Emporium of Alexandria
About
The Emporium was Alexandria's customs house and commercial exchange, where Egyptian grain, glass, and papyrus were weighed, taxed, and loaded onto Mediterranean ships. It sat directly on the Great Harbor between the Poseidium and the naval docks. Egypt alone supplied roughly a third of Rome's grain dole by Trajan's reign, and it all passed through buildings like this one. In 117 CE its warehouses and quays remained the busiest waterfront in the empire's second city.
What happened here
Trade is regulated and everyone is aware of it. Weights and measures are checked against the standards kept by the aediles, and short measure gets you fined and named. Stalls are arranged by trade, with the fish and meat kept to one side and downwind where the town has any choice. Prices swing with the shipping season and are shouted rather than displayed. Much of the meat on sale has come from a sacrifice, so the religious calendar shows up in the supply. Slaves buying for a household argue harder than their owners would. The upper floors, where there are any, are offices and storage let by the town for rent. It opens at dawn and the good produce is gone by mid-morning.
Sources
Nearby
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →