Pork, goat, fish and beans to go? Ancient Romans packed up hot food along the way the same way New Yorkers did.
Images from a recently excavated and beautifully decorated street food cart in Pompeii show the fast food the Romans enjoyed before the ancient city was destroyed by a volcanic eruption nearly 2,000 years ago.
The stunning discovery marks the first time a hot food and drink facility – known as a thermopolium – has been excavated in Pompeii, the ancient chief of Pompeii Archaeological Park, Massimo Osanna said Saturday.
Some of the street vendor was excavated last year as part of the effort to support the crumbling ruins of the ancient city. As digging progressed, archaeologists discovered a multi-sided, wide-hole counter with deep barrels for hot food inserted into the top, similar to the arrangement of modern salad bars.
The counter features frescoes depicting an undersea nymph astride a horse, two upside-down mallards and a rooster, and a dog on a leash. The inside of the painting’s frame was smashed with vulgar graffiti.
The images of the duck and chicken represent what was on the menu that day, anthropologists say. Duck bone fragment was found in one of the containers, along with remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails. A wine container contained traces of ground fava beans, which were added to the ancient vino for flavor and color, according to Pompeii anthropologist Valeria Amoretti.
“We know what they ate that day,” Osanna said. The food scraps show “what’s popular with the common people,” Osanna said, noting that street food was not frequented by the Roman elite.
Workers also unearthed a bronze ladle, nine amphorae, which were popular food containers in Roman times, a pair of flasks, a ceramic oil container, and the complete skeleton of a dog.
The dog’s skeleton surprised archaeologists because of its small stature of 20-25 centimeters; a discovery that “attests to selective breeding in the Roman era to obtain this result,” said Amoretti.
As any New York street vendor worth their salt knows, location is everything. Scientists noted that this eatery appeared to have a good one, next to a small square with a fountain.
Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD
With AP wires