Pompeii “slave bakery” discovered

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ROME, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Archaeologists in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have discovered a "bakery-prison" where slaves and donkeys were locked up to grind the grain needed to make bread, the archaeological site said on Friday.

A cramped room with no view of the outside world and small windows high in the wall with iron bars was uncovered during the excavations, which are part of a larger project to secure the slopes around the unexplored areas of the city.

 

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1731469-20231209.htm?spTabChangeable=0

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/bakery-prison-uncovered-ancient-romes-pompeii-2023-12-08/

Here is a video on the find:

https://youtu.be/jFnKLBe3NY8?si=ec65TVuokU1JN6V4

Sensationalism sells.

"locked in?"- they don't mention a collapsed roof. Maybe they just haven't uncovered a door yet. There must have been a way to bring in food, fodder and to evacuate manure,  not to mention the finished bread. How did they get the men & animals in there in the first place? How many modern bakeries have windows to provide a view for workers?...

 Did the skeletons have chains on the limbs? Were donkey skeltons found? Blindfolds or just blinders like modern working equines use?

Hollywood has given us a false impression of the life of ancient slaves. Slaves were in all likelihood treated more like we today treat our working animals- horses, hunting or sled dogs, etc--- We may not let them sleep in our beds like Zza Zza and her lap dog, but we feed them well and don't mistreat them either. 

But the excavations at Pompeii give us  such a fortuitous opportunity to gain insight into the daily life two millennia ago. With the exception of powered machinery, practically everything we have and do today had its counterpart in ancient Rome.