Latest news with #ancientRome
Fox News
23-06-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Ordinary ancient Romans ate 'luxury' meat at fast-food shops, new research reveals
Newly published research is providing a fascinating glimpse into how ancient Romans enjoyed their fast food — shedding more light on life in antiquity. In a recent journal article entitled "Urban Consumption of Thrushes in the Early Roman City of Pollentia, Mallorca," researcher Alejandro Valenzuela discovered previously unknown information about how Romans consumed thrushes, a type of small bird. Until now, it was assumed that thrushes were a delicacy, reserved only for the rich. But Valenzuela found that these birds were actually consumed by the masses. The proof, Valenzuela said, was found in a first-century cesspit in Mallorca, Spain, where the bones of multiple species of animals were found. The pit was once connected to a fast-food shop called a taberna. Valenzuela, a researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca, spoke with Fox News Digital about his findings. "The key takeaway is that thrushes, once considered a luxury delicacy reserved for the Roman elite, were actually part of the everyday foodscape in cities like Pollentia," the antiquity expert revealed. "This challenges long-held assumptions and highlights how archaeological evidence – especially from refuse contexts like cesspits – can give us direct insight into daily life, food habits and economic strategies of ordinary people in the ancient world." At the Pollentia site, archaeologists also found the remains of pigs, sheep, goat, fish and shellfish – showing how varied the Roman diet was. "Frying in oil was a common Roman technique for small birds, especially in urban food settings where speed and simplicity were key." "These spaces likely served stews, small fried or grilled meats, legumes and wine – meals convenient for those without kitchens at home," Valenzuela said. In terms of cooking methods used, Valenzuela said thrushes were likely pan-fried instead of grilled, according to the evidence at the site. "Frying in oil was a common Roman technique for small birds, especially in urban food settings where speed and simplicity were key," he said. Archaeologists also found that thrushes' skeletons were missing large, meatier bones like femurs and humeri. "The presence of fragmented sterna supports the idea that the birds were flattened to allow for quick cooking," he posited. Ancient Romans likely enjoyed these meats with vinegar, herbs, spices and a fermented fish sauce called garum, according to Valenzuela. "Small birds could be served on skewers or simple ceramic plates," he said. The expert added, "The fact that thrushes were sold in bundles of 10, as per Diocletian's Price Edict, also suggests they were prepared in quantity, likely for immediate consumption by hand or on simple serving ware." He said establishments like tabernae and popinae primarily served working-class urban populations, offering quick and affordable meals. The flavor isn't exactly like chicken, the researcher said. The classicist also stressed that Roman cooking was highly resourceful and, unlike American fast food today, urban vendors served most parts of the animal. "In Pollentia, pig remains dominate the assemblage, and the presence of cranial and foot bones suggests that less-valued parts were also processed and consumed, likely as broths or stews," Valenzuela said. "That said, prime cuts were always more valuable and may have been sold separately or used in specific dishes." What did these small thrushes taste like? Valenzuela said the flavor isn't exactly like chicken. "Their taste is more comparable to other small game birds like quail or woodcock," he said. "Lean, slightly gamey and rich, especially when pan-fried or roasted." Though archaeologists only discovered animal bones at the Pollentia site, some excavators have been lucky enough to find preserved Roman food. Last year, archaeologists announced the discovery of the world's oldest bottle of wine in an ancient Roman burial site in southern Spain.
Times
12-06-2025
- General
- Times
Pompeii's ‘perfume garden' replanted as it was 2,000 years ago
A walled garden in Pompeii that once produced exquisite floral perfumes has been brought back to life as part of a campaign to recreate the daily life of the ancient Roman city. The Garden of Hercules — named after a statue of the classical hero found there — has been replanted with 800 roses, 1,200 violets, rosemary and vines, as it was 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists excavating the city believe the owner of the garden once crushed flowers in olive oil and grape juice to create perfumes for sale before Pompeii was buried by ash and pumice during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. 'Pompeii was full of gardens and they are crucial to understanding the city, hence recreating the Garden of Hercules,' Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the site director, said. Experts digging the garden in the 1950s first suspected its function when biological traces of roses were found. Since then, impressions left in the ground by vine trellises have been found and casts taken of holes in the earth have revealed that the roots of olive trees and vines were once present. Research has shown that the owner of the property expanded the garden by buying and demolishing an adjacent building after an earthquake damaged the city in 62AD, just 17 years before Vesuvius wiped it out. Proof that perfume was produced was the discovery of a collection of glass perfume containers at the site. Experts also found, and have recreated, an ingenious irrigation system which allowed slaves bringing water to decant it through a hole in the garden wall without entering from the street. The water flowed into channels that circulated around the planting beds. Large dolia — earthenware pots — were partly interred along the route of the channels with their apertures just above ground levels to act as reservoirs for water entering the irrigation system. 'If a gardener needed to give extra water to a plant, they could take it from a dolia,' said gardens historian Maurizio Bartolini, who worked on the replanting. Bartolini said he suspected the garden may have been used by its owner to experiment with new perfumes by combining roses, violets and rosemary, rather than produce scents for sale. 'It is 30 metres by 30 metres and possibly not large enough for full-scale production. You would need 2,000 roses to create 5cc of perfume,' he said. • Scroll charred by eruption of Vesuvius finally reveals secrets Bartolini said the flowers were either mixed with olive oil or juice from grapes harvested early. 'Those grapes would have the acidic content needed to fix the perfume of the flowers, but the scent would fade fast — you needed to wear it within a week,' he said. An inscription at the entrance states in Latin, 'Cras Credo', which translates as 'Credit will be offered tomorrow.' Zuchtriegel said it was evidence of typical Pompeii humour. 'It reminds me of the sign I once saw in a Paris restaurant stating 'Everything is free tomorrow'. We also see the Pompeii humour in the graffiti and in official documents that include jokes about emperors,' he said. Zuchtriegel said the garden had once contained a small temple and an arbor to dine in the shade of during the summer. 'This was a productive place but also really beautiful,' he said. • The last moments of Pompeii — the newest discoveries from the doomed city The reopening of the replanted garden this week follows an announcement in March that a wine grower will replant vines in Pompeii on the spot where a vineyard was once located. 'That is inside the city. We are also planting just outside the city on land seized from the mafia,' Zuchtriegel said. 'The green parts of Pompeii were once seen as a maintenance problem, almost separated from the archaeology. Now they are seen as an essential part of it,' he added.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
We finally know what Romans gobbled up for snacks on Mediterranean islands
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Songbirds were on the menu 2,000 years ago on the Roman island of Mallorca, archaeological evidence reveals. Bones of the small thrushes were discovered in a trash pit near the ancient ruins of a fast-food shop, giving researchers new clues about Roman-era street food. "Based on local culinary traditions here in Mallorca — where song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) are still occasionally consumed — I can say from personal experience that their flavor is more akin to small game birds like quail than to chicken," Alejandro Valenzuela, a researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca, Spain, told Live Science in an email. In a new study published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Valenzuela detailed his analysis of a collection of animal bones discovered in the ancient city of Pollentia , which was established after the Romans conquered the Balearic Islands in 123 B.C. Pollentia quickly became an active Roman port, and the city expanded to include a forum, temples, cemeteries and a network of shops. One of these shops likely functioned as a "popina" — a small establishment where locals could gather and grab a snack or some wine — as archaeologists found six large amphorae embedded in a countertop. Nearby, a roughly 13-foot-deep (4 meters) cesspit had been filled with garbage, including broken ceramics that helped date the pit's use to between 10 B.C. and A.D. 30, along with a variety of mammal, fish and bird bones. But Valenzuela was interested in investigating the role of small birds in the ancient Mallorcan diet, since their fragile bones are often poorly preserved at archaeological sites. In the Pollentia pit, though, there were more bones from song thrushes than from any other kind of bird. By looking closely at the specific thrush bones found in the cesspit, Valenzuela found a pattern: While there were numerous skulls and breastbones (sterna) from the small birds, there were almost no arm and leg bones or bones of the upper chest, which are associated with the meatiest parts of the bird. Related: Mass grave of Roman-era soldiers discovered beneath soccer field in Vienna The absence of the fleshy portions of the bird carcasses "suggests that thrushes were widely consumed, forming part of the everyday diet and urban food economy" at Pollentia, Valenzuela wrote in the study. Historical records show that Roman game hunters often caught song birds in large groups using nets or pit traps, and then sold them to retail establishments that cooked and distributed them as food. Based on the bone evidence, Valenzuela thinks the birds were prepared by removing the sternum to flatten the breasts. This technique would have allowed the food vendor to rapidly cook the bird — either on a grill or pan-fried in oil — while retaining moisture. The broken ceramics found in the cesspit could suggest that the thrushes were served on plates just as they would have been in a home dining context. "However, given their small size and the street food context, it's also entirely plausible that they were presented on skewers or sticks for easier handling — both options are possible," Valenzuela said. RELATED STORIES —2,000-year-old 'not a pizza' fresco discovered in Pompeii —Ancient Pompeii 'fast-food' spot lured customers with sexy logo —Ancient concession stands and shops found at Roman gladiator arena Along with thrush bones, Valenzuela found that the Romans ate domestic chickens (Gallus gallus) and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in large quantities, suggesting they were also on the menu at this ancient fast-food joint. Roman cities had a dynamic approach to food, Valenzuela wrote in the study, as seasonal products like thrushes were easily integrated into everyday diets, and "street food was a fundamental component of the urban experience."
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Archaeologists uncover fast food ancient Romans frequently snacked on
Commoners in the Roman Empire frequently snacked on inexpensive fried songbirds at roadside shops, archaeologists said after analysing an ancient trash pit in Spain. Such fast-food joints, known as popinae and tabernae, frequently served fried small thrushes, once considered a luxury dish, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. Researchers analysed animal bones found at a cesspit in the ancient Spanish city of Pollentia and dated to between the first century BC and the first century AD. During this time, the ancient city expanded quickly to become an active port with a forum, temples, cemeteries, and several roadside shops called popina serving snacks and wine. Archaeologists excavated a trash pit at a commercial area linked to a forum and a network of food shops via underground drainage. The cesspit was found to include remains of mammals, fish, reptiles, and birds, of which thrushes were 'most abundant', researchers said. They found 165 thrush bones, challenging the previous belief that such songbirds were mainly eaten by wealthier Romans. 'Classical sources frequently describe these small birds as a delicacy served in elite banquets, often prepared with elaborate culinary techniques,' scientists wrote. Some ancient texts, including ones written by Pliny the Elder, described fattening songbirds with figs before roasting them with different sauces. The new find provides valuable insights into the preparation and consumption of these small birds. Researchers found signs that the bird sternum was removed to flatten it before cooking in oil at these fast-food shops. In comparison, bird remains found near ancient household settings typically included more complete carcasses. 'The removal of the sternum to flatten the birds would have facilitated rapid cooking while maintaining meat moisture, making it especially suitable for busy food vendors serving immediate consumption needs,' scientists wrote. 'Given that Roman culinary practices often involved frying small birds in oil rather than grilling, it is plausible that at Pollentia, thrushes were not grilled but rather pan-fried, as suggested by historical recipes.' The latest evidence also suggests food shops followed a 'standardised approach' optimised for commercial food service. 'This evidence suggests that thrushes were commonly sold and consumed in Roman urban spaces, challenging the prevailing notion based on written sources that thrushes were exclusively a luxury food item for elite banquets,' researchers wrote. 'Furthermore, their seasonal availability suggests that urban vendors capitalised on migratory cycles to enhance food diversity and economic stability.'
Gizmodo
09-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Archaeologists in France Discover Giant Roman Gallic Villa Hiding in Plain Sight
A recent excavation reveals that a large building excavated in 1966 was just a part of an even grander ancient complex. In 1966, archaeologists in France uncovered an ancient 7,535-square-foot building near the town of Auxerre. Remains of furniture in the edifice's ten rooms led archaeologists to estimate that it was inhabited from the first to the fourth century CE, and evidence of mosaics and floor heating indicated that the inhabitants were members of a wealthy social class. But it turns out that these spaces were a small part of an even grander dwelling. Archaeologists have revealed that the building excavated almost six decades ago is just a secondary wing of a luxurious 43,056-square-foot villa—one of the largest known Roman villas in modern-day France. According to an agricultural treatise by the ancient Roman writer Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella called De Re Rvstica, Roman villas were divided into three main sections: the pars urbana, where the landowner and his family lived; the pars rustica, which housed the workers, animals, and farming tools; and the pars fructuaria for the harvest tools. The excavation near Auxerre has thus far revealed the complex's residential pars urbana, along with some features that may have belonged to the pars rustica. The building wrapped around a square garden, with a basin at one end and a fountain at the other. The chambers surrounding the garden included spaces to receive guests, technical rooms, and possible a kitchen, and the eastern wing of the building showcased thermal baths. The space that may have belonged to the pars rustica section of the complex consists of a rectangular space near a boundary wall that encircles part of the villa. In a statement by France's National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), archaeologists suggest the villa was built in two or three stages. Further research will be necessary to determine the building's potential association with ancient Auxerre, known as Autessiodurum, which became a prominent city in the fourth century. By the mid first century BCE, future Roman dictator-for-life Julius Caesar had conquered all of Gaul, a region including most of modern day France and Belgium. Large Roman Gallic villas traditionally had richly developed pars urbana and almost always included private thermal baths. They also usually incorporated fountains, gardens, private sanctuaries, and elaborate interiors featuring marble, frescoes, and mosaics for the enjoyment of their wealthy landowners, who made up the region's political elite. The recently uncovered estate represents one of the largest Roman villas in Gaul, according to The History Blog. It remains to be seen what further insight the magnificent remains will provide into the lives of Gaul's wealthiest ancient residents. In the meantime, visitors will have the rare opportunity to tour the site on June 15 in honor of European Archaeology Days.
