Filled with consumers, the town needed to bring in supplies of essential agricultural products from the neighbouring countryside; cereals, meat, wine and wood were seemingly at the top of the urban shopping list.

Repackaged or processed in town, they would then be sold to the locals or occasionally exported.

Archaeological discoveries give an insight into long-distance commerce. Rotary grain millstones made from Volvic lava illustrate the breadth of business.

Some discovered objects, for example an ivory fan handle or a small bronze purse with Egyptian markings, give an idea of the scope of even more global transactions taking place at that time.

Amphora were the ultimate objects of commerce and transport.

The remains of some three thousand amphora recovered from the site have been significant in determining the level of long-distance commerce in commodities such as olive oil, wine and fish sauce.