We have heard of how brutal it is to have lived in ancient Rome, not less for the underprivileged and lower classes of society at the time. Slaves in ancient Rome were treated like property, and often subjected to various forms of cruelty such as corporal punishment, torture, and summary execution.
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Depending on how their masters viewed them and their perceived value to the household, they were either given the bare essentials for them to survive, or much worse conditions than that. Archaeologists at the Pompeii Archaeological Park have discovered signs of the latter, possibly.
In the ruins of a bakery-prison, there were hints that the slaves of that household had been put to work grinding grain to make bread. The room itself was narrow, with a high window secured with iron bars, leading to the house’s atrium, making it difficult for the slaves to leave. Furthermore, indentations on the floor suggested that animals had been in the room with the slaves to work in the milling area.
The archaeologists also found remains of three individuals in the bakery room, suggesting that at the time Mount Vesuvius erupted, these people were trapped inside, left to fend for themselves.
(Image credit: Pompeii Sites)
Source: neatorama