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Researchers said on Saturday that they had discovered a thermopoly or frescoed fast food counter in Pompeii in an exceptional state of preservation.
The ornate snack bar, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen with volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year, but archaeologists expanded work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
Pompeii was buried in ashes and pumice stone when nearby Vesuvius in AD 79. Chr. broke out and between 2. 000 and 15. 000 people died. Archaeologists continue to make discoveries there, however.
Regio V’s Thermopolium at a busy intersection of Silver Wedding Street and Alley of Balconies was the equivalent of a Roman-era fast food stand.
A fresco depicting a Nereid nymph riding a seahorse and gladiators in battle had previously been discovered.
In the final phase of their work, archaeologists discovered a number of still life scenes, including depictions of animals believed to have been on the menu, particularly mallards and a rooster, to be served with wine or hot drinks.
Scientists were also able to gather valuable new information about gastronomic habits in the city, stemming from the eruption that engulfed Pompeii and the neighboring city of Herculaneum.
The team found fragments of duck bones and the remains of pigs, goats, fish and snails in clay pots. Some of the ingredients were cooked together and not separately prepared as paella from Roman times.
Crushed beans used to change the taste of wine were found on the bottom of a glass.
« This thermopoly is not only a testimony to daily life in Pompeii, but also offers exceptional analytical possibilities, as it is the first time that we have excavated a site in its entirety, » said Massimo Osanna, General Director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.
Amphoras, a water tower, and a well were found alongside human remains, including that of a man believed to be around 50 years old who was discovered near a cot.
« The counter appears to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners, but it is possible that someone, perhaps the oldest man, was left behind and perished during the first phase of the outbreak, » Osanna told the news agency Ansa.
Another person’s remains can be either that of an opportunistic thief or of someone who fled the breakout and was “surprised by the burning fumes when he had his hand on the lid of the pot he had just opened “Added Osanna.
The thermopolium – the word comes from the Greek « thermos » for hot and « poleo » for sale – was very popular in the Roman world. In Pompeii alone there were around 80.
Pompeii is the second most visited site in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome and attracted around 1 million tourists last year.
Pompeii, Thermopolium, Archeology
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Ref: https://www.theguardian.com
