The longtime head of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Massimo Osanna, said on Saturday that while some 80 such fast foods have been found in Pompeii, it is the first time a hot drink restaurant has been completely discovered. (known as thermopolium).
A segment of the fast food counter was partially unearthed in 2019 during work to prop up the often ruined Pompeii. Since then, archaeologists have continued to dig, revealing a multi-sided counter, with typical wide holes inserted at its top. The counter contained deep containers for hot food, unlike soup containers located in current salad bars.
Plant and animal specialists continue to analyze remains of the site, with their countertop in fresco with a figure of an underwater nymph riding a horse. Images of two mallards and a rooster upside down, whose plumage was painted the typical vivid color known as Pompeian red, also cheered the restaurant and probably served to announce the menu.
Another fresco depicted a dog with a leash, perhaps unlike modern reminders for tying pets. Vulgar graffiti was inscribed on the frame of the painting.
Valeria Amoretti, an anthropologist for Pompeii’s staff, said that “initial analyzes confirm how the painted images represent, at least in part, the food and drink that is actually sold inside.” His statement noted that a piece of duck bone was 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 beans, which in ancient times were added to wine to flavor and lighten its color, Amoretti said.
“We know what they ate that day,” Osanna said, referring to the day of the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD. The food continues to indicate “what is popular among ordinary people,” Osanna told state television Rai, noting that the places to eat on the street were not frequented by the Roman elite.
A surprising finding was the complete skeleton of a dog. The discovery fascinated the excavators, as it was not a “big, muscular dog like the one painted on the counter, but an extremely small example” of an adult dog, whose height was 20 to 25 centimeters (8- to -10 inches), Amoretti said. It is quite rare, Amoretti said, to find ancient time remnants of such small dogs, discoveries that “testify to selective breeding in Roman times to achieve this result.”
A bronze spoon, nine amphorae, which were popular food containers in Roman times, a pair of flasks, and a ceramic oil container were also unearthed.
Successful restaurateurs know that a good location can be crucial and that the operator of this old fast food restaurant seemed to have found a good place. Osanna pointed out that right in front of the restaurant was a small square with a fountain, with another thermopolis nearby.
Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius, which is near present-day Naples. Much of the old city is not yet excavated. The place 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, Pompeian authorities reported. Some of the bones belonged to a man who, when the Vesuvius volcano erupted, appeared to be lying on a bed or crib, as nails and pieces of wood were found under his body, authorities reported. Other human remains were found inside one of the ships on the counter, possibly placed there by those excavators centuries ago.
Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.