Official Weights & Measurements

      Called the Mensa Ponderaria, this table was used to control the units of measures in Pompeii. The official standards of the Roman period were maintained at this location at the edge of the forum. Before distributing their products, the merchants were compelled to compare their measurements here to insure uniformity with the approved set of weights and measures. This assured the shopper that a particular unit purchased from one vendor was equal in size claimed by another.
map of Pompei

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