A fast-food eatery at Pompeii has been excavated, revealing dishes that were popular for the citizens of the ancient Roman city. Two years after it was first partly unearthed, archaeologists began to excavate the interior of the shop this October. Last week, they found food and drink residue that is expected to provide fresh clues about the ancient population’s culinary tastes.
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,” Massimo Ossana, director of the Pompeii archaeological park was quoted saying in a report.
The research team also found remains of pigs, goats, snails and fish in one earthernware pot. Some of the ingredients were found to be cooked together rather than alone.
Plant and animal specialists are still analyzing remains from the site, with its counter frescoed with a figure of an undersea nymph astride a horse. Images of two upside-down mallards and a rooster, whose plumage was painted with the typical vivid color known as Pompeiian red, also brightened the eatery and likely served to advertise the menu.
Osanna also noted that the food stall seems to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners.
Pompeii is a town to southeast of Naples which is believed to be home to nearly 13,000 people before it was burnt to ash after a deadly volcanic eruption. Archaeologists started uncovering the buried town near 1750, and as of now about two-thirds of the town has been uncovered.