ROME (AP) – A fast-food restaurant in Pompeii has been excavated, helping to reveal dishes that were popular with citizens of the old Roman city who were partial to eating out.
The longtime head of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Massimo Osanna, said on Saturday that although about 80 such fast foods were found in Pompeii, it is the first time such a restaurant with hot drinks – known as thermopolium – was completely unearthed.
A segment of the fast food counter was partially unearthed in 2019 during work to straighten the dilapidated ruins of Pompeii. Since then, archaeologists have been digging, revealing a multi-sided meter with typical wide holes inserted at its top. The countertop contained deep dishes for hot food, not unlike soup containers placed in modern salad bars.
Specialists in plants and animals are still analyzing the remains of the site, with a counter-fresco with a figure of an underwater nymph riding a horse. Images of two warheads upside down and a rooster, whose plumage was painted in the typical vivid color known as Pompeian red, cheered up the restaurant as well and probably served to advertise the menu.
Another fresco depicted a dog on a leash, perhaps no different from modern reminders to leash pets. Vulgar graffiti was inscribed on the frame of the painting.
Valeria Amoretti, a staff anthropologist in Pompeii, said that “initial analysis confirms how the painted images represent, at least in part, the food and drink actually sold inside.” Her statement mentioned that the duck bone fragment was found in one of the containers, along with the remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails. At the base of a wine container were traces of ground beans, which in ancient times were added to wine for flavor and to lighten its color, Amoretti said.
“We know what they ate that day,” Osanna said, referring to the day of Pompey’s destruction in 79 AD. The food remains indicated “what is popular among ordinary people,” Osanna told Rai TV, noting that street food places were not frequented by the Roman elite.
A surprising discovery was the complete skeleton of a dog. The discovery intrigued them on the excavators, because it was not a “big and muscular dog like the one painted on the counter, but an extremely small example” of an adult dog, whose shoulder height was 20-25 cm (8-). at -10 inches), said Amoretti. It is quite rare, said Amoretti, to find remnants of the ancient times of such small dogs, discoveries that “attest to the selective growth in Roman times to achieve this result.”
A bronze crate, nine amphorae, which were popular food containers in Roman times, a few balloons and a ceramic oil container were also unearthed.
Successful restaurateurs know that a good location can be crucial, and the operator of this ancient fast food restaurant seems to have found a good place. Osanna noticed that right in front of the restaurant was a small square with a fountain, with another thermopolium nearby.
Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which is close to present-day Naples. Much of the ancient city still remains unexcavated. The site is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy.
Human remains were also discovered in the excavation of the restaurant.
These bones were apparently disturbed in the 17th century during clandestine excavations by thieves looking for valuables, Pompeii authorities said. Some of the bones belonged to a man who, when Mount Vesuvius erupted, appeared to have been lying on a bed or crib since nails and pieces of wood were found under his body, authorities said. Other human remains were found inside one of the counter vessels, possibly placed there by those excavators centuries ago.