The document discusses evidence for food and dining in Pompeii and Herculaneum after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Archaeological remains have provided evidence of food including carbonized remains found in ovens and pots. Frescoes also depict banquets. Skeletal remains show the victims had a healthy diet including cereal, eggs, fish, and walnuts. Cooking was done with portable braziers or in kitchens, and food was also prepared and sold in thermopolia. Wealthier homes had dining rooms while most ate simple, local meals. Major food groups included fruits, vegetables, nuts, seafood, meat, pulses, and cereals.

1. Everyday Life - Food and
Dining

2. Evidence for Food
• The most reliable evidence of the food eaten in Pompeii and Herculaneum comes
from the carbonised remains of the food itself
• Such remains have been fund in ovens, cooking pots and dishes, food traces found
in ancient toilets; root casts of vines and fruit trees which grew in and around the
towns, pollen of various plants found in the ash deposit and the remains of fish and
animals in markets

3. Evidence for Food
• Frescoes showing banqueting scenes and receipts such as those of Alpicius also
provide information about food in Roman times
• However, without corroborating archaeological evidence, it cannot be assumed that
they are reliable sources about the food eaten in Pompeii and Herculaneum
• Skeletal remains of the victims of Vesuvius were generally well-nourished,
suggesting a healthy diet

4. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• Evidence for food preparation
and cooking methods comes
from cooking and eating utensils,
cooking areas in houses, dining
rooms and tabernae (a single
room shop covered by a barrel
vault within great indoor
markets of ancient Pompeii...
Each taberna had a window
above it to let light into a
wooden attic for storage and had
a wide doorway)
• The large number of bakeries
suggest that bread was an
important part of the diet

5. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• In most houses cooking was done on a portable brazier which could be used in any
part of the house or garden
• The House of the Vettii was one of the few houses with a kitchen
• Food was prepared in some thermopolia (a commercial establishment where it was
possible to purchase ready-to-eat food. The forerunner of today‘s restaurant, the
items served at the thermopolia are sometimes compared to modern fast-food.
These places were mainly used by the poor or those who simply could not afford a
private kitchen, sometimes leading them to be scorned by the upper class)

6. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• Metal braziers, brick ovens and fireplaces
indicate where food was cooked and the range
of pots, pans and other utensils provide
evidence of how it was cooked
• It would have been possible to bake, boil, fry
or BBQ using the equipment that has been
uncovered
• Most people would have eaten from pottery
bowls and plates and drunk from pottery
vessels, although in wealthier homes
tableware made of silver, bronze and glass has
been found

7. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• Larger houses had at least one dining room (triclinium) and often an additional
dining area in the garden
• The triclinium contained three couches on which diners reclined
• Food and drinks were served on low tables placed near the couches

8. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• Frescoes and contemporary literature suggest that dinner parties were popular
among wealthier families
• Some of the dining rooms were beautifully decorated (e.g. The triclinium in the
House of the Vettii)

9. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• A more elaborate dinner party would have several courses served by slaves and
some form of entertainment such as dancers or musicians

10. Evidence for Cooking and
Dining
• Most people would have eaten simple meals prepared from fresh, local produce
• The meal of the priests uncovered near the Temple of Isis may have been typical
• It included cereal, eggs, fish and walnuts

11. Major Food Groups Based on
the Evidence
Fruit – figs, prunes,
dates, pears, peaches,
apples, cherries,
pomegranates, olives
and grapes
Vegetables – cabbage,
onion, garlic, lettuce
asparagus, cucumber,
leeks, radishes and
turnips

12. Major Food Groups Based on
the Evidence
Nuts and Seeds –
walnuts,
almonds,
chestnuts, poppy
seeds
Seafood – fish,
scallops, cockles,
lobster,
cuttlefish, garum

13. Major Food Groups Based on
the Evidence
Meat – sheep, pig, cattle, goat, poultry, birds
Pulses – peas, beans, lentils
Cereal – barley, millet, wheat (in bread)