Roman Quayside

After many months at sea, my ship full of containers of olive oil, has arrived safely from Spain. I sent it out with a cargo of wool and traded it with Spanish merchants for olive oil. This should fetch me a good price at the market. Wealthy people use olive oil for cooking and lighting their homes.

All imported and exported goods are loaded or unloaded into these warehouses. Goods can be stacked in crates, barrels, amphorae and sacks. The warehouses offer safe, dry storage. They have been built on the quayside so cargoes can be easily carried to and from the ships.

This ship came in last night and we've spent most of the morning unloading it. The merchant who owns the ship wants all these amphorae stored in the warehouses before he sells them on at the market. I met some of the sailors on this ship in the tavern last night, telling great stories about their adventures at sea.

Amphorae were special ceramic storage jars used by the Romans to carry cargoes. They were used to store liquids like wine, olive oil, fish sauce and small food items such as dried fruit and olives. The lids were sealed to stop the goods from coming out.

I'm a Caledonian, from a Celtic tribe in Scotland, and we've lived in these lands far longer than the Romans. I was captured by Roman soldiers, put in chains and brought here. We have been sold as slaves and will be shipped abroad on this boat. We must find a way to escape!