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Water and stone: the economics of wall-painting in Pompeii (A.D. 62-79)

This article investigates production times, workforce, and materials involved in the creation of wall-paintings, applying figures obtained from pre-industrial building manuals and through experimental archaeology. This is a crucial yet — at least with regard to Roman wall-painting – unexploited avenue for research, one that has already been successfully applied to the study of ancient construction, stone-working, and mosaic production.1 The implications of this type of study are twofold: estimating labour figures allows us to assess painters’ working practices and workforce organization, yet it can also help uncover the burden sustained by patrons in both economic and personal terms, thereby providing a more realistic notion of what it meant to have one’s house decorated. Ultimately, this can lead to a better understanding of local markets and of the socio-economic implications of the wall-painting industry