Discover in Pompeii 1 thermopolium: restaurant with leftover food

The Italian Ministry of Culture and the archaeological area announced that they considered “another extraordinary discovery in Pompeii, in the new excavations undertaken within the project of maintenance and restoration of the Regio V”.

This is thermopolium, where food was used to serve the lower classes of the city, perfectly preserved with the counter with the image of a sea nymph on horseback and other animals with such bright colors that look three-dimensional, they explain.

But what has most surprised archaeologists is the discovery in the packaging with leftovers of this food that was sold on the street and which is the origin of “takeaway food.”

In fact, it was the custom of Pompeians to consume hot food and drink outdoors and archaeologists and experts working in the Pompeii Archaeological Park are already studying the material to see how much this discovery can expand knowledge about the eating habits of Pompeii. Roman times.

“In addition to being another witness of daily life in Pompeii, the possibilities of analysis of this thermopolium are exceptional, as for the first time an entire environment has been excavated with cutting-edge methodologies and technologies that are returning data unpublished, ”he explained Massimo Osanna, General Director of Pompeii Archaeological Park.

Now, with interdisciplinary work, various analyzes will be carried out in the laboratory to find out the contents of the “dolia”, the clay containers in which food was cooked in ancient Rome.

The countertop decorations of the thermopolium – the first to emerge from the excavation – show on the forehead the image of a nereid (nymph) riding in a marine environment and, on the shorter side, the illustration probably of the same store as a commercial sign.

In addition, different pantry and transport materials were found in the thermopolium: nine amphorae, a bronze container, two flasks and a ceramic pot.

The floor of the whole room is formed by the so-called “cocciopesto”, a waterproof coating formed by fragments of terracotta in which fragments of polychrome marble have been inserted at some points.

Thermopolises, where drinks and hot food were served, as the name of Greek origin indicates, preserved in large dolia (pots) embedded in the masonry counter, were very common in the Roman world, where it was customary to consume prandium (food). ) Outdoor.

In Pompeii alone there are about eighty, but none with the counter fully painted, which confirms the exceptional nature of the find.

The first analysis of food

Early analyzes confirm that the countertop paintings represent, at least in part, the food and beverages that were actually sold inside the thermopolium.: Two mallards are depicted between the counterboards and in fact a fragment of duck bone has been found inside one of the containers, along with pig, goats, fish and earth snails, testifying to the large variety of animal products used to make dishes.

On the other hand, the first archaeobotanical analyzes made it possible to identify deciduous oak fragments, probably belonging to structural elements of the kitchen counter.

At the bottom of a dolio, identified as a container of wine at the base of the bottle for drinking, located inside, was identified the presence of beans, intentionally ground, which as Apicius claimed were used to modify the taste and color of the wine, bleaching it.

Another interesting fact is the discovery of human bones, found partially altered by the passage of tunnels made in modern times by clandestine excavators in search of precious objects.

Some are from an individual at least 50 years old who was probably positioned on a bed of which traces remain at the time of the arrival of the pyroclastic current that ravaged the city.

Other bones, still to be investigated, belong to a second individual and were found inside a large dolio, perhaps placed there by the first excavators.