How a Disaster Relief Program Changed the Roman Empire for the Better

How a Disaster Relief Program Changed the Roman Empire for the Better

By Annalee Newitz

March 6, 2021, The New York Times

 

 

     While the name Pompeii is practically synonymous with

     total disaster, only about 2,000 of the city’s estimated

     12,000 residents are known to have perished.

 

     Emperor Titus ordered that the wealth from rich patricians

     who perished in the eruption without heirs be transferred

     to the refugees, many of whom were former slaves.

 

     Janet DeLaine, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford,

     calculated that building a Roman bathhouse would require

     5,200 men for the excavation, 9,500 men for the

     substructure, 4,500 men for the central block and 1,800 for

     the decorations. In other words: thousands of good jobs,

     for years. And the resulting infrastructure would be used

     for centuries.

 

     --- 위 기사에서.

 

 

Karl Briullov, "The Last Day of Pompei" (사진: 위 기사에서)