ROME (AP) – In an ancient twist to today’s Made-in-Italy labeling, Romans of some 2,000 years ago took to branding with zeal, putting names, trademarks and other identifying details with meticulous care on items including tableware, plumbing pipes and lead ammunition for slingshots.
The ancients’ passion and pride in labeling their products and possessions is amply documented in an exhibit installed in the towering halls of the ruins of Trajan’s Markets, once an efficient, bustling complex of shops and offices evocative of our modern shopping malls.
Entitled “Made in Roma,” the elaborately detailed show runs until Nov. 20 at the ancient marketplace, a locale that many tourists ignore in their rush to visit the nearby Roman Forum and Colosseum.
Even the very foundations of ancient Rome were labeled. The exhibit opens with brickwork and roof tiles bearing the trademarks of producers, including a group of upper-class Roman women.
Marble slabs bear lead seals attesting to their provenance, including a Corinthian capital found in Augustus’ Forum. Even a plumbing pipe, dug up during excavations for a modern-day tunnel near the Quirinal Hill, not far from the exhibit site, carries the mark of its manufacturer, and dates from around the end of the 2nd century and the start of the 3rd.