this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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Rough Roman Memes
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Explanation: Romans had a taste for garum, fermented fish paste. They put it on everything - bread, meat, fruit, even in their wine! Garum was considered so vital that it was a part of many slaves' rations; and while low-quality garum was everywhere, high quality garum, like high-quality wine, could go for truly exorbitant prices - some garum off the coast of modern Portugal went for 1000 sestercii for a gallon and a half - over a year's wages for a common worker!
It's easy to think how ridiculous that price sounds until you realize there are plenty of similar examples in this day and age. Take wine for instance. Though, the expensive stuff is usually ages wine, but still.
Yeah, it's like paying $20k for a bottle of wine. On one hand, ridiculous. On the other hand, very much a thing that still happens!