Culture

Archaeologists unveil ancient Pompeii snack bar

Rome, Dec 26 (EFE), (Camera: Antonello Nusca).- A snack bar replete with decorative paintings and traces of food residues has been unearthed in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried under volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.The archaeological team said the thermopolium of Regio V was one of the oldest snack bars discovered at the ancient site.The bar itself, which would have been used to serve hot food and drinks to the lower classes of Pompeii, is decorated with a well-preserved painting of a sea nymph riding a seahorse.Other artworks at the old Roman canteen include a cockerel, a dog on a leash and two mallard ducks.FOOTAGE OF THE REMAINS.SOUNDBITES OF PROF. MASSIMO OSANNA, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF POMPEII:"An extraordinary discovery. We are in the Regio V thermopile. Excavation began 2 years ago and only one side had been discovered where the Nereid appears on the back of a sea horse. Thisthermopiley is located in one of the most suggestive squares of Pompeii where there are s a cistern and another thermopile with the image of some gladiators. The discovery was exceptional when we saw that the other side was also decorated with high-impact still lifes. We have a series of volatiles ready to be prepared: cockerel, a dog on a leash and where they have painted a very funny graffiti that wanted to tease the owner or one of those who worked there: "Ninia cinede cacator". The possibilities of analysis in this context are extraordinary because an entire thermopile is being excavated, and with new technologies, the containers have been analyzed by an archaeologist, a volcanologist and now they will be analyzed to understand what was inside, what was offered, what visitors would buy in this square, an example of the Mediterranean diet that we will see when the analyzes are finished. Another interesting fact is that there is a victim inside, but not preserved because in the past there were thieves who entered here."