Archaeologists uncover effectively-preserved ‘fast food’ counter in Pompeii

Issued on: 26/12/2020 – 22:21

The ornate snack bar counter, embellished with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed past 12 months but archaeologists extended work on the web page to reveal it in its total glory.

Pompeii was buried in a sea of boiling lava when the volcano on close by Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 Advert, killing amongst 2,000 and 15,000 people.

Nonetheless, archaeologists carry on to make discoveries there.

The Thermopolium of Regio V at what was a occupied intersection of Silver Marriage Avenue and Alley of Balconies was the Roman era equal of a fast food items snack stall.

Formerly unearthed was a fresco bearing an graphic of a Nereid nymph driving a seahorse and gladiators in combat.

In the hottest stage of their operate, archaeologists uncovered a amount of nevertheless lifestyle scenes, like depictions of animals thought to have been on the menu, notably mallard ducks and also a rooster, for serving up with wine or warm beverages.

Researchers had been also ready to glean precious new details on gastronomic practices in the city relationship from the eruption, which engulfed Pompeii and the neighbouring city of Herculaneum as they tried out to flee only to be engulfed by pyroclastic lava currents or strike by falling buildings.

The staff uncovered duck bone fragments as perfectly as the continues to be of pigs, goats, fish and snails in earthenware pots. Some of the substances had been cooked alongside one another instead as a Roman era paella.

Crushed fava beans, employed to modify the style of wine, had been found at the base of a person jar.

Witness to antiquity

“As properly as bearing witness to every day lifestyle in Pompeii, the opportunities to analyse afforded by  this thermopolium are exceptional due to the fact for the 1st time we have excavated a internet site in its entirety,” mentioned Massimo Osanna, director normal at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.

Amphorae, a drinking water tower and a fountain have been also uncovered along with human remains, which include individuals of a guy considered to have been aged about 50 and identified in close proximity to a child’s bed.

“The counter appears to be to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its homeowners but it is doable that somebody, most likely the oldest guy, stayed behind and perished in the course of the initial stage of the eruption,” Osanna informed Ansa news agency.

The stays of a different human being may perhaps be individuals either of an opportunist thief or another person fleeing the eruption who was “surprised by the burning vapours just as he experienced his hand on the lid of the pot that he experienced just opened”, additional Osanna.

The thermopolium—the term arrives from the Greek “thermos” for scorching and “poleo” to sell—was very common in the Roman globe. Pompeii by yourself had all over 80.

Pompeii is Italy’s 2nd most frequented web site following the Colisseum in Rome and last 12 months attracted close to 4 million travelers.

(AFP)