Pompeii Fresco Does Not Depict 'Ancient Roman Pizza' - Archaeologists

Archaeological excavations at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried under a layer of volcanic ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, yielded a peculiar discovery in the form of a fresco depicting what looks like a certain modern dish.

The image in question shows a platter laden with food, where one of the dishes bears a striking resemblance to pizza, probably one of the most popular Western dishes in the world.

A statement issued by the Pompeii Archaeological Park press office, however, points out that the food item in question lacks the “most characteristic ingredients” of pizza – tomatoes and mozzarella – though the fresco may indeed depict “a distant ancestor of the modern dish.”

According to the statement, the round piece of food resembling a pizza that is seen in the fresco may be “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.”

Whilst it looks like a pizza, this image from a Pompeian painting from 2000 years ago obviously can't be, since some of the most characteristic ingredients are missing, namely tomatoes and mozzarella. pic.twitter.com/KP3CS42KKn

— Pompeii Sites (@pompeii_sites) June 28, 2023

“Such genre of images, known in antiquity as Xenia, took inspiration from the “gifts of hospitality” that were offered to guests because of a Greek tradition that came from the Hellenistic period,” the statement noted.