Archaeologists studying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which died in 79, have discovered a perfectly preserved fresco. The image is painted on the wall of a house associated with a bakery, so it is not surprising that it is dedicated to food.
As you can see, a dish stands out on the fresco, suspiciously similar to modern pizza. The press service of the Pompeii Archaeological Park even had to publish material explaining that this is an ancient Roman flatbread – mensa. It served as both a plate and an appetizer and is considered a distant ancestor of modern pizza.
In Latin, the word “mensa” meant “table”. An ancient legend is associated with this dish, described by the poet Virgil in the Aeneid. Aeneas, who escaped from Troy, and his people were predicted that at some point hunger would force them to “gnaw tables”:
But wall the promised city not before
Than for the offense that you inflicted on us, you will not be forced
The tables are devoured by severe hunger, biting their teeth.
As you might guess, this prophecy “fulfilled” when Aeneas and his team had a picnic, spreading food on bread cakes:
They, as Jupiter inspired, laying out on spelled cakes,
They bring wild fruits, put them on the tables of bread …
The Trojans quickly exterminated the meager supply, and hunger
They were forced to finish eating and Ceres gift is not abundant.
They only succeeded in making bread marked by a date,
To touch with a daring hand and taste from round cakes,
Yul exclaimed: “Well, now we are finishing the tables!”
He only wanted to joke, but when he heard such a word,
Aeneas understood that the end had come to his wanderings, and his son
He ordered to be silent, amazed by the expression of the divine will.
At the moment, almost a third of the city remains buried under volcanic deposits, so there are many more interesting discoveries ahead of us.
#Archaeologists #unearth #fresco #nonpizza #Pompeii
2023-06-28 19:30:00
