A 2,000-year-old still life fresco depicting a flat focaccia (Italian flatbread) has been found among the ruins of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city frozen in time after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
The 2,000-year-old still life fresco was discovered during excavations in the Regio IX area of the Pompeii archeological park, near Naples, Italy.
The fresco appears to depict a focaccia, a cup of wine, various fruits and what looks like moretum (Roman herb-and-cheese spread).
“Whilst it looks like a pizza, this image from a Pompeian painting from 2,000 years ago obviously can’t be, since some of the most characteristic ingredients are missing, namely tomatoes and mozzarella,” said archaeologists with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
“However, as shown by a first iconographic analysis of the fresco, which emerged recently as part of the new excavations in the inula 10 of the Regio IX in Pompeii, what was represented on the wall of an ancient Pompeian house could be a distant ancestor of the modern dish.”
“It is possible to suppose that next to a wine cup placed on a silver tray, there is depicted a flat focaccia that functions as a support for various fruits (likely a pomegranate and dates), with spices and perhaps with a type of pesto (moretum in Latin) as indicated by yellow and ochre dots, possibly condiments,” they added.
“Moreover, on the same tray, dried fruits and a garland of yellow strawberry trees are present next to the dates and a pomegranate.”
“Pompeii never ceases to amaze. It is a chest that always reveals new treasures,” said Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
“Beyond the precise identification of the represented foods, we find in these frescoes the Hellenistic tradition, elaborated on by authors from the Roman Imperial Age, such as Virgil, Martial and Philostratus,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii archaeological park.
“I think about the contrast between a modest and…
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