146 The Imperial Government
Sincetheuseofconvictlabourevolvedincloseconjunctionwithslave
labourinothercontextsundertheEmpire,wemightwellexpectthatpistrina,
equippedfordetention,penalincharacterandreadilytohandeverywhere,
wouldhaveservedthesamepurpose.Untilthefourthcentury,however,the
evidenceisalmostnon-existent.Plinyreportsthatgrainproducedinpartof
Campaniawasgroundinawoodenmortar,thepowerforthepestlebeing
suppliedbyconvictsinchains(‘‘vinctorumpoenaliopera,’’NH18,112).But
here,aselsewhere,thereisnocertainwayofdistinguishing(formerly)free
convictsfromslavesenduringextrapunishment.Whenwereachthefourth
century,thereissomeclearevidenceforthecondemnationoffreepersonsto
pistrina,butitallconcernsthecityofRomeitself.In319Constantinewrote
to thepraeses(governor)ofSardinia(CTh9, 40, 3): ‘‘Let thosewho in the
futureappeartodeservepunishmentfornon-seriousoffencesbeconsigned
tothepistrinaofRome.WhenyourSinceritybeginstocarrythisout,allwill
beawarethatthosewho,asindicatedabove,deservetoundergoasentence
ofthissortfornon-seriousoffences,aretobeconsignedtoergastula[work
houses]orpistrinaandsenttotheCityofRome,thatisthePraefectusAnno-
nae, under suitable escort.’’ Thereafter, more consistent evidence does not
appearinlegalsourcesuntilthesecondhalfofthefourthcentury.^46 Nonethe
less,Constantine’sletterclearlyatteststhisnewcategoryofcustodialpenalty
forminoroffenders.Onceagain,thepurposeservedisonewhichresponds
to one of the limited economic objectives of the imperial system, namely
the supplyof bread for the population of Rome, an innovation (as against
thesupplyofcorn)introducedinthethirdcentury.^47
GynaeceaandOtherManufacturingEstablishments
However modest the economic objectives of the imperial state may have
been, theyclearly underwent some expansion in the late third and fourth
centuries.Itisonlythenthatwebegintohaveevidenceofmanufacturing
establishmentsrunbythestateandconcernedwiththeproductionanddye-
ingoftextiles.Theearliestreferencetosuchanestablishmentseemstobe
inEusebius’accountofthepresbyterDorotheusatAntiochwho,becausehe
wasaeunuch,washonouredbytheemperortowardstheendofthethird
centurywiththecharge(epitropē)ofthedyeworksatTyre(HE7,32,3).This
- See,e.g.,CTh9,40,5–7;9;14,3,12;17,6.SeeJ.-P.Waltzing,Corporations professio-
nellesII(1896),333–34. - SeeD.vanBerchem,Lesdistributionsdebléetd’argentàlaplèberomaine(1939),104–5;
G.Rickman,The Corn Supply of Ancient Rome(1980),206–7.