5 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A still life fresco discovered in new excavations of Pompeii Regio IX

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a gorgeous still-life fresco depicting a platter covered in food and wine.

A still-life fresco discovered recently in the Pompeii archaeological site looks like a pizza, but it’s not, experts at the archaeological site said Tuesday. Traditional pizza has tomato and mozzarella on it, as the Pompeii Archaeological Park press office reminded us in a statement released.

The bready item on the left side of the 2,000-year-old fresco is mensa, a Roman flatbread that served as both a platter for food and food itself.

The fresco was discovered in the atrium of a house in insula 10 of Regio IX, which occupies the central part of Pompeii bounded to the north by the Via di Nola, to the west by the Via Stabiana, and to the south by the Via dell’Abbondanza.

The painting 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, (that can be identified as pomegranate, and maybe a date), with spices and perhaps with a type of pesto, (moretum in Latin) as indicated by yellow and ochre dots, possibly condiments. Moreover, on the same tray, dried fruits and a garland of yellow strawberry trees are present next to the dates and pomegranate.

The food fresco was found on a wall abutting what was a Pompeiian bakery. Photo: Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italian Ministry of Culture
The food fresco was found on a wall abutting what was a Pompeiian bakery. Photo: Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italian Ministry of Culture

According to the researchers, the scene is a representation of xenia, the Greek tradition of hospitality. Similar frescos have been previously found in other locations surrounding Mount Vesuvius.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological site said: “The fresco has some themes of the Hellenistic tradition, later elaborated by authors of the Roman-imperial era such as Virgil, Martial, and Philostratus. I am thinking of the contrast between a frugal and simple meal, which refers to a sphere between the bucolic and the sacred on one hand, and the luxury of silver trays and the refinement of artistic and literary representations on the other.

The ancient Pompeii was a Roman city, located in the modern commune of Pompeii near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. It was buried under 4 to 6 metres of volcanic ash and pumice during in the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. About 22 hectares (54 acres, or about one third of the town) remains totally buried under Vesuvius’ outlay.

Pompeii Sites

Cover Photo: Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italian Ministry of Culture

Related Articles

Exceptional discovery of a fully frescoed chamber tomb dating back to the Republican and Imperial Roman ages

10 October 2023

10 October 2023

Waterworks in Giugliano, a suburb of Campania (Naples), have uncovered an untouched chamber tomb full of frescoes ceilings, and walls...

A rural necropolis from Late Antiquity discovered in northeastern France

5 November 2022

5 November 2022

Inrap archaeologists have unearthed a small rural necropolis from the late 5th century (Late Antiquity) at Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes in northeastern France....

Pendants and beads reveal nine European Cultures living across the continent 30,000 years ago

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

In a new study, researchers have constructed a continent-wide database of personal ornaments worn by Europeans 34,000-24,000 years ago, a...

The new study presents evidence suggesting the use of threshing sledges in Neolithic Greece as early as 6500 BCE, about 3000 Years Earlier than Previously Thought

17 May 2024

17 May 2024

The threshing sledges, which until a few decades ago was used in many Mediterranean countries from Turkey to Spain to...

Sidamara, the largest sarcophagus of the Ancient World, got Eros relief 140 years later

1 July 2022

1 July 2022

The Sidamara Sarcophagus, which is considered to be one of the largest sarcophagi of the ancient world and weighs many...

The discovery of great importance for Urartian archeology in Çavuştepe castle: Discovered a horse skeleton with a bronze curb bit in its jaw

28 September 2023

28 September 2023

Archaeologists unearthed a horse skeleton with a bronze curb bit (a metal piece inserted into its mouth to guide the...

Researchers have found in miniature ceramic bottles evidence of the oldest known use of cosmetics in the Balkans

14 July 2021

14 July 2021

In miniature ceramic bottles from excavations ascribed to the Lasinja Culture in the Southeast Prealps and the Vinča Culture in...

DNA Analysis Reveals Identifies the Genetic Makeup of Piceni the Most Fascinating Civilizations of Pre-Roman Italy

24 November 2024

24 November 2024

A study conducted by an international team coordinated by Sapienza University of Rome and the Italian National Research Council (CNR)...

Rare medieval bone flute unearthed in Kent, southeastern coast of England

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology have unearthed a rare medieval bone flute during excavations in Herne Bay, located in Kent, southeastern...

A massive Rune stone found under a kitchen floor in Denmark declared treasure

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A couple in Denmark discovered a massive rune stone weighing approximately 900 kilograms during a home renovation project that planned...

2000-year-old dagger reveals the site of a long-forgotten battle between the Roman Empire and tribal warriors

16 December 2023

16 December 2023

In Switzerland, a volunteer archaeologist and dental student Lucas Schmid discovered in 2019 a 2000-year-old silver and brass dagger. It...

Anthropologists say humans have been using personal ornaments to communicate about themselves without the fuss of conversation – for millennia

24 September 2021

24 September 2021

Anthropologists believe that for millennia, individuals have used personal decorations to communicate about themselves without the hassle of dialogue. They...

Archaeologists Discovered the Largest Inscription Ever Found in Sri Lanka

10 February 2024

10 February 2024

Archaeologists discovered the largest inscription ever found in Sri Lanka. The largest inscription ever discovered in Sri Lanka was found...

The Rock Tombs Found by Chance in the Al-Hamidiyah Necropolis

12 May 2021

12 May 2021

A series of rock tombs carved into the slope of a mountain have been discovered in the Al-Hamidiyah necropolis on...

“Important discovery” showing that the Hittite city of Büklükale close ties with the Hurrian society

21 October 2022

21 October 2022

According to Japanese archaeologists, an ancient clay tablet discovered at the Büklükale ruins in central Turkey suggests that a little-known...