To go pork, goat, fish and beans? The ancient Romans got hot food on the run just like the New Yorkers.
Images of a recently discovered and beautifully decorated street food cart in Pompeii reveal what fast food the Romans must have gotten before the ancient city was destroyed by a volcanic eruption about 2,000 years ago.
The longtime head of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Massimo Osanna, said on Saturday that the surprising discovery was the first time hot food and drinking food – known as a thermopolyum – had been excavated at Pompeii.
A section of the street vendor counter was excavated last year as part of an effort to shore up the crumbling ruins of the ancient city. As the excavations continued, archaeologists discovered a wide-open multi-sided counter with deep vessels for hot food included on top of it, in contrast to a set of modern day salad bars.
The counter is fried with underground images of a horse, two upside down la lords and a dog and a leash. Vulgar graffiti was smashed inside the frame of the painting.
Images of ducks and chickens represent what was on the menu that day, anthropologists say. A piece of duck bone was found in a container with the remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails. According to Pompeii anthropologist Valeria Amoretti, the wine containers contained traces of ground fava beans, which were added to ancient vines for flavor and color.
“We know what they ate that day,” Osanna said. What makes food popular among the rest of the general population, Osanna said, shows that street food did not come from the Roman elite.
Workers also discovered a bronze ladu, nine amphores, a famous food container in Roman times, a few flasks, a container of ceramic oil, and a complete dog skeleton.
The canine skeleton amazes archaeologists with its small size of 8 – 10 inches; One discovery that “proves selective breeding in the Roman era to get this result,” Amortti said.
Just like any New York street vendor knows the value of their salt: location is everything. Scientists have noticed that this food-drink looks good next to a small square with a fountain.
Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
With AP wire
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