Roman slave receipt found in London

The first evidence of Roman Britain's slave trade has been unearthed: a receipt for a young French girl bought for the equivalent price of a small sports car today.

Faint scratchings on a wooden writing tablet show that a wealthy slave working for the imperial household bought a girl named Fortunata (Lucky), a member of a Celtic tribe living on the borders of Normandy and Brittany. The silver-fir tablet had been preserved in wet London soil for 2,000 years. . .

The 5.5in by 4.5in tablet, found at a City building site, shows that Fortunata cost 600 dinarii, two years' salary for a Roman soldier. The deed, written around AD80, states that she was "warranted healthy and not liable to run away".

Posted by David on March 23, 2003 3:25 PM