Historians have discovered an ancient and extremely sophisticated winery, allegedly unparalleled in Roman history. The site of this amazing find is the famous Villa of the Quintilii in the suburbs of Rome. The description of the discovery was published in the peer-reviewed Antiquity journal.
The researchers stress that this villa was a Roman version of the Great Gatsby mansion, and this winery was the crown jewel.
For instance, the grape-treading zones were covered with red marble, as "usually these treading areas would be covered in a waterproof concrete," Dr Emlyn Dodd explains. The scholars add that marble gets incredibly slippery if it becomes wet – a quite common occurrence during wine production. The fact that the designers chose red marble over concrete indicates that they “were prioritizing the extravagant nature of the winery over practical considerations.”
The experts allege that they are dealing with a sort of ancient culinary theater where Roman nobles not only drank till they dropped, but also enjoyed the wine production spectacle.
Also, the historians believe that this winery was constructed for the top VIP in Pax Romana – the emperor himself. This hunch is grounded in the history of the place. The Villa of the Quintilii was built by the two mega-rich Quintilii brothers of Rome as a symbol of their power and wealth. The establishment covered 24 hectares and was almost a small city with a personal aqueduct and thermaes (Roman bathhouses with heated water).
The extensive showiness eventually ended badly during turbulent times, when Emperor Commodus (depicted by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 drama Gladiator) killed the brothers and confiscated the villa for himself.
From that moment on, the villa became imperial property and the epitome of wealth of Roman emperors. Some of them went as far as constructing a personal hippodrome and, as it turns out – a theatrical winery.