When you purchase through links on our site , we may clear an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
Archaeologists in Pompeii have disclose a still - liveliness fresco of a Mediterranean meal that seem good enough to corrode . But if you think it looks like a pizza pie , hold the cheese .
Pizzas as we sleep together them today , with tomato and mozzarella , were n’t baked in Italyuntil the 1800s . Instead , the Roman fresco likely features a unconditional focaccia — food that was commonly eat in the town before it was destruct in the A.D. 79 volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius .
The fresco shows a Mediterranean feast with berries, a goblet of wine, dates, pomegranates and a flat focaccia.
The Archaeological Park of Pompeii unveiled the small fresco on June 27 . The image was found during recent archeological site in Regio IX , a section of the ancient townspeople that contained a commixture of residential houses and commercial social organization , such as a laundry and a bakery , as well as the skeletal remains of at leastthree people .
Against a black background , the still - life includes a full wine glass on a silver tray , dates , pomegranates and a garland of yellow Charles Edward Berry next to a blue stick wrapped in a red-faced ribbon . However , the carbs on the left of the tray have draw in the most attention .
" How can we not consider about pizza , " Archaeological Park of Pompeii music director generalGabriel Zuchtriegelsaid in astatement , noting it was a food for thought " expect as a ' poor ' beauty in southerly Italy that has now conquered the world . "
Archaeologists found the flat focaccia fresco during recent excavations in Regio IX, a section of Pompeii that contained a mix of residential houses and commercial structures.
pertain : Ancient Pompeii ' fast - intellectual nourishment ' spot tempt client with sexy logo
Hallmarks of pizza , though , let in mozzarella and Lycopersicon esculentum sauce , neither of which was usable to the ancient Romans living inPompeii , an ancient vacation terminus . Tomatoes were n’t enclose to Europe until the 16th century , whilemozzarellawas probably first made in the 11th century .
But the Romans did have something they calledpanis focacius , meaning " hearth bread , " which consisted of a yeast kale made with flour , Olea europaea petroleum , water and table salt — a basic recipe that has been passed down through the millennium as focaccia . This meal fit with the house painting , which has colorful dots that appear to stand for a flatbread with spices and condiment such as pesto , according to archaeologist .
The still - life at Pompeii is a genre of painting call xenia — a theme that represents gifts of cordial reception — the archeologist say . The placement of this fresco in the atrium of a house could therefore reflect the homeowner ’s desire to treat Edgar Albert Guest well . About 300 of these still - life have been get hold at Pompeii and nearby towns .
— 2 hidden male systema skeletale discovered under pile of dust in Pompeii ’s ' House of the Chaste Lovers '
— Newfound remains at Pompeii were a master and handmaiden who died together
— archaeologist uncover diminutive room belonging to kinsperson of slaves in Pompeii
credit to focaccia - corresponding bread can also be found in Latin lit , where several Roman Catholic generator describe veggie , fruits , Allium sativum , herbs and cheese like pecorino Romano circulate on flatbread as a typical scotch meal .
The simple meal rendered in vivacious coloring material on the wall of a large family reflects an challenging contrast , as it " cue us of a sphere that resist between the idyll and the sacred on one side , and the luxury of the facile trays and the refinement of the aesthetic and literary agency on the polar side , " Zuchtriegel tell .
dig at Regio IX are on-going , get across an area of around 35,000 substantial feet ( 3,200 solid metre ) .
