Agriculture

__4. Pompeii and Herculaneum: Agriculture__
 * **Description of Agriculture** || **Evidence to prove (3 items)** ||
 * || 1.At Pompeii there is evidence of a substantial olive oil industry

2.Grain, nuts, dried fruit were popular and sold in stores in these two cities which would indicate they were grown there.

3. Wine was a common drink and had an important role in the roman's lives

4. The fertile volcanic soils were especially suited to growing cabbage and onions. At Pompeii, election posters mention local market gardeners and greengrocers who were running for public office.

5. The production of wheat was a vital element of the economy providing many occupations

6. Wool and textile production was another important industry of the Vesuvius area. A building provided by the priestess Eumachia was the headquarters of the collegium of fullones, and there were many fullonicae scattered around the town.

7.Fishing was an important industry in the area. Pompeii was famous for its strongly-flavoured fish sauce garum, an essential ingredient for many Roman recipes.

8. Pompeii and Herculaneum were the main places of perfume production in italy || Oil presses for extracting oil from green olives were found in houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as in villas located in the fields around Mount Vesuvius.

Evidence of storage of grain, nuts and dried fruit

A more reliable indication for wine selling would be the presence of amphorae or holes for amphorae racks, these features are commonly found together with counters that had storage vessels for wine. Also a reconstructed wine-press was found in the villa of mysteries in pompeii. As seen from the grafiti "suavis demands full wine jars please and his thirst is enormous" A primary source of "house of the Centurion Bacchus and Vesuvius" show Mt Vesuvius draped in grape vines, suggesting it fertile the soil and contributed to the growth of grapes.

Written sources tell us that the production of fruit and vegetables was an important part of the local economy. Archaeological evidence of market gardens has been found north of the amphitheatre. Archaeologists know that the soil was fertile enough to produce a crop yield that was six times the rest of italy because Vesuvius offers a fertile plain of phosphorus and potash.

Around 30 pistrina bakeries were found in pompeii with brick ovens and lava stone meals whcih were turned by donkeys (donkeys skeletons were found in the mills of herculaneum)

Archaeological and written evidence shows that Pompeii was a regional centre for cloth making and dyeing.

<span style="font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Archaeologists from the Anglo-American Project in Pompeii recently discovered a house containing several possible fish tanks. In the residue of one of the tanks they found an intact fish skeleton, about the size of a sardine.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Times; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fertile soil, flowers that gave the scent for available. ||  ||   ||