. The Romans found most metals alloyed together when they mined, so separating the ore into the desired individual metals was a constant activity. Gold and silver went primarily for coinage, jewelry, and luxury items. Bronze, lead, iron, and other metals served a host of needs from piping to weapons to tableware to statuary. As in other areas, the Romans increased the scale and range of metallurgy, incorporating the industry into the vast network of the empire.

Stone and Stoneworking. Many of the most famous images and artifacts of ancient Rome, from the Coliseum to the aqueducts, are built of stone. Given that for the most part only the basic structures and cheaper stones survive of such structures, we should remember the enormous quantities of stone involved in the construction of the many buildings, homes, streets, and infrastructure all around the Roman Empire. The use of stone began always with retrieving the stone from where it was buried. Quarrying was labor-intensive work, and it did not become much easier until the nineteenth century C.E. with modern blasting techniques. Because stone is so heavy, and hence difficult to transport, Romans preferred not to carry it any farther from its source than necessary. In different regions of the empire, therefore, people tended to use the types of stone available locally. On the other hand, the demand for attractive stone such as marble was high and those who could would pay to have stone shipped to them on barges. Demand was such that eventually the Romans built up a stockpile of types and sizes of marbles so as to make ordering and delivering stone easier and more efficient. As with different types of wood, the Romans took pains to use suitable and attractive types of stone according to the needs of their construction. Basic stonework formed the foundations of structures ranging from temples to roads, but more meticulous stonework would decorate buildings, streets, tombs, and gardens. In addition to the quarrymen and stoneworkers needed to recover, deliver, and lay basic stoneworks, repair work was always necessary, especially in areas that suffered earthquakes.

Bricks and Tiles. The raw materials for bricks and tiles, clay and loose stone, were available in abundance. The production of red-clay roof tiles constituted one of the earliest industries in Rome, and it would remain a fixture of Italian production throughout the history of the Roman world. In 64 C.E., after a great fire raged through Rome, brickmaking soared. The rebuilding of the city called for bricks on a

greater scale than had ever been used before. The potential profits led to increased production and also left a record unlike other Roman industries. For some reason, elite Roman families willingly associated themselves with the brick factories they owned, although wealthy partners usually avoided public affiliation with any source of income other than agriculture. It is possible that the Romans associated the production of clay bricks and tiles with the production of terra-cotta roof tiles on a farm, and so it had a respectable air. In any case, especially following the great fire in Rome, bricks bore stamps indicating what factory produced them, the owner of the company, and even other workers. These stamps provide rare evidence of the production and history of a Roman industry. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius inherited a large part of the brick industry, and then factories gradually came under imperial control.

Glass. While the use of glass for opaque bottles, beads, and other decoration goes back thousands of years, the invention of glassblowing in Syria during the first century B.C.E. transformed glass production. The glass industry, which now included vessels of a variety of shapes in highly desirable transparent form, spread across the Roman Empire. Ancient authors comment that glass products became rather inexpensive. As early as the first century C.E., window glass is known and later becomes widespread.

Pottery. No artifact survives in greater numbers from ancient sites than pottery. Broken pieces of pottery can exist in the millions on just one site. Like other ancient peoples, the Romans used pottery wares constantly on a daily basis. Pottery included standard tableware such as plates and bowls. Many goods were stored and transported in types of pots called “coarse” or “kitchen” ware, much as they are in boxes today. Wealthy people could also have fancy and elaborate pottery for their table or home. Pottery was so prevalent in the Roman world that ancient writers rarely comment on it; they could not imagine anyone would ever need to know anything about it! Meeting such a huge demand meant that production had to be constant and efficient. Since everyone used pottery, production centers existed in every part of the ancient world. Except for luxurious and expensive types of pottery, there was little reason to produce pottery in one area and ship it away (except when it was being used as a container). Trade in pottery wares, then, rarely extended beyond a particular region. While talented potters and craftsmen could make the more expensive, elaborate, and decorated pots, common types could be produced in assembly-line fashion. For example, a common pottery type called terra sigillata (“sealed earth,” for example, clay marked with a seal-stamp) is known to have been produced in stages by different workers. Some surviving examples have as many as three different signature stamps. The craftsman who designed a mold for a certain type of pottery might put his name on the mold to be reproduced on each of the items produced from that mold. A workshop, company, or factory would often incorporate their name or some form of advertisement for themselves into the design. Finally, the worker who added the last molding to the pot could sign it. Such “signatures” served the purpose of trademarks and barcodes on modern products. Once a pot or series of pots was

molded, it still had to be fired in a kiln. Surviving records from kiln operators show that a workshop might take its dried pots to kilns elsewhere to be fired and completed. The “signatures” could then be helpful for accounting in this process.

Pottery as an Economic Indicator. The quality and variety of pottery at a given home or community often suggests the economic health of the area as well as its ties to other parts of the empire. While particular pots would not normally be sold in and of themselves, the distribution of pots, especially amphorae used for transportation, help scholars trace the network of trade in the Roman economy. The results are impressive. The distribution of pottery as a result of trading suggests a thriving trade network that would not be rivaled again until the height of the British Empire many centuries later. Types of pottery can also contribute to understanding how the quality of life of the wealthy compared to poorer folk. While at some times and places, wealthy and more modest homes might all use comparable tableware, at other times the wealthy might use distinctively more elaborate and expensive ware. Toward the end of the empire, wealthy homes even started using metal tableware.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE ROMAN ECONOMY

The Romans left a legacy of technological achievements rivaled by few peoples until the advent of the Industrial Revolution. And yet, in view of the Industrial Revolution and the many technological advances to follow, scholars have been divided about evaluating the success of the Romans. As archaeological work continues to show, the Romans employed an astounding array of devices and methods in building up the empire, in architecture, weaponry, mining, medicine, harvesting, and more. At its peak, the empire also brought widespread stability and economic success. Most of the innovations in technology, however, such as blowing glass, belonged to other peoples and the Romans would expand or intensify the use and production of such items. In some cases, a new technology was known (such as the principle for the steam engine) but the Romans never developed it. Some scholars also believe that by privileging agriculture, the Romans kept the economy of the empire just barely above the subsistence level. Other scholars point out, however, that production, trade, and even the sophistication of available technology peaked during Roman domination and would not be matched again or exceeded for over a thousand years. Further complicating the problem is that Roman writers rarely express the kind of interest or provide the kind of information about technology and economic advancement which we would expect today, so comparison of Roman practice with modern achievements is difficult. Is it fair to judge the Roman economy by later economic systems? How should we decide?

Source: K. D. White, Greek and Roman Technology (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1984).

Clothes Manufacture. Traditional Roman ideals called for the women of the house to make all the clothes for the household. Lanam fecit, “she made wool,” a traditional epitaph for wives on tombstones, meant she upheld this ancient virtue. In urban areas, however, an industry of clothes production existed. As the Roman world expanded, people enjoyed experimenting with fashions from far-off and exotic places. A full range of clothiers, tailors, and textile workers existed, both men and women. Jobs included importing wool, leather, linens, and other fabrics; tailoring the material; weaving; dying materials with all sorts of colors; designing; shoemaking, and many more. With so much labor going into producing clothes, people were more prone to have their clothes repaired and patched than dispose of them. Workers involved in every type of patching existed, as well as shoe repair. The final process for some clothes was fulling (a method of shrinking and thickening the woolen cloth by means of wetting, heating, and pressing it). Fullers also operated the laundries of the ancient world. They cleaned and pressed clothes. One of the stages involved working the clothing in a mixture that included stale urine. For this reason, the Emperor Vespasian actually passed a tax on urine! This upset the fullers, of course.

Jewelers. Although despised by many Romans who felt jewelry was a sign of decadence, many types of jewelry were popular in the Roman world. Goldworking in particular had a long history. The Etruscans (who lived in southern Italy, were important in the early history of Rome, and eventually were absorbed into the Roman population) had a long, splendid history of goldsmithing. Some surviving Etruscan jewelry has goldwork so fine that even modern goldsmiths cannot match it. Both Roman men and women wore rings. Necklaces and earrings were also popular. Often slaves and foreign craftsmen did the work, or their pieces were imported. As with many other arts and crafts, the Romans could appreciate the products but not respect their creators.