engleski

Social Position of Crafsmen inside the Stone and Marble Processing Trades in the Light of Diocletian’s Edict on Prices

Diocletian’s edict on prices which started taking effect in 301 AD is a lawful decree made with the goal of controlling the problematic inflation in that time of the tetrarchy. Other than prescribing maximum prices for certain goods, it also prescribes salaries for certain services. This particular piece of information, that is, comparison of several presented pieces of information, is necessary for an understanding of the social position of people included in the industry of exploitation and processing of stone, particularly if we know that in that time, the use of marble and mosaic covers (as final products in stone processing) in interiors and exteriors, was a very costly way of decoration. Furthermore, an understanding of art pieces as decorative elements cannot be full if observed only through a technical or art-historical perspective, characteristic for a certain period and general cultural movements, but in order to be able to understand the general context and importance of an art piece it is necessary to include cognitions of people who created them. Here, based on the sources displayed and the order of emphasized questions, the prescribed salaries of physical workers, stonemasons, floor-layers and mosaic-makers are compared, and references on earlier Roman sources are made, which give us a clear image of the workers’ income or prices of raw materials, with an emphasis on stone and stone products within the frame of the Salonitan mosaic workshop which decorated the exteriors and interiors of Diocletian’s Palace.

mosaic, Salonitan workshop, Diocletian's Palace

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