Researchers found a complete thermopolium, a place where a kind of fast food from antiquity, almost intact in the archaeological site of Pompeii.
This was announced by the structure's director, Massimo Osanna, this Saturday (26), according to the Ansa agency.
The site is the largest and most intact found to date and has paintings of various animals, as well as celestial beings.
The internal environment still shows angled counters, with holes where containers with food they were placed in a line – and some petrified food remains inside them. There are also dishes used to consume food quickly.
Understanding Pompeii's fast-food habits
Located in Regio V, the new thermopoly had been located and partially excavated in 2019, when the mark left by ash from the large eruption on a wooden door reappeared and the structure's first-floor balcony was found.
There, there was a small part of the balcony, which faced the square, with a beautiful marble fountain.
“That first part was decorated with a mythological theme, a Nereid who rode on an extraordinary hippocampus of her body transformed into a rainbow of colors,” highlighted Osanna.
However, excavations in recent weeks managed to restore all the decoration and complexity of the site. The researchers believe that this could help to further understand the eating and consumption habits of the residents of Pompeii on the day the city was destroyed.
Archaeozoologist Chiara Corbino highlights that the images show “the joint use of mammals, birds, fish and snails on the same dish”, highlighting that local cuisine may be much more advanced than previously known.
Furthermore, the scientists reported that there were the skeletons of two people at the site – a man of around 50 years old who probably died when the place fell, and the other “could be a thief or a hungry fugitive who entered there to get something to eat and was surprised by the hot vapors with his hand inside the vase he had just opened” – and from a dog.
“The research is just beginning and already promises to have very interesting developments”, said Osanna.
The Minister of Cultural Goods, Dario Franceschini, stated that the site should be opened as “an Easter gift for visitors” and said that the discovery “is a virtuous example for the country’s recovery”, referring to the crisis caused in culture due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Handle)
FOLLOW-US
