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The archaeological area of Pompeii, the city destroyed in 79 AD by the eruption of Vesuvius, never ceases to surprise and this Saturday the discovery of a thermopoly was reported, the place where food and drink were served to the inhabitants, intact and decorated and with still food remains.
The Ministry of Culture of Italy
and the archaeological area announced what they considered “another extraordinary discovery in Pompeii, in the new excavations undertaken within the maintenance and restoration project of Region V”.
It is a thermopoly, where food was served to 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 they appear three-dimensional, they explain.
But what has most surprised archaeologists is the discovery in the containers with remains of this food that was sold on the street and that is the origin of “take away food”.
In fact, it was the custom for Pompeians to consume hot food and drinks in the open air and archaeologists and experts working in the Pompeii archaeological park are already studying the material to see how much this discovery can broaden the knowledge about the eating habits of the time Roman.
“In addition to being another testimony of daily life in Pompeii, the possibilities of analysis of this thermopoly are exceptional, since for the first time an entire environment has been excavated with cutting-edge methodologies and technologies that are returning unpublished data”, explained Massimo Osanna , general director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Now with an interdisciplinary work, several analyzes will be carried out in the laboratory to find out the content of the “dolia”, the earthenware containers in which food was cooked in ancient Rome.
The decorations on the thermopoly counter – the first to emerge from the excavation – show on the front the image of a nereid (nymph) on horseback in a marine environment and, on the shorter side, the illustration probably of the same shop as a commercial sign.
In addition, in the thermopoly, different pantry and transport materials were found: nine amphoras, a bronze container, two jars and a ceramic pot.
The floor of the entire room is made up of the so-called “cocciopesto”, a waterproof covering made of fragments of terracotta in which fragments of polychrome marble have been inserted in some places.
Thermopolies, where drinks and hot food were served, as the name of Greek origin indicates, preserved in large dolia (jars) embedded in the masonry counter, were very common in the Roman world, where it was customary to consume the prandium (the food ) outdoor.
In Pompeii alone there are about eighty, but none with the counter fully painted, confirming the exceptional nature of the find.
First analysis of food
The first analyzes confirm that the paintings on the counter represent, at least in part, the food and drinks that were actually sold within the thermopoly: two mallards are represented among the paintings on the counter and, in fact, a bone fragment has been found of duck inside one of the containers, together with pork, goats, fish and land snails, attesting to the great variety of products of animal origin used to prepare the dishes.
On the other hand, the first archaeobotanical analyzes made it possible to identify fragments of deciduous oak, probably belonging to structural elements of the countertop.
At the bottom of a dolio, identified as a wine container at the base of the drinking bottle, which is located inside, the presence of beans, intentionally ground, was identified, which as claimed by Apicius were used to modify the flavor and the color of the wine, whitening it.
Another interesting piece of information 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 of 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 swept the city.
Other bones, yet to be investigated, belong to a second individual and were found within a large dolio, perhaps placed there by early excavators.
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