ROME (AP) – A fast-food restaurant in Pompeii has been excavated, revealing dishes that were popular with the inhabitants of the ancient Roman city who liked eating out.
Massimo Osanna, the chief of Pompeii Archaeological Park, said on Saturday that while some 80 fast food items have been found in Pompeii, it is the first time such a hot-food-drink-eatery – known as a thermopolium – has been fully was excavated.
Part of the fast-food restaurant was partially excavated in 2019 during works to support the often crumbling ruins of Pompeii. Since then, archaeologists have continued to dig and unveiled a multi-sided counter, with typical wide holes in the top. The counter contained deep hot food vessels, similar to soup containers nestled in modern salad bars.
Plant and animal specialists are still analyzing remains of the site, with a frescoed counterpart depicting a figure of an undersea nymph astride a horse. Depictions of two upside-down mallard ducks and a rooster, whose plumage was painted with the typical vibrant color known as Pompeiian red, also brightened up the eatery and likely served to advertise the menu.
Another fresco depicted a dog on a leash, perhaps no different from modern reminders of keeping pets on a leash. Vulgar graffiti was engraved on the frame of the painting.
Valeria Amoretti, an anthropologist on Pompeii’s staff, said, “Initial analyzes confirm how the painted images represent, at least in part, the foods and beverages that are effectively sold indoors.” Her statement noted that a duck bone fragment had been found in one of the containers, along with remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails. At the bottom of a wine container were traces of ground fava beans, which were added to wine in ancient times for flavor and to lighten the color, Amoretti said.
“We know what they ate that day,” Osanna said, referring to the day of Pompeii’s destruction in 79 AD. The food scraps indicated “what is popular with the common people,” Osanna told Rai state television, pointing out is not attended by the Roman elite.
A surprising find was the complete skeleton of a dog. The discovery intrigued the excavators, as it was not a “big, muscular dog like the one painted on the counter, but an extremely small specimen” of an adult dog whose height at shoulder height was 8 to 10 inches. ), said Amoretti. It is quite rare, said Amoretti, to find ancient remains of such small dogs, discoveries that “attest to selective breeding in the Roman era to obtain this result.”
Also excavated were a bronze ladle, nine amphorae, which were popular food containers in Roman times, a pair of flasks, and a ceramic oil container.
Successful restaurateurs know that a good location can be crucial, and the operator of this ancient fast food seemed to have found a good place. Osanna noted that just outside the eatery there was a small square with a fountain, with another thermopolium nearby.
Pompeii was devastated by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which is located near present-day Naples. Much of the old town has still not been excavated. The site is one of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions.
Human remains were also discovered during the excavation of the eatery.
Those bones were apparently disrupted in the 17th century during clandestine digs by thieves looking for valuables, Pompeii authorities said. Some of the bones belonged to a man who, when the Vesuvius volcano erupted, appeared to be on a bed or a crib, as nails and pieces of wood were found under his body, authorities said. Other human remains were found in one of the counter barrels, possibly placed there by those excavators centuries ago.