Bakers and Bakeries in the Roman Empire: Production, Power, Prestige

Abstract

for talking me through some of the more difficult times and for being such good company while backpacking through the George Washington National Forest. I owe much to Dr. Noel Lenski, who set me on the right track. Thanks to the entire Classics department at the University of Arizona, but particularly Dr. David Soren and Dr. Eleni Hasaki. Dr. Bernard Frischer has influenced the direction of my life since my time at the Intercollegiate Center of Classical Studies in Rome. I am heavily indebted epistemologically to Dr. Anastasia Dakouri-Hild who helped me navigate the treacherous world of archaeological theory. Thank you to Dr. Tyler Jo Smith for graciously stepping in at the end and giving me the tools to finish. Dr. Jon E. Lendon and Dr. Elizabeth A. Meyer have taught me what it truly means to be an educator, for which I will be eternally thankful, but I must especially thank Dr. Meyer for reading every word that I ever wrote. Thanks to Dr. John J. Dobbins who has supported me in so many ways it defies enumeration and whom I count among my friends. My parents never questioned why I would choose this path in life (though maybe they should have), but I thank them nonetheless. Above all, without Anne, my best friend and fiancé, I would never have graduated. 9 Furthermore, he notes a difference between fulling in Pompeii and that of Rome, Ostia, and Florence. He argues that the small-scale Pompeian producers were less alienated from their work, in the Marxist sense, than the complex workforce on which large-scale production centers relied. Flohr concludes that "the public craftsmanship of the fuller of Pompeii formed a solid basis for a sound dose of occupational pride." 16 One finds the conclusion that craftsmen were proud somewhat unsatisfying. Although trades people did not share the elite condescension towards them, it is not entirely clear what that means for their place in Roman society. Were they proud of their craft in spite ofor in opposition tothe elite condescension towards them? What was the actual productive capacity of the craftsmen? Did product dependence change their socioeconomic standing in Roman society? If so, what power did the craftsmen wield and to what ends did they implement it? These are the questions that this study addresses through the architectural, artistic, and written evidence for commercial baking in the ancient Roman world. Previous Archaeological Studies of Roman Commercial Baking The earliest work on the Roman baking industry either focuses entirely on artistic evidence or it concerns specific technologies (like millstones) regardless of their specific archaeological context. Hugo Blümner gathers and catalogs the artistic representations of lives of Romans and just because it is difficult to reconcile them with the material evidence, does not mean that it is impossible. 16 Flohr 2013, 348-349. Artistic Depictions of Commercial Baking The depiction of industries and production was a common practice in Roman society, particularly as a component of funerary rituals. Craftsmen would d...