Fullo
Roman fuller who cleaned and finished cloth in fullonicae.
In ancient Rome, a *fullo* (plural *fullones*) was a laundry worker or cloth fuller, a profession documented through numerous inscriptions across Italy and the western Roman Empire, as well as in works by authors like Plautus, Martial, and Pliny the Elder. These workers operated in a workshop called a *fullonica* (or fullery). Some evidence suggests *fullones* also handled fabric fresh from the loom, though modern scholars have debated this point. On large estates, fulleries staffed by slaves were built to clean cloth. Remains of these workshops have been uncovered in several Roman cities, with the most notable examples in Ostia and Pompeii. Others have been found in Delos, Florence, Fréjus, and near Forlì, where an ancient relief depicting a fullery is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Forlì. The small Delos workshops date to the 1st century BC, while those in Pompeii are from the 1st century AD; the establishments in Ostia and Florence were built under Emperors Trajan and Hadrian.
The fulling process involved three main stages: soaping, rinsing, and finishing.
During soaping, clothes were placed in small tubs set into niches surrounded by low walls. The fuller stood in the tub, which contained water mixed with alkaline chemicals—sometimes including ammonia from urine—and trampled the cloth, scrubbing and wringing it. This treatment applied the chemicals to break down greases and fats. These installations, known as "treading stalls" or "fulling stalls" (sometimes incorrectly called *saltus fullonicus*), are typical of fulling workshops and help archaeologists identify *fullonicae* in ruins.
After soaping, the dirt loosened by the chemicals had to be rinsed out. This was done with fresh water in a complex of large basins, often connected to the city’s water supply. A typical rinsing setup had three or four linked basins: fresh water entered on one side and dirty water exited on the other. The clothes moved in the opposite direction, from the dirtiest basin to the cleanest.
The finishing phase included various treatments, the exact order of which is uncertain and may have varied by workshop or customer needs. Cloth was often brushed using plant thistles and sheared, as finds in some Pompeian *fullonicae* indicate. Sometimes sulfur was applied to bleach or whiten white cloth, and the cloth was then hung on a basket-like structure called a *viminea cav
- field
- Laundry and textile finishing
- known_for
- Operating fullonicae and performing the fulling process (soaping, rinsing, finishing)
- nationality
- Roman
- era
- 1st century BC to 2nd century AD (attested workshops)
Lore & Background
The fulling process consisted of three main phases: soaping, rinsing and finishing. During soaping, clothes were treated in small tubs standing in niches surrounded by low walls. The fuller stood with his feet in the tub filled with water and a mixture of alkaline chemicals (sometimes including ammonia derived from urine) and trampled the cloth, scrubbed it, and wrung it out. The aim of this treatment was to apply the chemical agents to the cloth so that they could do their work—which was the resolving of greases and fats. The installations in which this treatment was done are usually referred to as 'treading stalls', 'fulling stalls' or, erroneously, 'saltus fullonicus' and are typical for fulling workshops and are often used by archaeologists to identify fullonicae in the archaeological remains.
After soaping, the dirt loosened by the chemicals had to be rinsed out. This was done with fresh water in a complex of large basins, often connected to the city’s water supply. A typical rinsing setup had three or four linked basins: fresh water entered on one side and dirty water exited on the other. The clothes moved in the opposite direction, from the dirtiest basin to the cleanest.
The finishing phase included various treatments, the exact order of which is uncertain and may have varied by workshop or customer needs. Cloth was often brushed using plant thistles and sheared, as finds in some Pompeian *fullonicae* indicate. Sometimes sulfur was applied to bleach or whiten white cloth, and the cloth was then hung on a basket-like structure called a *viminea cavea*. Notably, the Building of Eumachia on the Pompeian Forum was built by Eumachia herself, not by the fuller guild; the guild dedicated a statue to her within that building.
Reader's Guide
Fullones played a significant role in Roman society, as their work was taken very seriously according to Pliny the Elder. The Metilian Law, written by C. Flaminius and L. Aemilius, prescribed the proper method for fullones to practice, stressing the use of Cimolian earth to brighten and freshen colors that had faded due to sulfur, while stating that the mineral saxum was useful for white clothing but harmful to colors. Fullones were legally responsible for the clothes they were washing and were subject to penalties if they returned the wrong clothes or damaged them. Clothes once washed were considered devalued; Emperor Elagabalus said he would not touch linen that had been washed because such cloth had already been devalued. Still, the profession of a fullo was highly reputable. Fullones in Ostia created their own guild, called Corpus Fontanorum. The fuller guild of Pompeii dedicated a statue to Eumachia in the Building of Eumachia on the Pompeian Forum, though the connection between Eumachia and the Fullers is not clear. These Roman launderers worshipped the goddess Minerva, as did many other professions, and were particularly involved with Quinquatrus, Minerva’s main feast held on March 19, which often took place in a fullo's workshops. Fullones are associated with representations of owls, such as in Roman graffiti found in Pompeii, though there has been a lively scholarly debate whether the association is due to the owl of Minerva or due to Varro's proverbial phrase: 'men fear him worse than the fuller fears the screech owl.'
Did You Know?
- Fullones sometimes used ammonia derived from urine in the soaping phase of fulling.
- The rinsing complex typically consisted of three or four basins connected so that clothes moved opposite the water flow.
- Fullones added sulfur to white cloths to maintain color, knowing sulfur was volatile enough to destroy colors.
- The fuller guild of Pompeii dedicated a statue to Eumachia in the Building of Eumachia on the Pompeian Forum.
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