Archaeologists Uncover A Well-Preserved Ancient ‘Fast Food’ Counter In Pompeii
Image via Pompeii sites
Archaeologists have discovered a well-kept frescoed thermopolium, a business for ready-to-eat food, in Pompeii.
The decorated fast-food counter was first spotted and exhumed last year, and experts have since worked on the site to showcase the structure in an impeccable state.
In 79 AD, boiling lava from a volcano on the nearby Mount Vesuvius washed over Pompeii, killing between 2,000 and 15,000 people in the area.
The new discovery revealed the Thermopolium of Regio V, said to be located in an intersection of Silver Wedding Street and Alley of Balconies. The snack stall was ornated with still-life drawings of chickens and mallard ducks, noting the diet of the people back then.
The team also found duck bone fragments and remains of pigs, goats, fish, and snails in earthenware pots. There were also crushed-up fava beans spotted at the bottom of a jar, which hint at its use in modifying the taste of wine.
The snack bars were named thermopoliums, after the Greek words for hot (“thermos”) and to sell (“poleo”). It is believed that there were 80 such stalls in the area.
The Thermopolium of #RegioV, a bar in #Pompeii, complete with an image of a Nereid riding a sea-horse, had previously been partially excavated in 2019. It now emerges in its entirety, with rich decorative still life frescoes, food residues, animal bones & victims of the eruption. pic.twitter.com/OEqh2sbAmm
— Pompeii Sites (@pompeii_sites) December 26, 2020
[via Complex, cover image via Pompeii sites]
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