Fueling the Roman Economy

Visiting the Colosseum, Pantheon, Campo de Fiori and other historical attractions was a great introduction to Rome. Spending the next afternoon wandering around the outskirts of the city to find the ancient baths and artificial hill made of broken amphorae provided a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of the downtown area. We made it to Monte Testacchio, the hill made solely from shards and pieces of Roman pottery in the morning. As we crunched on the colorful pots, we gained elevation until finally making it to the top where a beautiful view of the city was revealed.

After soaking in the history and view from Monte Testacchio we traveled to the Roman baths. Having seen Roman baths before, I knew that these structures were impressive. However, I was definitely underprepared for the grandeur that was the Caracalla Roman baths. The brick walls were enormous, towering over every roof in the surrounding area. Each room served a purpose, including cold baths, warm baths and exercise rooms. Intricate mosaics covered the floors and detailed sculptures lined the walls. The Caracalla baths greatly surpassed any exercise facility I have ever seen.

The height of the stacked bricks of the Caracalla baths led me to wonder how the Romans built these amazing structures. Luckily, my article for that day explained the way that the Roman Empire accomplished this. Bricks are commonly found in Roman buildings, and required ample amounts of fuel in order to make them. Timber was the principal source of fuel during this time. Fuel wood was supplied locally in the Roman economy, therefore making it an insignificant commodity in the market place. Small scale management techniques were employed to regulate this fuel wood: brushwood was used more abundantly because it was a cheaper fuel, production was cycled seasonally, woodland areas were allowed time for regeneration, industrial clusters were created, and industries were relocated to areas of plentiful resources. As for the baths, however, Romans taxed and contracted fuels for them because of their size and the fact that they were under strict regulation to always be running.

Fuel wood was also used to create the pots, or amphorae, that were used to carry wine and olive oil. These amphorae were used on a daily basis in Roman times. Additionally, amphorae used to carry olive oil, were only used once. Therefore, there were thousands of these pots during the Roman Empire, making it clear why the Monte Testacchio hill was so large.

The article also mentioned the environmental impact of the fuel wood that was used to build the Roman Empire. Elba, a city in Italy, was an area that experienced irreversible deforestation from the use of fuel wood. Additionally, carbon was emitted from the process of burning fuel wood to build these Roman structures. Between the hours of labor and environmental impacts, the Romans paid a high price to build their grand Empire.