1. The Fullers and Laundries of Pompeii

2. Fullers Lat. Fullo A cloth-launderer.
A fullo worked in a fullery or fullonica.
There is some evidence that fullones dealt with cloth straight from the loom.
Workshops of fullones have been found in several Roman cities.
The most important examples are in Ostia and Pompeii.

3. The Process Fulling required three stages: 1. Soaping 2. Rinsing
3. Finishing

4. Soaping Clothes were treated in small tubs.
The fuller stood with his feet in the tub filled with water and a mixture of alkaline chemicals (often the urine of people and/or animals) and trampled the cloth, scrubbed it, and wrung it out.
Urine was a rich source of ammonia. More on this shortly.
The aim of this treatment was to apply the chemicals to the cloth so that they could remove greases and fats.

5. Soaping [2]
The painting opposite comes from the wall of a fullonica at Pompeii.
The installations in which this treatment was done are usually referred to as 'treading stalls’ or 'fulling stalls’.
They are typical for fulling workshops and are often used by archaeologist to identify fullonicae in the archaeological remains.

6. Taking the Piss
Many urban centres placed large vessels at the corners of streets where they could be filled with pots from households and other local businesses.
The historian Suetonius wrote that Vespasian imposed a urinae vectigal a tax paid on Roman fullers for the urine they collected from the city’s great sewer system.

7. Rinsing
After the clothes were soaped in the “chemicals”, the dirt that they had resolved had to be washed out.
This happened with fresh water in a complex of large basins that often were connected to the town’s water supply.
The typical rinsing complex consisted of three or four basins that were connected to each other: the fresh water entered on one side of the complex, the dirty water left it on the other side.
Clothes followed the opposite direction of the water and went from the basin with the dirtiest water to the basin with the cleanest water.

8. FiniShing
The last phase of the process consisted of a variety of treatments. The precise sequence is not exactly known and may have varied, depending on the nature of the workshop and the demands of customers.
The cloth was often brushed, with the thistle of plants, and sheared, as is indicated from finds in some Pompeian fullonicae.

9. Finishing [2]
Sometimes, clothes were also treated with sulfur. The cloth was then hung on a basket woven structure called a viminea cavea.
Fullones added sulfur to white cloths to maintain the color, knowing that sulfur was volatile enough to destroy colors.
The clothes were also pressed in a screw press.
Remains of such presses have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum.

10. The Law
According to Pliny the Elder, the work of fullones was taken very seriously.
The proper method for fullones to practice was written into Roman law.
The law stressed the use of Cimolian earth to brighten and freshen colors that have faded due to sulfur.
On the other hand, the law stated that the mineral saxum was useful for white clothing but harmful to colors.

11. The Law [2]
Fullones had a legal responsibility of the clothes they were washing.
Fullones were subject to penalties if they returned the wrong clothes or damaged them.
The profession of a fullo was highly reputable, and some formed their own guilds.

12. Religion and Laundry
Roman launderers worshipped the goddess Minerva, as did many other professions.
Therefore, the fullones were particularly involved with Quinquatrus, Minerva’s main feast held on March 19.
The feast often took place in a fullo's workshops.
Fullones are associated with representations of owls, such as in Roman graffiti found in Pompeii.

13. The SKinny A smelly but necessary job. Surprisingly respected.
Use of urine as an ammonia.
Important enough to be regulated by law.
Closely associated with Minerva.

14. Sources
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