Editing Shopping (section)

===Antiquity===
[[File:Roma-mercati di traiano2.jpg|thumb|Remains of marketplace and retail shops at Trajan's Forum in Rome]]
In antiquity, [[marketplace]]s and [[fair]]s were established to facilitate the exchange of goods and services. People would shop for goods at a regular market in nearby towns. However, the transient nature of stalls and stall-holders meant the consumers needed to make careful inspection of goods prior to purchase. In [[ancient Greece]], the [[agora]] served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods.<ref>Engen, Darel. “The Economy of Ancient Greece”. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples, July 31, 2004. URL http://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-economy-of-ancient-greece/</ref>

[[Ancient Rome]] utilized a similar marketplace known as the [[forum (Roman)|forum]]. Rome had two forums; the [[Roman forum|Forum Romanum]] and [[Trajan's Forum]]. [[Trajan's Market]] at Trajan's forum, built around 100-110CE,  was a vast expanse, comprising multiple buildings with [[taberna]]e that served as retail shops, situated on four levels.<ref name="Coleman, P. 2006, p. 28">Coleman, P., ''Shopping Environments,'' Elsevier, Oxford, 2006, p. 28</ref>  The Roman forum was arguably the earliest example of a permanent retail shopfront.<ref name="Coleman, P. 2006, p. 28"/>  In the Roman world, the central market primarily served the local peasantry. Those who lived on the great estates were sufficiently attractive for merchants to call directly at their farm-gates, obviating their need to attend local markets.<ref>Bintliff, J., "Going to Market in Antiquity," In ''Stuttgarter Kolloquium zur Historischen Geographie des Altertums,'' Eckart Olshausen and Holger Sonnabend (eds), Stuttgart, Franz Steiner, 2002, p. 229</ref>

[[Shopping list]]s are known to have been used by Romans. One such list was discovered near [[Hadrian's wall]] dated back to 75–125 [[Common Era|CE]] and written for a soldier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s253805.htm|title=Roman shopping list deciphered|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=2001-03-05|access-date=2007-09-23 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080303020753/http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s253805.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-03-03}}</ref>