Archaeologists recently unearthed an Egyptian ceramic vase inside what was once a fast-food kitchen in Pompeii, offering a rare glimpse into the city’s cultural exchanges during the height of the Roman Empire. The discovery was made in the Thermopolium, an ancient snack bar located in Regio V, which was destroyed along with the rest of Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The vase, a glazed situla, was typically used as a decorative object in gardens and public spaces in the Vesuvian area but was repurposed here as a kitchen container. This finding highlights the fluidity of cultural influences in Pompeii, where everyday objects from different regions were integrated into local life.
Officials from the Pompeii Archaeological Park, including park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, emphasized that the vase reflects the creative and pragmatic adaptation of the city’s inhabitants. Zuchtriegel noted that the presence of the Egyptian vessel in a commercial kitchen suggests the influence of Eastern tastes and religious ideas in Pompeii, which was a bustling hub of trade and cultural exchange. The vase, which may have once held food or liquid, is currently undergoing restoration to determine its original use. Zuchtriegel also pointed out that the discovery challenges the perception of Pompeii as a purely Roman city, revealing the role of its lower and middle-class citizens in shaping the city’s cultural landscape. These individuals, despite their social status, played a key role in popularizing Eastern religious practices and artistic styles, including Egyptian cults and, later, Christianity.
The Thermopolium site also revealed additional artifacts, including cooking tools, pottery shards, and wine amphorae from the Mediterranean region, indicating a blend of local and imported materials. The presence of these items suggests that the Thermopolium was more than just a food stall—it was likely a place where goods, ideas, and cultural practices from different regions converged. The ongoing analysis of these findings is expected to provide further insights into the social and economic life of Pompeii. Recently, the Pompeii Archaeological Park has also revealed the reconstruction of an ancient garden, featuring historically accurate plants, and provided new details about a family’s desperate final moments during the eruption of Vesuvius. These discoveries continue to shed light on the daily lives and broader cultural exchanges of this ancient city.