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Mining was among the worst types of work with very little chance of doing it for longer. Which is why it was allmost only slaves doing it, like most of the othe
by hutzlibu 3y ago
Mining was among the worst types of work with very little chance of doing it for longer. Which is why it was allmost only slaves doing it, like most of the other hard work, which is why there allways needed to be new wars to get new slaves to keep the system running.
- ztrww 3y agoI think mines switching to free labor to some degree in the imperial period since slaves became more scarce and expensive
- CydeWeys 3y agoI do think this is the actual answer. Brutally backbreaking work (literally breaking rocks with simple tools for 12+ hours per day every day), in poor conditions, and constantly inhaling dust that destroys your lungs to the point that you're constantly coughing up black mucus. Being a rower on a ship was a terrible job too, but at least you had fresh air to breathe.
- tmtvl 3y agoDidn't Rome still use the "eat, shit, and sleep on your seat" system used by the Greeks before them? I don't think rowers had anything that could reasonably be described as "fresh" air.
- CydeWeys 3y agoHonestly don't know. I suspect it entirely hinges on whether we're talking about slaves or not.
- hutzlibu 3y agoI think compared to deep mining shafts, before proper ventilation and smokefree lighting was invented - it definitely can be described as fresh air in comparison, however disgusting the rows were - on the sea is always wind blowing most of it away. But of course it mattered, whether you were on the top row or the lower rows - and where you would sit was also used as further punishment/reward.