Ergastulum

An ergastulum (plural: ergastula) was a Roman building used to hold in chains dangerous slaves, or to punish other slaves.[1] The ergastulum was usually built as a deep, roofed pit below ground level, large enough to allow the slaves to work within it, and containing narrow spaces in which they slept. Ergastula were common structures on all slave-using farms (latifundia).[2] The etymology is disputed between two possible Greek roots: ergasterios "workshop" and ergastylos "pillar to which slaves are tethered."

The ergastulum was made illegal during the reign of Hadrian, as part of a series of reforms to improve conditions for slaves.[3]

Columella in his Res Rustica[4] states that an underground ergastulum should be as healthful as possible, and should be lit by windows with narrow bars which are far enough from the ground that it is not possible to reach them by hand.[5] In the Loeb Classical Library 1941 edition[6][7] H. B. Ash translates a later section in Book 1, Chapter 8 of the Res Rustica as: "Again, it is the established custom of all men of caution to inspect the inmates of the workhouse [ergastuli[8]], to find out whether they are carefully chained, whether the places of confinement are quite safe and properly guarded, whether the overseer has put anyone in fetters or removed his shackles without the master's knowledge."[9] Ash translates the term ergastulis as "chain-gangs"[10] upon its first appearance in the Res Rustica in Book 1, Chapter 3.[11]

The term is also used to describe any small Roman prison.

References
  1. Christopher Francese (2007). Ancient Rome in So Many Words. Hippocrene Books. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-0-7818-1153-8.
  2. Annalisa Marzano (2007). Roman Villas in Central Italy: A Social and Economic History. BRILL. pp. 149–. ISBN 90-04-16037-X.
  3. William Smith (1875). "Ergastulum". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray.
  4. "Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus, Res Rustica, Books I-IV, book 1, chapter pr". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  5. "Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus, Res Rustica, Books I-IV, book 1, chapter 6, section 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  6. Columella (1941). On Agriculture: Volume 1, Books 1-4. Translated by Harrison Boyd Ash. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  7. "LacusCurtius • Columella, De Re Rustica — Book I". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  8. "Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus, Res Rustica, Books I-IV, book 1, chapter 8". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  9. "LacusCurtius • Columella, De Re Rustica — Book I". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  10. "LacusCurtius • Columella, De Re Rustica — Book I". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  11. "Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus, Res Rustica, Books I-IV, book 1, chapter 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.