How Did the Romans Live?

Roman life was not a feast a la Nero all the time, but this is what impressed contemporaries most, or at least those leaving written records.

Reconstructing people's everyday life is much trickier.

But the ruins of the Pompeii, the famous city destroyed and buried under ash by the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., present a glimpse of Roman life. But people have focused more on its risqué statues and frisky frescoes, neglecting the artifacts showing how a Roman household functioned.

Digging on a neighborhood block that contained one of Pompeii's grandest mansions, scientists have come with more information on the daily Roman life.

"I am looking at pots and pans and how houses actually functioned. I am interested in revealing the utilitarian side of life rather than its glamorous side, in slaves and servants and how they lived side by side with their masters." said archaeologist Penelope Allison of the University of Leicester, in the United Kingdom.

Because the Pompeii disaster occurred very quickly, the city is like a time capsule of life in Roman towns.

Allison focused on the domestic life, taking into consideration all aspects: from how they ate to how they cured.

"Though ancient Rome was an advanced society, it can't be assumed household units worked the same way they do today," she said.

Each tool could have been used in multiple ways in a Roman household.

"Today we have hundreds of very specific gadgets, but in a non-gadget world you have a number of things used for a variety of purposes, such as pots that might have been wine dippers and spindle whorls that were used as furniture ornamentation."

People also developed various skills when needed. When a child got a cut or a scrape on its knee, the mother had to be also the doctor.

"We believe that whenever we find medical instruments, they belonged to doctors. But I think that a lot more high-level first aid went on within households. We have found surgical instruments in domestic contexts, and I think someone in the house was responsible for sewing up injured people." said Allison.

"Weaving looms found in the homes also imply that women-or perhaps even men-did much of the sewing for their own families rather than purchasing clothes ready-made," she said.

And there is also evidence that fast food was fashionable in ancient Roman world.

"There was an absence of formal dishware sets but an abundance of small grilling vessels (like barbecues) found in the residences studied, indicating that people were eating-and-running on the go," explained Allison.