Researchers unearth 'well-preserved' snack bar in Italy's Pompeii

Researchers have unearthed an exceptionally well preserved snacking bar in the Italian town of Pompeii. The ornate snack bar was discovered as a part of a full-fledged fast food counter or Frescoed Thermopolium. Once a bustling town in the Roman Empire, Pompeii was drowned in ash and pumice in 79 AD. However, the tragic incident preserved many items from the era, facilitated new discoveries a thousand years later.

Image Credits: http://pompeiisites.org/

The snack bar decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash was partially exhumed in 2019, but archaeologists extended the work on site to reveal it in its full glory. “This is an extraordinary find. It's the first time we are excavating an entire Thermopolium," said Massimo Ossana, director of the Pompeii archaeological park. Thermopolium or food counters, which sold ‘ready-to-eat’ food, were extremely popular during the reign of Romans.

Read: Canadian Tourist Returns Stolen Artefacts From Pompeii, Claims They Are 'cursed'

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Traces of food found

Apart from the snack bar, researchers also dug out several still life scenes, including depictions of animals believed to have been on the menu, notably mallard ducks and roosters. In addendum, the scientists also found traces of leftover food in earthenware pots. These include duck bones fragments, as well as remains of pigs, goats, fish and snails in the pots. Crushed fava beans, used to modify the taste of wine, were also found at the bottom of one jar.

Read: Pompeii: Archaeologists Unearth Skeleton Of Two Men Died In Volcano Eruption In 79 A.D.

Image Credits: http://pompeiisites.org/

Alongside the food counter, the researchers also found Amphorae or a water tower, and a fountain. With the discovery of human remains, including those of a nearly 50-year-old man alongside a child’s bed, researchers have now theorized that the old man must have been left behind during volcanic eruption.

“The counter seems to have been closed in a hurry and abandoned by its owners but it is possible that someone, perhaps the oldest man, stayed behind and perished during the first phase of the eruption,” Massimo Osanna, director of Archaelogical Park of Popeii told Ansa news agency.

Image Credits: http://pompeiisites.org/

Read: Pompeii: Archaeologists Unearth Skeleton Of Two Men Died In Volcano Eruption In 79 A.D.

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