Archaeologists uncover well-preserved ‘fast food’ counter in Pompeii
Issued on: 26/12/2020
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Researchers said on Saturday they had discovered a frescoed thermopolium, or fast food counter, in an exceptional state of preservation in Pompeii.
The ornate snack bar counter, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
Pompeii was buried in a sea of boiling lava when the volcano on nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, killing between 2,000 and 15,000 people.
However, archaeologists continue to make discoveries there.
Issued on: 26/12/2020
This picture released on December 26, 2020 by the Pompeii Press Office shows a thermopolium, a sort of street "fast-food" counter in ancient Rome, that has been unearthed in Pompeii, decorated with polychrome motifs and in an exceptional state of preservation. The counter, frozen by volcanic ash, had been partly unearthed in 2019 but the work was extended to best preserve the entire site, located at the crossroads of rue des Noces d'Argent and rue des Balcons. © Luigi Spina, AFP
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Researchers said on Saturday they had discovered a frescoed thermopolium, or fast food counter, in an exceptional state of preservation in Pompeii.
The ornate snack bar counter, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
Pompeii was buried in a sea of boiling lava when the volcano on nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, killing between 2,000 and 15,000 people.
However, archaeologists continue to make discoveries there.
The Thermopolium of Regio V at what was a busy intersection of Silver Wedding Street and Alley of Balconies was the Roman era equivalent of a fast food snack stall.
Previously unearthed was a fresco bearing an image of a Nereid nymph riding a seahorse and gladiators in combat.
In the latest stage of their work, archaeologists uncovered a number of still life scenes, including depictions of animals believed to have been on the menu, notably mallard ducks and also a rooster, for serving up with wine or hot beverages.
Scientists were also able to glean precious new information on gastronomic habits in the town dating from the eruption, which engulfed Pompeii and the neighbouring town of Herculaneum as they tried to flee only to be engulfed by pyroclastic lava currents or hit by falling buildings.
The team found duck bone fragments as well as the remains of pigs, goats, fish and snails in earthenware pots. Some of the ingredients had been cooked together rather as a Roman era paella.
Crushed fava beans, used to modify the taste of wine, were found at the bottom of one jar.
Witness to antiquity
“As well as bearing witness to daily life in Pompeii, the possibilities to analyse afforded by this thermopolium are exceptional because for the first time we have excavated a site in its entirety,” said Massimo Osanna, director general at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Amphorae, a water tower and a fountain were also found alongside human remains, including those of a man believed to have been aged around 50 and discovered near a child’s bed.
“The counter seems to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners but it is possible that someone, perhaps the oldest man, stayed behind and perished during the first phase of the eruption,” Osanna told Ansa news agency.
The remains of another person may be those either of an opportunist thief or someone fleeing the eruption who was “surprised by the burning vapours just as he had his hand on the lid of the pot that he had just opened”, added Osanna.
The thermopolium—the word comes from the Greek “thermos” for hot and “poleo” to sell—was very popular in the Roman world. Pompeii alone had around 80.
Pompeii is Italy’s second most visited site after the Colisseum in Rome and last year attracted around four million tourists.
(AFP)
Previously unearthed was a fresco bearing an image of a Nereid nymph riding a seahorse and gladiators in combat.
In the latest stage of their work, archaeologists uncovered a number of still life scenes, including depictions of animals believed to have been on the menu, notably mallard ducks and also a rooster, for serving up with wine or hot beverages.
Scientists were also able to glean precious new information on gastronomic habits in the town dating from the eruption, which engulfed Pompeii and the neighbouring town of Herculaneum as they tried to flee only to be engulfed by pyroclastic lava currents or hit by falling buildings.
The team found duck bone fragments as well as the remains of pigs, goats, fish and snails in earthenware pots. Some of the ingredients had been cooked together rather as a Roman era paella.
Crushed fava beans, used to modify the taste of wine, were found at the bottom of one jar.
Witness to antiquity
“As well as bearing witness to daily life in Pompeii, the possibilities to analyse afforded by this thermopolium are exceptional because for the first time we have excavated a site in its entirety,” said Massimo Osanna, director general at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Amphorae, a water tower and a fountain were also found alongside human remains, including those of a man believed to have been aged around 50 and discovered near a child’s bed.
“The counter seems to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners but it is possible that someone, perhaps the oldest man, stayed behind and perished during the first phase of the eruption,” Osanna told Ansa news agency.
The remains of another person may be those either of an opportunist thief or someone fleeing the eruption who was “surprised by the burning vapours just as he had his hand on the lid of the pot that he had just opened”, added Osanna.
The thermopolium—the word comes from the Greek “thermos” for hot and “poleo” to sell—was very popular in the Roman world. Pompeii alone had around 80.
Pompeii is Italy’s second most visited site after the Colisseum in Rome and last year attracted around four million tourists.
(AFP)
VIDEO Excavations in Pompeii
Philip Pullella
Sat, December 26, 2020
ROME (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD, have made the extraordinary find of a frescoed hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to Roman passersby.
Known as a termopolium, Latin for hot drinks counter, the shop was discovered in the archaeological park's Regio V site, which is not yet open the public, and unveiled on Saturday.
Traces of nearly 2,000-year-old food were found in some of the deep terra cotta jars containing hot food which the shop keeper lowered into a counter with circular holes.
The front of the counter was decorated with brightly coloured frescoes, some depicting animals that were part of the ingredients in the food sold, such as a chicken and two ducks hanging upside down.
"This is an extraordinary find. It's the first time we are excavating an entire termopolium," said Massimo Ossana, director of the Pompeii archaeological park.
Archaeologists also found a decorated bronze drinking bowl known as a patera, ceramic jars used for cooking stews and soups, wine flasks and amphora.
Pompeii, 23 km (14 miles) southeast of Naples, was home to about 13,000 people when it was buried under ash, pumice pebbles and dust as it endured the force of an eruption equivalent to many atomic bombs.
"Our preliminary analyses shows that the figures drawn on the front of the counter, represent, at least in part, the food and drink that were sold there," said Valeria Amoretti, a site anthropologist.
Amoretti said traces of pork, fish, snails and beef had been found in the containers, a discovery she called a "testimony to the great variety of animal products used to prepare dishes".
About two-thirds of the 66-hectare (165-acre) ancient town has been uncovered. The ruins were not discovered until the 16th century and organised excavations began about 1750.
A rare documentation of Greco-Roman life, Pompeii is one of Italy's most popular attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Philip Pullella
Sat, December 26, 2020
ROME (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD, have made the extraordinary find of a frescoed hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to Roman passersby.
Known as a termopolium, Latin for hot drinks counter, the shop was discovered in the archaeological park's Regio V site, which is not yet open the public, and unveiled on Saturday.
Traces of nearly 2,000-year-old food were found in some of the deep terra cotta jars containing hot food which the shop keeper lowered into a counter with circular holes.
The front of the counter was decorated with brightly coloured frescoes, some depicting animals that were part of the ingredients in the food sold, such as a chicken and two ducks hanging upside down.
"This is an extraordinary find. It's the first time we are excavating an entire termopolium," said Massimo Ossana, director of the Pompeii archaeological park.
Archaeologists also found a decorated bronze drinking bowl known as a patera, ceramic jars used for cooking stews and soups, wine flasks and amphora.
Pompeii, 23 km (14 miles) southeast of Naples, was home to about 13,000 people when it was buried under ash, pumice pebbles and dust as it endured the force of an eruption equivalent to many atomic bombs.
"Our preliminary analyses shows that the figures drawn on the front of the counter, represent, at least in part, the food and drink that were sold there," said Valeria Amoretti, a site anthropologist.
Amoretti said traces of pork, fish, snails and beef had been found in the containers, a discovery she called a "testimony to the great variety of animal products used to prepare dishes".
About two-thirds of the 66-hectare (165-acre) ancient town has been uncovered. The ruins were not discovered until the 16th century and organised excavations began about 1750.
A rare documentation of Greco-Roman life, Pompeii is one of Italy's most popular attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
BIGGUS DICKUS
Pompeii archaeologists uncover ancient homophobic insult to tavern owner
Giada Zampano
Sat, December 26, 2020
Pompeii archaeologists uncover ancient homophobic insult to tavern owner
Giada Zampano
Sat, December 26, 2020
The Thermopolium of Regio V, one of the oldest snack bars in Pompeii
- Luigi Spina/Luigi Spina
Archaeologists excavating a snack bar in the ruins of Italy’s Pompeii have uncovered “exceptional” frescoes, and obscene graffiti likely directed at the establishment’s seventh century owner.
The volcanic ash which buried the town during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD79 has preserved an intimate historical record of the Roman town 14 miles southeast of Naples, and the lives of its 13,000 inhabitants.
One of these inhabitants was called Nicias and was likely a freed slave from Greece, according to excavators who recently uncovered an inscription insulting the man.
“NICIA CINAEDE CACATOR” reads the scrawled graffiti on a fresco of a chained dog painted onto the bar of the Thermopolium of Regio V, a cheap street food eatery.
“An inverted s****er” is how archaeologists rendered the slur, though the adjective carries a homosexual connotation from its derivation from the ancient Greek term for catamite.
Archaeologists excavating a snack bar in the ruins of Italy’s Pompeii have uncovered “exceptional” frescoes, and obscene graffiti likely directed at the establishment’s seventh century owner.
The volcanic ash which buried the town during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD79 has preserved an intimate historical record of the Roman town 14 miles southeast of Naples, and the lives of its 13,000 inhabitants.
One of these inhabitants was called Nicias and was likely a freed slave from Greece, according to excavators who recently uncovered an inscription insulting the man.
“NICIA CINAEDE CACATOR” reads the scrawled graffiti on a fresco of a chained dog painted onto the bar of the Thermopolium of Regio V, a cheap street food eatery.
“An inverted s****er” is how archaeologists rendered the slur, though the adjective carries a homosexual connotation from its derivation from the ancient Greek term for catamite.
“NICIA CINAEDE CACATOR” reads the scrawled graffiti on a fresco
NICI EFFEMINATE defecation
“This was probably left by a prankster who sought to poke fun at the owner, or by someone who worked in the thermopolium,” the archaeological park said in a statement highlighting the full range of scientific study that has been applied to understanding the crude inscription and its surrounding context.
“The materials which have been discovered have indeed been excavated and studied from all points of view by an interdisciplinary team composed of professionals in the fields of physical anthropology, archaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, geology and vulcanology,” said Massimo Osanna, head of the Pompeiiarchaeological park.
Over the years, archaeologists at Pompeii have excavated more than 80 thermopolia, Latin for hot drinks counters, an ancient version of Italy's “tavole calde,” selling ready-to-eat meals popular among the working classes.
A partial excavation of the Regio V last year uncovered a spectacular fresco depicting blood-soaked gladiators in combat, and the latest artworks revealed include a nymph riding a sea-horse, mallard ducks hanging ready for the pot and a live rooster.
Duck bones were found alongside the avian frescoes, suggesting that at least some of the well-preserved paintings depicted available menu items. Archaeologists also found remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails, illustrating a wide variety of food on sale.
Human remains were also found, alongside the bones of a tiny dog, which archaeologists said was evidence of selective breeding for size.
The site will be opened to the public in the near future, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said on Saturday. "It will be an Easter present for visitors,” he said.
“This was probably left by a prankster who sought to poke fun at the owner, or by someone who worked in the thermopolium,” the archaeological park said in a statement highlighting the full range of scientific study that has been applied to understanding the crude inscription and its surrounding context.
“The materials which have been discovered have indeed been excavated and studied from all points of view by an interdisciplinary team composed of professionals in the fields of physical anthropology, archaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, geology and vulcanology,” said Massimo Osanna, head of the Pompeiiarchaeological park.
Over the years, archaeologists at Pompeii have excavated more than 80 thermopolia, Latin for hot drinks counters, an ancient version of Italy's “tavole calde,” selling ready-to-eat meals popular among the working classes.
A partial excavation of the Regio V last year uncovered a spectacular fresco depicting blood-soaked gladiators in combat, and the latest artworks revealed include a nymph riding a sea-horse, mallard ducks hanging ready for the pot and a live rooster.
Duck bones were found alongside the avian frescoes, suggesting that at least some of the well-preserved paintings depicted available menu items. Archaeologists also found remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails, illustrating a wide variety of food on sale.
Human remains were also found, alongside the bones of a tiny dog, which archaeologists said was evidence of selective breeding for size.
The site will be opened to the public in the near future, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said on Saturday. "It will be an Easter present for visitors,” he said.
