The Banker
(Fig 1.)The 1875 archaeological discovery of a collection of financial documents, belonging to a Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, in the upper level of an excavated home has provided primary insight and evidence on the economic activities and stratification of Pompeian society.
Annotations:
- Originally the text had been engraved into a wax layer that had
been layered over a wooden tablet, measuring at about 10cm by 12cms.
- The tablets would have been bounded together in several pages, like a book. This ensured that the scratched wax was protected by the outer faces.
- The wax layers would have melted away due to the intensely
heated pyroclastic flows.
- These documents have actually survived due to the text being directly scratched through the wax and right onto the wooden tablet.
- Originally the text had been engraved into a wax layer that had
been layered over a wooden tablet, measuring at about 10cm by 12cms.
- The tablets would have been bounded together in several pages, like a book. This ensured that the scratched wax was protected by the outer faces.
- The wax layers would have melted away due to the intensely
heated pyroclastic flows.
- These documents have actually survived due to the text being directly scratched through the wax and right onto the wooden tablet.
Banking in Pompeii:
Lucundus was a type of banker known as an argentarius, someone who acts as the negotiating third party in a financial dealing. As an argentarius, Iucundus’s role would have been to pay the seller for the items that their client had purchased, his client would then have to repay him, with interest as well as a fee known as merces, within a set time frame. Evidence from the tablets show that the
time frame which Iucundus gave his clients was from a few months up to a year.
A couple of Iucundus records refer to the sales of slaves. One of these sales were made by a client called Umbricia Antiochis who after the sale of her slave Trophimus, received 6252 sesterces. When compared to the sale of another slave who sold for a lower price of 1500 sesterces, it seems that Trophimus possessed more valuable traits they raised over four times the amount of the other slave. But when compared with the similar prices at which mules and other animals were brought and sold for, we are able to identify the dehumanizing nature that was held by Roman slavery.
Conclusion:
The financial records of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus has provided significant information on the history of the Pompeian economy between the period of 27AD- January 62AD. The deadly ash cloud that fell upon Pompeii is unique because it preserved everything, creating a 1000 year old stand-still. if it wasn't for the conditions in which Mt Vesuvius had buried Pompeii, Iucundus's business records would never have survived to the present. Limited to the amount of primary knowledge on Pompeian business, these historic documents have provided us with significant knowledge which we wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the eruption.
Lucundus was a type of banker known as an argentarius, someone who acts as the negotiating third party in a financial dealing. As an argentarius, Iucundus’s role would have been to pay the seller for the items that their client had purchased, his client would then have to repay him, with interest as well as a fee known as merces, within a set time frame. Evidence from the tablets show that the
time frame which Iucundus gave his clients was from a few months up to a year.
A couple of Iucundus records refer to the sales of slaves. One of these sales were made by a client called Umbricia Antiochis who after the sale of her slave Trophimus, received 6252 sesterces. When compared to the sale of another slave who sold for a lower price of 1500 sesterces, it seems that Trophimus possessed more valuable traits they raised over four times the amount of the other slave. But when compared with the similar prices at which mules and other animals were brought and sold for, we are able to identify the dehumanizing nature that was held by Roman slavery.
Conclusion:
The financial records of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus has provided significant information on the history of the Pompeian economy between the period of 27AD- January 62AD. The deadly ash cloud that fell upon Pompeii is unique because it preserved everything, creating a 1000 year old stand-still. if it wasn't for the conditions in which Mt Vesuvius had buried Pompeii, Iucundus's business records would never have survived to the present. Limited to the amount of primary knowledge on Pompeian business, these historic documents have provided us with significant knowledge which we wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the eruption.