Posted on 03/25/2003 4:25:17 PM PST by vannrox
Receipt for girl reveals Roman slave secrets
By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent
(Filed: 22/03/2003)
The first evidence of Roman Britain's slave trade has been unearthed: a receipt for a young French girl bought for the equivalent price of a small sports car today.
Faint scratchings on a wooden writing tablet show that a wealthy slave working for the imperial household bought a girl named Fortunata (Lucky), a member of a Celtic tribe living on the borders of Normandy and Brittany. The silver-fir tablet had been preserved in wet London soil for 2,000 years.
Although many Roman slaves were forced to work in mines or on farms, others had relatively high status. Those with a good education were given paid jobs helping to run estates and households for the wealthy. Many became rich enough to buy their own slaves - and their freedom by their thirties.
The 5.5in by 4.5in tablet, found at a City building site, shows that Fortunata cost 600 dinarii, two years' salary for a Roman soldier. The deed, written around AD80, states that she was "warranted healthy and not liable to run away".
The girl was bought by Vegetus, an assistant slave owned by Montanus, who in turn was owned by the emperor. They were both officials in London. As a slave, Vegetus could not technically own property, but in practice Fortunata would have been regarded as one of his personal possessions, possibly a concubine.
Francis Grew, of the Museum of London where the tablet is on display, said it was the first deed of sale for a slave found in Britain.
"This is hugely important," he said. "This was a very special slave, bought in very special circumstances right inside the emperor's house. It is a bit like a certificate of employment for a modern royal butler."
The name of the emperor is not mentioned on the tablet, but the titles used suggest that he was either Domitian or Trajan.
Fortunata's previous owner is named as Albicianus. Because only one name is given, he is unlikely to have been a Roman citizen.
Despite their many technical advances, the Romans had not invented paper.
In the southern empire, papyrus was used for record keeping, letters and books. In the north, where papyrus was not easily available, the Romans wrote on tablets, using a metal stylus to scratch words in black wax.
Important tablets were strung together and folded to protect the wax inside. A copy was fixed to the outside before they were bound with string and seven wax seals.
"It was a little like a car log book," Mr Grew said. "If there was a sale, you could open it up and check whether the wax on the outside had been tampered with."
Although the wax had long since perished, faint scratches on the wood were enhanced and interpreted by scholars at Oxford University.
David Miles, chief archaeologist at English Heritage, said: "It is unusual to find one with such clear engraving into the wood. The writer must have been very heavy-handed."
Considering we pay half our incomes to the empire our slave situation hasn't much improved. French maid or sports car, what to buy.
Good one :-)
That's because of the notice at the bottom that said "Press hard, you are making 4 copies."
Sounds like Vegetus got lucky.
They were big on spray paint, too.
"The first evidence of Roman Britain's slave trade has been unearthed: a receipt for a young French girl bought for the equivalent price of a small sports car today."
There's giid news!
Things have actually gotten cheaper since then. These days you can buy a young French girl for the price of a good dinner.
What the hell does giid mean?
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