Three skeletons have already been found in one of the rooms of the bakery in recent months, proving that the house was inhabited. HANDOUT / –
Excavations in a house uncovered a narrow room with no view of the outside where slaves and donkeys were imprisoned and exploited to grind the grain necessary to make bread.
Caged slaves, blindfolded donkeys in a confined space: archaeologists have unearthed a “prison bakery” in the ancient city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
These excavations, carried out in a house, made the discovery possible “a narrow room with no view outside, with small windows with iron bars letting in light”, the location near Naples in southern Italy announced in a press release. Archaeologists concluded that there was “Prison bakery where slaves and donkeys were imprisoned and exploited to grind the grain necessary to make bread.”. The investigation also revealed the presence of “Engravings on the floor to coordinate the movement of animals forced to turn around blindfolded for hours.”
The house that is currently being renovated was “divided – as so often – into a living area decorated with sophisticated frescoes and a production area intended for the production of bread”adds the press release.
The “prison bakery” seen from above. HANDOUT / –
Three skeletons have already been found in one of the rooms of the bakery in recent months, proving that the house was inhabited. “We have to imagine the presence of people with submissive status whose owners felt the need to restrict their freedom of movement.”the director of the Pompeii site, Gabrielzuchtriegel, emphasized in a scientific article. “This is the most shocking aspect of ancient slavery, a time when relationships of trust as well as promises of freedom were lacking and where one was subjected to brutal violence, an impression fully confirmed by the securing of the windows with iron bars.”
The volcanic ash spewed from Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago settled on most of Pompeii’s houses, leaving them almost entirely intact, as well as many of the bodies of the 3,000 dead caused by the disaster. Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second most visited tourist destination in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome.
