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Bread Stamps in Ancient rome
A Roman Baker’s Bread Stamp
A bronze alloy bread stamp with a rectangular face 3 cm x 8.5 cm. A signet, potentially depicting an animal, is visible, though worn beyond recognition, on the back of the ring handle. Museum records identified the signet as a lion. The Latin inscription along the face reads FAVSTIL - SESTI CORNELIANI.
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The Logan Museum of Anthropology
Photo Credit Hailey Lorenzen
Fresco of a baker selling bread to the public. Image credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen. 2011. Sale of bread fresco from Pompeii restored.jpg. Wikipedia Commons.
Roman bread stamps were used to brand or identify the manufacturer of an object, in this case, a baker, ensuring the quality of the product. Researchers use the names and symbols on the bread stamps to determine where and why they were used.
Roman Branding
​This bread stamp does not have military connections because it lacks the Centurion symbol “>”, but it does contain two separate names, FAVSTIL and SESTI CORNELIANI, which is unusual outside of military bread stamps. This stamp may have been used in a commercial context in a local economy for a bakery with two owners. Bread stamps identify bakers, legions, and individual families.​
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Similarly, cookies and crackers were often stamped with images and phrases, which we still do today. Just as we print brand logos onto plastic packaging and stamp it into cookies, Ancient Roman bakers placed their logo on their bread. This was a form of advertisement and product recognition.
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Stamping bread would also ensure the quality of the product and identify who to go to with complaints. Placing a logo on bread also made it easier for the government to ensure the quality of bread, so rocks and excess chalk were not included in the bread sold.
Oreo Cookie with Stamped Logo. Halicki, Jacek. 2023. “2023 Ciasteczka Oreo.” Wikimedia Commons.