Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Ancient City of Pompeii
The Mills, Bakery, Laundry and Brothel

The mills of ancient Pompeii were made out of volcanic rock and were turned either by slaves, convicts, or mules using a wooden framework. Grain was crushed between the surfaces of two stones and was collected as flour around the circular stone base that was protected by a thin sheet of lead.

Wood was used to heat the ovens at the Bakery of Modesto. A layer of sand under the floor of the oven and on top of the oven cover prevented heat loss. The opening of the oven was made of slabs of lava and was closed with an iron door. The oven of the Bakery of Modesto has a sheet of travertine containing a phallus in relief with the inscription: hic habitat felicitas. (It is here that happiness lives.)

The Bakery of Modesto

The Building of Eumachia was the seat of the corporation of dyers and launderers, called "fullones." It was built at the expense of the priestess Eumachia and dedicated to Empress Livia, wife of Augusto.

The Building of Eumachia

The Brothel was an establishment with ten beds. There were two entrances and five rooms on the ground-level floor, each with a bed built into the wall.

The Brothel at Pompeii

A wooden stairway led to five bedrooms on the upper floor of the Brothel. Scenes of erotic games that could take place at the request of the clients were ornately painted on the walls of the ten bedrooms.

An Erotic Scene at the Brothel in Pompeii

Historical Background of Pompeii - I

Background of Pompeii - II