THE A TO Z OF POMPEII
A is for artists at work
House makeovers? Style gurus? Des res? Painters and decorators did a roaring trade in Pompeii, transforming dark and often pokey interiors with a lavish coat of paint – much as they do today. And we now have a precious glimpse of how the painters operated. In one house, a team of three or four decorators was interrupted by the eruption almost mid-brush stroke. The men scarpered as the ash fell, abandoning their tools, 50 pots of paints and a bucket of fresh plaster precariously balanced up a ladder. The assistants had been busy slapping on the plaster and the broad washes of colour, while the masters had drawn out the design in rough sketches and were painting the figures and the fiddly bits.
B is for banking
The Romans didn’t have cheques or credit cards, but there were money lenders – the banks of the day. The most famous Pompeian banker was Lucius Caecilius Jucundus (now best known as the hero of the early parts of the Cambridge Latin Course). Some of his records and receipts, stashed away in the attic of his house, give an idea of his business activities. Banker is actually a bit of a euphemism – he was mainly an auctioneer who profited on both sides of the transaction, charging the seller a commission then lending money to the buyer at a healthy rate of interest.
C is for cafe culture
The latest estimate reckons that there were about 200 cafes and bars in the town – roughly speaking, one for every 60 residents. A counter usually ran along
