New find throws light on life of slaves in Rome’s Pompeii

Archaeologists have discovered a small bedroom in a Roman villa near Pompeii that was almost certainly used by slaves, throwing light on their lowly status in the ancient world.
The room was found at the Civita Giuliana villa, some 600 metres north of the walls of Pompeii, which was wiped out by a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.
It contained two beds, only one of which had a mattress, two small cabinets and a series of urns and ceramic containers, in which the remains of two mice and a rat were found.
The culture ministry said in its statement, “These details once again underline the conditions of precarity and poor hygiene in which the lower echelons of society lived during that time.”
There were no traces of grates, locks, or chains to restrain the room’s inhabitants.