132 The Imperial Government
BithyniacomplainedtoSeverusAlexander,whowerepreventedfrompursu-
ingappealsbymilitaryguardsundertheordersofprocuratorsorgovernors.^15
Opus publicum,however,clearlywasaregularcustodialpenalty,frequently
referred to in legal sources. Its nature and context—that is to say, the ad-
ministrativeandsocialcontextinwhichthelabouroftheconvictswastobe
performed—hasnotalwaysbeenclearlyunderstood.Wecouldimaginethat
thereferenceistopublicworksinRome,orworkssuchastemplesorwalls,
provided fora city by the emperorand paid for by him,or works carried
outundertheordersofagovernor,forwhichlabourandexpertisemightbe
provided,atleastinpart,bythearmy.^16 Wemightwellexpect,alternatively,
thatconvictlabourwouldhavebeenusedfortherepairofdykesinEgypt,or
forthebuildingandrepairofroads(munitiones viarum)throughouttheEm-
pire.Infact,however,asiswellknown,labourforthedykeswasprovided
bythecorvéesystem,andwehaveonlytwoisolateditemsofevidence(see
below) forcondemnation tomunitiones viarum. Similarly, construction and
repairofthepublicworks,temples,andaqueductsofRomeitselfwascarried
outeitherbydirectlabour,theimperialandpublicfamiliae(gangsofslaves)
fortheaqueducts,orbycontract.Thoughprivatecontractorsmighthavehad
theuseofslaveconvictlabour,thereisnothingtosuggestthatthoseinRome
did.^17 Fortheuseofconvictlabourinmajor‘‘imperial’’worksoutsideRome
thereappeartobeatthemosttwoitemsofevidence,bothassociatedwith
projectsbegun,butnotcompleted,byNero.JosephusdescribesVespasianin
67assending6,000Jewishcaptives(whowerenot,strictlyspeaking,con-
victs) to Nero at the Isthmus,presumablyfor labour there (BJ3, 540); and
Suetonius(Nero31)reportsthatforhiscanalprojectsbetweenMisenumand
Ostia,Nero‘‘orderedthatwhoeverwasincustodia[awaitingtrialorexecu-
tion?]anywhereshouldbedeportedtoItaly,andthatthoseconvictedofa
crimeshouldnotbecondemnedexceptad opus.’’Thereisnoevidenceasto
whetherthisorderwasevercarriedout.
Thereis,therefore,littleornothingtosupporttheidea,entirelyplausible
in itself, that those subjected to the regular penalty ofopus publicumwere
systematicallyemployedonthe‘‘publicwork’’oftheRomanstate.Lackof
suchevidencecannotofcoursedisprovesuchapossibility.Butitdoesmake
it reasonable to enquire whether there was not some different context to
15.Dig.49,1,25P. Oxy.2104.SeeF.Millar,The Emperor in the Roman World(1977),
392–93(henceforthERW).
- See, for instance, R. MacMullen, ‘‘Roman Imperial Building in the Provinces,’’
HSCPh64(1959):207. - SeeP.A.Brunt,‘‘FreeLabourandPublicWorksatRome,’’JRS70(1980):81.