Luxury and Trade
Photo of the unloading of a Roman ship from a mosaic at Ostia courtesy of Dr David Williams, University of Southampton.
Pliny was a keen supporter of Roman imperialism. He believed that the exchange of goods and commodities promoted Roman civilization. Vespasian’s reign was good for trade but Pliny was worried about the high cost of imports such as frankincense, pepper and silk from India and China. He deplores the self-indulgence of Romans who bought such expensive luxuries. The Roman Empire spent 550 million sestertii (almost £4 billion today) on Indian imports every year. The scale of this trade is reflected in the size of the ships. The huge vessel that transported an Egyptian obelisk to Rome in the reign of Caligula (AD 37-41) almost filled one side of the harbour at Ostia. Another ship was so large it became a floating visitor attraction.
The story of Pompeius Paulinus
In 1868, approximately 70 pieces of ancient Roman tableware, mostly from the Augustan period, were found close to Hildesheim, Germany, some 250 kilometres from the imperial frontier on the Rhine. Copies were made in 1934 after the silver originals which were lost and probably destroyed during World War Two. The copies are a tangible evidence of the Roman silver tableware known as “The Hildesheim Treasure”.
Pliny's last commander on the lower Rhine river, apparently neither a man of letters nor a close friend of his, was Pompeius Paulinus, governor of Germania Inferior 55-58 AD. Pliny relates that he personally knew Paulinus to have carried around 12,000 pounds of silver service on which to dine on campaign against the Germans ( a practice which would not have endeared him to the disciplined Pliny ).
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"XXXIII.50". Natural History. We read, too, that the Carthaginian ambassadors declared that no people lived on more amicable terms among themselves than the Romans, for that wherever they had dined they had always met with the same silver plate. And yet, by Hercules! to my own knowledge, Pompeius Paulinus, son of a Roman of equestrian rank at Arelate, a member, too, of a family, on the paternal side, that was graced with the fur, had with him, when serving with the army, and that, too, in a war against the most savage nations, a service of silver plate that weighed twelve thousand pounds!
Luxury and Trade Objects
Piece of large storage jar or amphora from Castlefield in Manchester. Amphorae were used to transport liquids such as wine and olive oil around the empire.
Barrel-shaped Roman pot known as a costrel. Pliny notes that wine was kept in wooden barrels in the north-western provinces of the Roman empire. From Sittingbourne, Kent.
Miniature storage vessel or amphora. Small amphorae were used for expensive wines or for high quality oils and unguents. Pliny tells us the best wine, Falernian, is the only wine that catches fire when a flame is applied.
Romano-British weight in the shape of a duck from a steelyard balance. From a site near Norton, North Yorkshire. Loan from Malton Museum.
1. Piece of large storage jar or amphora from Castlefield in Manchester. Amphorae were used to transport liquids such as wine and olive oil around the empire.
2. Barrel-shaped Roman pot known as a costrel. Pliny notes that wine was kept in wooden barrels in the north-western provinces of the Roman empire. From Sittingbourne, Kent.
3. Miniature storage vessel or amphora. Small amphorae were used for expensive wines or for high quality oils and unguents. Pliny tells us the best wine, Falernian, is the only wine that catches fire when a flame is applied.
4. Late 2nd century AD Roman samian ware pots from the Pudding Pan Rock shipwreck off the coast of Kent. Pliny mentions samian and other kinds of pottery such as Arretine ware. He likes things made from clay because it is one of the cheapest and most versatile of Nature's simple gifts.
5. Black pepper. Pliny is surprised that the use of pepper became so fashionable. He writes that its only desirable quality is its pungency; and yet it is for this that Romans import it all the way from India.
6. Piece of silk cloth with silk cocoons and fibres from Bengal in India. Most silk was imported from China. Men as well as women wore clothing made of the material, much to Pliny’s disgust. He considers wearing silk un-Roman.
7. Piece of tortoiseshell and Roman bronze figure of a monkey holding a ring on the back of a turtle. Tortoiseshell was used to decorate beds and cabinets. Loan from National Museums Liverpool.
8. Silver denarius of the emperor Tiberius (AD 14-39) from a hoard found at Chennai in India. Pliny tells us that the people of Taprobane (Sri Linka) were very impressed by the quality of Roman coins that they received in exchange for pepper and other commodities. Loan from Hull Museum.
9. Romano-British weight in the shape of a duck from a steelyard balance. From a site near Norton, North Yorkshire. Loan from Malton Museum.
10. Piece of ebony wood. Ebony, a very valuable black wood from Africa, was displayed by the Roman general Pompey in a victory parade known as a triumph in the 1st century BC.
11. Replica silver vessels from the Hildesheim hoard found in Germany in 1868. The hoard may have belonged to a wealthy Roman. Pliny tells us one Roman officer took a silver dining service weighing 12,000 pounds with him when he went on campaign.
12. Piece of samian ware pottery showing a duck or goose. Pliny tells us Roman officers abused their authority in Germany by sending their soldiers to gather Eider duck feathers. They made a lot of money by selling Eider down for pillows and bedding.
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13. According to Pliny hemp from Alabanda in Spain made the best hunting nets.
14. Cinnamomum or cinnamon. The emperor Vespasian cancelled the commission of a Roman officer who used too much cinnamon perfume, saying he would have preferred it if the man had stunk of garlic.
15. Frankincense gums or resin. The Roman Empire spent 100 million sesterces (about £1 billion) annually on imports of this aromatic resin from Arabia.