Pompeii ash sheds light on Roman snack habits

ROME－A 2,000-year-old fast-food stall unearthed from the ashes of Pompeii has given researchers new clues about the snacking habits of the ancient Romans.

The ornate snack bar counter, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.

Pompeii was buried in a sea of boiling lava when the volcano on nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, killing between 2,000 and 15,000 people.

Archaeologists continue to make discoveries there.

The thermopolium, at what was a busy intersection of Silver Wedding Street and Alley of Balconies, was the Roman era equivalent of a fast-food snack stall. The term is derived from the Greek thermos for hot and poleo to sell.

The team found duck bone fragments as well as the remains of pigs, goats, fish and snails in earthenware pots. Some of the ingredients had been cooked together like a Roman-era paella.

Crushed fava beans, used to modify the taste of wine, were found at the bottom of one jar.

The counter appears to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners, perhaps as the first rumblings of the eruption were felt, Ansa news agency quoted Massimo Osanna, director general at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, as saying.

A water tower and a fountain were found alongside human remains, including those of a man believed to have been aged about 50 and discovered near a child's bed.

The remains of another person were also found and could be those of an opportunist thief or someone fleeing the eruption who was "surprised by the burning vapors just as he had his hand on the lid of the pot that he had just opened", Osanna said.

In the latest stage of their work, archaeologists uncovered a number of still-life scenes, including depictions of animals believed to have been on the menu, notably mallard ducks and a rooster, for serving up with wine or hot drinks.

Previously unearthed was a fresco bearing an image of a Nereid nymph riding a sea horse and gladiators in combat.

"As well as bearing witness to daily life in Pompeii, the possibilities to analyze afforded by this thermopolium are exceptional because for the first time we have excavated a site in its entirety," Osanna said.

The thermopolium was very popular in the Roman world. Pompeii alone had about 80 of them.

The massive site that spreads over 44 hectares is what remains of one of the richest cities in the ancient world. Layers of ash buried many buildings and objects in a nearly pristine state, including curled-up corpses of victims.

Agencies via Xinhua