Food Provisions for Ancient Rome (Studies in Roman Space and Urbanism)

The subject of the book is the food supply to Ancient Rome during the period from the early to the middle Empire when the city was at the peak of its power and population. The subject matter delves into the wider supply of goods, such as wood and building products, to add further perspective to the breadth of the system managed by the Roman administration to ensure supply and political stability. The inclusion of losses as the products travelled to Rome from various points around the Mediterranean proves to be a critical differentiator between this and other studies. For example, it was likely that the wastage in the grain supply as it moved from the farmlands in North Africa and Egypt to Rome were as high as 55 per cent due to the extraordinary complexity of the systems in place. Such losses had a significant impact on the infrastructure and systems required to manage the flow of goods that was made more complex by the long transfer times. A product flow map is developed from the source of supply to the end consumer detailing the labour, equipment and infrastructure required at each stage and painting a graphic picture of just what an achievement it was for the administration to have maintained such a complex system over this long time period.