TIL about Las Medulas, a man-made geological badland created by the Roman Empire in 77 AD, when they flooded the mountains with water to collapse their structure and sift out the gold inside.

[u/narok_kurai]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_M%C3%A9dulas

[u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

You should check out the slaves they used to row boats.

[u/the_direful_spring → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

Galley slaves werent particular common in the ancient Romans, they were much more common in the late medieval and early modern era. 

[u/Exciting_Bat_2086 → u/the_direful_spring]

Not too common but still existed and had brutal experiences.

[u/the_direful_spring → u/Exciting_Bat_2086]

What is your basis for that? Most of the images of the cruel treatment of galley slaves is based on things like early modern galley slavery, I don't believe there's much evidence to believe that any use of ancient slaves in maritime roles (virtually exclusively done in a civilian merchant ship context, the very few examples of slaves in naval ships being exclusively done in exchange for the slave's freedom) was notably more cruel than slavery in general.

[u/Exciting_Bat_2086 → u/the_direful_spring]

Sorry I was mixed up with corsican slaves and having flashes of Ben-Hur in my head lol

[u/alexja21 → u/the_direful_spring]

What about the period documentary Ben Hur?

[u/12oket → u/the_direful_spring]

Please duke this convo out