They were regarded as housekeepers — yet they were in charge of winemaking in Ancient Rome
For a long time, modern historians regarded the women who worked as managers on estates in Ancient Rome as mere housekeepers. It was assumed that they oversaw the kitchen, cleaning and domestic slaves, without being involved in the estate’s economic activities.
A new study paints a very different picture. Historian Tamara Lewitt of the University of Melbourne has concluded that women may have managed the production of wine and olive oil — commodities that provided estate owners with a significant portion of their income.
However, this does not apply to all Roman women. The study focuses on the ‘vili’, female managers on rural estates. Many of them were probably slaves, although there may also have been freedwomen and free women among them.
Details
The main source for the study was the work of the Roman landowner and writer Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, who lived in the 1st century AD. In his treatise on agriculture, he described in detail the duties of two types of stewards: the male – vilicus – and the female – vilica.
Historians have often regarded the vilica as a housekeeper. This interpretation was influenced by a lengthy quotation from the Greek philosopher Xenophon, which Columella cites. Xenophon considered the home to be a woman’s natural sphere of activity.
However, he lived in Athens more than four centuries before Columella and was referring to wealthy city-dwelling women, not to female labourers on Roman estates. Moreover, Columella himself emphasised on several occasions that he was merely recounting the very old ideas of others.
When Tamara Lewitt re-examined the duties of the vilica listed by Columella, it became clear that a significant proportion of them were related to production.
A female estate manager was required to oversee the pressing of grape juice, the addition of salt, wormwood, fennel and concentrated must, as well as to monitor fermentation. A single mistake could ruin the entire harvest: due to unsuitable temperatures, bacteria or exposure to air, the wine could easily turn to vinegar.
The vilica also oversaw the processing of olives and the production of oil. At large Roman villas, the volume of such production could reach tens of thousands of litres a year. This was not a matter of home-based food preparation, but a large-scale operation run for commercial purposes.
According to the researcher, the vilica could have supervised both women and men working in the production areas. A male manager, meanwhile, was primarily responsible for work in the fields, orchards and vineyards.
Further clues can be found in other Roman texts. Cato the Elder, who lived some two centuries before Columella, mentioned both men and women among the workers required for a vineyard or olive grove. He instructed the vilica to look after the poultry, process seasonal produce and maintain order in the buildings.
In this context, cleaning may have referred not only to the main house but also to stables, storehouses, oil mills and wine presses. The cleanliness of such premises had a direct impact on the preservation of produce.
Legal sources also included the vilica among the people essential for the productive running of the estate, the harvesting of crops and their preservation. Furthermore, in some Roman depictions, women are shown taking part in wine-making and rituals associated with the harvest.
Why this is important
Agriculture was the backbone of the economy of Ancient Rome, and wine and olive oil were among the most important commodities. If women oversaw their production, it means they played a far more significant role in the economy than previously thought.
This new research also highlights a broader issue: our understanding of the past depends on how historians interpret ancient sources. A single quotation from Greek philosophy helped to cement the image of a woman who scarcely ventured beyond the confines of the household. A closer examination of the full text revealed a different role—that of a manager of large-scale production.
That said, it cannot be claimed that women personally profited from the sale of wine and oil. The estates and the goods produced belonged to their owners, and many vilikes were likely slaves themselves.
Nor does the research prove that this division of responsibilities existed on every Roman estate. The surviving evidence is incomplete, and no vilica has left a first-person account of her work.
Background
The Latin word villa referred not only to a country house but also to an entire agricultural estate. This could include fields, vineyards, orchards, animal pens, storehouses, rooms with wine presses and vats for wine fermentation.
Managing such a complex required constant supervision. Raw materials had to be harvested, processed and preserved quickly; otherwise, the owner risked losing a significant portion of their income.
Religious rites also played an important role. The Romans believed that proper sacrifices helped to ensure a good harvest and protected production from misfortune. Columella and Cato specifically entrusted certain such rituals to the vilice. Archaeologists have indeed found altars in the rooms where wine was produced.
Previously, researchers had acknowledged the existence of female managers, but usually confined their responsibilities to the kitchen, provisions and domestic tasks. This new interpretation places them directly within the productive and economic life of the Roman estate.
Source
Tamara Lewitt’s study, ‘Not just a housekeeper: a new look at the work of the Roman vilica’, was published in 2026 in the *Journal of Roman Archaeology*.