What did they eat in Pompeii?
Food & Diet:
The evidence left by the people in Pompeii shows that there was a lot of different food in the town of Pompeii. Evidence like Rubbish, undigested food and food left in pantries, bakeries and on plates shows that they also ate food for entertainment according to the mosaics left on the walls
Archaeologists picking through latrines, sewers, cesspits and trash dumps at Pompeii have found tantalizing clues to an apparently varied diet there before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed those Roman cities in 79 A.D.
Archaeologists discussed their discoveries, including gnawed-on fish bones
And goose eyeballs that were possibly ancient delicacies for the elite
Lots of chicken eggs were consumed, judging by the numerous pieces of eggshell found.
Notable exceptions include grain, which was likely imported from Egypt; dates from the Middle East and northern Africa; and pepper spice from India.
Flour left no traces across such a long time, grain weevils apparently survived the milling process.
A lot of food people left of plates, they didn't digest it or was left in a pantry
Much of what the inhabitants ate was local to that part of Pompeii
Trash dumps from roughly the 1st century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D. in the Pompeii neighborhood of Porta Stabia yielded an abundance of pig bones, a sure sign that pork was popular then
Tasty mollusks known as telline were popular on ancient tables; now telline as an ingredient for a seafood sauce is a much sought-after item on present-day Roman menus.
It appeared that both rich and not-so-rich Romans in these cities ate much the same food, especially fish.
Being buried for centuries in the sewers and cesspits helped preserve food traces — Vesuvius' eruption also carbonized some food for posterity.
Bite-sized, carbonized, cake-like breads were found occasionally around the rich houses, pieces of votive cups were also found.
The evidence left by the people in Pompeii shows that there was a lot of different food in the town of Pompeii. Evidence like Rubbish, undigested food and food left in pantries, bakeries and on plates shows that they also ate food for entertainment according to the mosaics left on the walls
Archaeologists picking through latrines, sewers, cesspits and trash dumps at Pompeii have found tantalizing clues to an apparently varied diet there before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed those Roman cities in 79 A.D.
Archaeologists discussed their discoveries, including gnawed-on fish bones
And goose eyeballs that were possibly ancient delicacies for the elite
Lots of chicken eggs were consumed, judging by the numerous pieces of eggshell found.
Notable exceptions include grain, which was likely imported from Egypt; dates from the Middle East and northern Africa; and pepper spice from India.
Flour left no traces across such a long time, grain weevils apparently survived the milling process.
A lot of food people left of plates, they didn't digest it or was left in a pantry
Much of what the inhabitants ate was local to that part of Pompeii
Trash dumps from roughly the 1st century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D. in the Pompeii neighborhood of Porta Stabia yielded an abundance of pig bones, a sure sign that pork was popular then
Tasty mollusks known as telline were popular on ancient tables; now telline as an ingredient for a seafood sauce is a much sought-after item on present-day Roman menus.
It appeared that both rich and not-so-rich Romans in these cities ate much the same food, especially fish.
Being buried for centuries in the sewers and cesspits helped preserve food traces — Vesuvius' eruption also carbonized some food for posterity.
Bite-sized, carbonized, cake-like breads were found occasionally around the rich houses, pieces of votive cups were also found.