The economy: role of the forum, trade, commerce, industries, occupations

All evidence points to Pompeii as a bustling commercial centre—a town where profit-making and wealth accumulation were regarded as favoured by the gods. The economy of the Vesuvian towns, including employment, trade, manufacturing, and profits, was largely based on agricultural production and fishing.

Pompeii produced a variety of goods such as wine, olive oil, cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, wool, crustaceans, molluscs, and fish—the latter being used to make garum, a fermented fish sauce. There may also have been widespread pottery production, as terracotta and ceramic containers were essential for storing and trading wine, oil, and garum.

Wine and olive oil were major income sources, particularly for wealthy landowners. Many landowners with estates in the Vesuvian countryside lived in Pompeii or Rome and only visited their estates irregularly, entrusting their management to trusted dependents. A wide variety of wines were produced locally, with the most famous varieties being ‘Vesuvian’ and ‘Pompeinium’. The same estates that produced wine also pressed olives for oil, which was used not only for cooking, lighting, and as rubbing oils in the palaestra (wrestling school), but also as a basic ingredient in perfume manufacture.

Pompeii was renowned for its garum, a staple condiment in Roman cuisine. Various flavours of garum existed, depending on the type and quality of fish used and the method of preparation.

Wool formed the basis of another important industry. The washing, dyeing, and manufacture of cloth were complemented by laundering, bleaching, and recolouring of garments. These activities took place in workshops called fuloncia (laundries). Wool was also processed into felt for slippers, hats, blankets, and cloaks. The guild of fullers was a powerful organisation, headquartered, along with a possible wool market, in the Eumachia building on the eastern side of the forum.

Pompeii had around 30 bakeries, which saved householders the effort of buying grain, milling it into flour, and baking bread—a staple food. Bakeries refined grain using lava-stone mills arranged in paired courtyards, with tables for kneading dough and brick ovens for baking. A few bakeries had adjacent areas to sell small round loaves, but most did not.

Other industries identified through epigraphy and popular prints included workshops of carpenters, plumbers, wheelwrights, tanners, tinkers, ironmongers, goldsmiths, marble workers, stonemasons, gem cutters, and glassmakers. Many of their guilds played influential roles in local politics.

In Herculaneum, commercial activity seems to have been based mainly on skilled craftsmanship, particularly carpentry, which was in substantial demand. Perfume manufacture was an important industry across Campania.

After the earthquake of AD 62, demand increased for bricks and tiles used in rebuilding. Many wine and garum producers who owned amphora kilns also owned brick and tile factories.

On both sides of the Pompeian forum were markets, owned by the city and administered by two magistrates called aediles. They ensured markets ran smoothly, goods were measured and priced accurately, quality was maintained, and city regulations were upheld.

The Macellum, located on the northeastern side of the forum, was a busy marketplace specialising in the sale of fish, meat, and possibly fruits and vegetables. Its location was chosen to minimise disruption to the main forum’s daily activities. On the opposite side of the forum was a market for dried cereals, sold to individuals and bakeries. Documentary evidence shows that Saturday was market day in Pompeii.

Public latrines, including one adjacent to the granary, were strategically located wherever people congregated and were often incorporated into public bath complexes.

Shops (tabernae) lined the main commercial thoroughfare, which ran from the forum past the amphitheatre to the Sarno gate. Shop and workshop owners advertised their businesses with painted trade signs on exterior walls. This busy street was also a prime location for painted political slogans.

About two hundred public eating and drinking establishments have been identified in Pompeii. These ranged from simple fast-food snack bars to wine bars and taverns. In Pompeii, these were especially clustered near the entrance gates and around the amphitheatre. Some taverns had rooms with benches for clients, while others featured couches for wealthier patrons to recline while eating and drinking.

Hotels catered to visiting traders, providing beds close to the port or within the city—for example, the House of the Muses.

Commercial transactions and money:

The basilica facing the forum functioned not only as a law court but also as a commercial exchange where businessmen and speculators met clients and signed contracts.

Overseas trade:

Pompeii traded extensively within Campania and across the Italian Peninsula. Although Pompeians produced their own wine and oil, they also imported varieties from Spain, Sicily, and Crete, as well as pottery from Spain and France, furniture from nearby Naples, and lamps from Alexandria.

The port of Pompeii served as an entrepôt or trans-shipment point for local and foreign goods. After unloading, goods were transferred to barges for transport up the Sarno River to inland towns and then onto wagons for a short journey into Pompeii.