Depiction of Slaves Harvesting Crops on Roman Farmland
This stone relief from Trier was created early in the first century (100-200 CE) and portrays how Roman slaves would use powerful animals such as oxen, mules and donkeys to manage the farmland of which primarily grew wheat. This would be processed and used for bread, the staple food in Rome for its hundreds of thousands of citizens and soldiers. The artefact shows a Roman harvester called the Gallic Vallus, developed in 77 CE, which consisted of many iron teeth formed like a ‘comb’ at the base to rip the heads off the wheat. The body and wheels of the harvester would be crafted from wood and leather straps or rope would hold the animal in place. The slave at the back (the conductor) would act as a counterweight and controlled the direction of the harvester, while the slave in front (the conpulsor) would use a long rake to guide the wheat into the harvester. Farm owners would enlist up to 8 of these harvesters to work on average a 130-hectare field, consisting of up to 3 weeks of daily work to complete. This particular carving shows how a donkey would be used to drive the harvester, yet oxen would be used to drive larger versions, allowing quicker production and at times consisting of another conpulsor to keep up. The creation of the Gallic Vallus made use of scythes obsolete as less slaves would be required to work a field over less time, providing farm owners with more money and better overall production output.
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