Chapter 8: Brands and advertising
Returning to our topic. Roman craftsmen understood the importance of trademarks. Glassmakers in Cologne, for example, marked their products with an ornamental line of colored glass — the so-called “Cologne squiggle”. Other Roman brands appear in the archaeological record. Fibulae made by the Aucissa firm, for example, have been found from Gaul to the Black Sea. At Vindolanda, a luxury slipper — made in Gaul by Lucius Aebutius Thales — was discovered in the ruins of the headquarters complex. It was likely worn by the commanding officer’s wife. Roman businessmen advertised as aggressively as their modern counterparts. Aulus Umbricius Scaurus, the garum king of Pompeii, controlled at least half a dozen shops in the city and resided in a mansion splashed with images of his “high-quality mackerel garum.” Several amphorae found in Pompeii were labelled “Vesuvinum” — a portmanteau of the words for Vesuvius and wine.
Chapter 9: Competition and decline
Archaeologically, competition between firms is visible through the growing or receding presence Italy — were sold throughout the western provinces in the first century. Gradually, however, their market share was eclipsed by local knock-offs that sometimes even copied the Fortis trademark. In late antiquity, likewise, the fashionable vases made by the workshop of Navigius gradually displaced those produced by a series of rival potteries across North Africa. The last pots fired in the kilns at La Graufesenque were poorly-made and crudely decorated, apparently because a fall in prices brought about by a crowded market forced the manufacturers to speed up production.
Chapter 10: Legacy of Roman capitalism
The Romans were never close to an Industrial Revolution. Unlike eighteenth-century Britain, the Roman Empire had neither a class of entrepreneurs ready to invest in innovative technologies nor any industry that rewarded such investment. But to a greater degree than any other preindustrial society, the Romans mass-produced inexpensive goods, established luxury brands that were recognized across three continents, and prefigured the trade wars of modern capitalism.
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Next April, you can join me in Tunisia, where we’ll explore Carthage, Dougga, and a host of other sites. In June, I’m going to Romania, to see some of the Roman world’s most spectacular and seldom-visited ruins. Learn more about these and my other upcoming trips by following the links in the description. My new book — Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults — is now available in both print and audio. You’ll find additional content — including the next episode in my epic review of HBO’s Rome — on the Toldinstone Patreon. Finally, don’t forget my other channels, Toldinstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching!
Plain evidence that capitalism is not the accumulation of wealth for the sake of a privileged class as the socialists love to preach, but the natural process that enables civilizations to advance while helping all of society.
This generation of youth has been severely short-changed educationally to believe otherwise.