Expertlatin
What is ancient Roman graffiti?
Over 5000 wall graffiti have been found in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii alone. These contain mostly name tags (37%), but also include greetings, messages, obscenities, quotes from famous literary works, drawings of animals and gladiators, numbers, dates, and prices.
Did the Romans do graffiti?
As visible from the remnants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, scribbling graffiti was not an unusual practice centuries ago. In fact, it was quite common and widespread. Romans liked to scrawl their admonitions, jokes, political opinions, pleas, and existential ramblings on the walls of communal and private buildings.
How did Romans use graffiti?
Common places for graffiti are staircases, central peristyle, and vestibule. The use of graffiti by Romans has been said to be very different from the defacing trends of modern day, with the text blending into the walls and rooms by respecting the frescoes and decoration with the use of small letters.
