BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Thrown in a Late Roman Jail

Exploring Corinth’s makeshift prison

The remains of the Boudroumi prison, located amid the Northwest Shops at Late Roman Corinth. Ploync, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Although jails of various sorts would have been as normal in the Roman Empire as they are today, archaeologists have discovered fewer than you might expect. A significant reason for this is that most ancient jails, like many ordinary ancient buildings, did not have inscriptions or signs indicating their purpose, leaving their function open to interpretation. In his article “Crime and Punishment in Roman Corinth,” published in the Fall 2025 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Matthew Larsen takes readers on a journey to fourth-century Corinth to explore a building that actually can be identified as a Late Roman jail.

In the Pokey

In the northwest area of Corinth’s Roman forum sits a vaulted chamber, known today as the Boudroumi (Turkish for “dungeon”). Although the chamber was initially constructed in the first or second century CE as part of a row of similar structures, the structures were renovated following an earthquake at the end of the fourth century. During the renovations, a series of large paving stones was laid over the existing floor. It is these very slabs that both indicate the function of the Boudroumi after the earthquake renovations and provide a window into life in an ancient Roman jail.

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When the Boudroumi was first excavated in 1901, archaeologists were shocked to find an impressive number of graffiti carved into the paving stones. While some of the graffiti were simple game boards or images, others featured longer inscriptions. Among these longer inscriptions, several were explicitly religious in content, and many made direct reference to the author’s incarceration. Although not labeling the building a prison, these references to incarceration are clear evidence of the Boudroumi’s function as a Late Roman jail. Together, the various graffiti reflect the thoughts and activities of people who sought desperately to fill their days, whether through board games or by appealing to a higher power for justice or vengeance. The inscriptions’ frequent grammatical errors suggest they were written by people of lower social standing, despite the often complex theological messages they express.

Although the Boudroumi was likely originally used for commercial purposes, the renovations in the fourth century turned it into a place of confinement. A wall was added to seal the main room off from the rest of the forum. This room would have been accessible only through a narrow opening to allow light and food, and a small locking doorway. While it is hard to find Roman jails in the archaeological record, perhaps the Boudroumi will provide a new archetype that can be used to identify more.

To learn more about Corinth’s Late Roman jail, be sure to read Matthew Larsen’s “Crime and Punishment in Roman Corinth,” published in the Fall 2025 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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