You may wonder how people could afford such magnificent houses in those days. Free labour would have been a factor in the wealth of the rich.

About a third of the people were slaves. Slaves worked in businesses such as shops and taverns, did housework, gardening and farm work, and worked as artists and builders.

Here you can see an archaeologist working in a slaves’ bedroom. Slaves lived in the same building as animals. They did not have a toilet, but used a pot like the one at the front right.