Slaughterhouse

Meat was an expensive commodity in the ancient world. Cattle trading was big business across the Roman Empire; the size of a herd was an old measure of wealth from before coinage became standardised. Most common people would only have eaten meat during religious festivals. After an animal was sacrificed, its meat was often divided up between the worshippers. Even so, demand could be high, and even the Circus Maximus was used as a holding area for beasts 'on the hoof' between religious festivals. The Forum Boarium was the biggest cattle and meat market in the city. It was still being used to graze cattle during the 19th century.