ROMAN FOOD & DINING
Food and Dining 1
Short and light - like a Roman breakfast!
Food and Dining 2
Good account of the typical daily meals Romans had; with pictures and links to various
establishments in Pompeii where locals could go for food.
Food and Dining 3
The types of food, and how it was cooked, boiled or baked and the various cooking
implements used.
Roman Food - Bread, Dormice, Figs, Pigs and more...
Just some of the Roman foodstuffs preserved at and around Pompeii.
Roman Food - Peacock Mosaic
Scroll down to see this wonderful mosaic from Roman Tunisia.
Roman Food - Peacock Wall-painting 1
As featured on p.21 of CLC Bk.I. From area round Vesuvius; now in the National
Archaeological Museum in Naples .
Roman Food - Peacock Wall-painting 2
Wall-painting from the villa at Oplontis, near Pompeii.
Roman Food - Bread Wall-painting
While this is usually described as showing the sale of bread, it seems more likely to depict a
handout ("dole") of free bread to the needy by a toga-clad citizen hoping for some favours
in return!The fresco, now in the Archaeological Museum in Naples originally came from the
tablinus of House VII.3.30 in Pompeii which adjoins the "Bakery of Sotericus". The toga-clad
citizen dling out the freebies was thus probably the owner of the house and bakery.
The web-page also has a brief description about this important staple.
Roman Food - Figs Wall-painting
Wall-painting of a basket of figs from the villa at Oplontis, near Pompeii; as featured on p.25
of CLC Book I. And here is a modern copy.
Roman Food - Pomegranates Wall-painting
Fresco of a basket of pomegranates from the villa at Oplontis, near Pompeii.
Roman Food - Eggs
2000-year-old eggs from Pompeii; as shown on p.25.
Roman Food - Eggs & Birds Wall-painting
Wall-painting from the House of Julia Felix in Pompeii.
Roman Food - Fish Mosaic
The Romans enjoyed seafood, and this famous mosaic from Pompeii depicts many of their
favourite delicacies including octopus, lobster, eel, squid, prawn, bass, skate and red mullet.
In the Archaeological Museum, Naples; a detail appears on p.25.
Roman Food - Rabbit Wall-painting
Wall-painting from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii.
Roman Food - Rabbit Mosaic
Once decorating a bedroom floor in the "House of the Dolphins" in Thysdrus (modern El
Djem in Tunisia), it is now in the local museum.
Roman Food - Deer Wall-painting
This fresco fragment from a villa near Pompeii shows two kitchen slaves gut a small deer.
From a villa near Pompeii; now on display in the Getty Villa, Malibu, USA.
Roman Food - Flamingo Mosaic
Proof of the Romans' taste for exotic foods - an oven-ready pink flamingo from Roman
Tunisia!
Roman Food Critics 1: Pliny
The Roman senator and famous letter-writer Pliny the Younger complains about snobbish
behaviour at some Roman dinners where the host serves different quality food to his guests
depending on their status.
Roman Food Critics 2: Martial
The Roman poet Martial promises his friend a good meal...
Roman Kitchen 1
The original Roman cooking range and pots from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii. Food
was cooked on the top surface which would have had hot charcoal on it; the hole beneath
was not an oven but for storing wood.
Roman Kitchen 2
Modern replica of a Roman kitchen with stove, tables and cooking pots.
Roman Kitchen 3
Great drawing recreating a working Roman kitchen.
Roman Kitchen 4
Another morsel of information...
Roman Dining-room 1
Reconstruction of the dining-room (Triclinium) in the House of the Fruit Orchard in Pompeii.
Here, in addition, is a 360-degree view of the original room and its reconstruction; and a
fantastic fly-by movie around this house.
Roman Dining-room 2
Good reconstruction drawing of a Roman dinner with guests reclining on three couches.
Roman Dining-room 3
Roman wall-painting depicting guests at a banquet.
From the House of Chaste Lovers in Pompeii.
Roman Dining-room 4: the Seating-plan
A diagram of how the tables and guests were arranged in the dining-room.
Roman Drink - Wine Shop
In Herculaneum, famous for its well-preserved wooden wine rack still holding the wine jars.
Roman Tableware 1
The most prestigious tableware was made from silver, not gold; Vestorius Priscus wanted
everyone to know that he had been rich enough to afford silver dinner utensils - so they
were painted on his tomb in Pompeii.
Roman Tableware 2
One of the best sets of Roman tableware ever found! Discovered in the 1960's at the Roman
town of Augusta Raurica near Basel in Switzerland.
Its discovery was a bit bizarre... among others, a schoolboy had found an ornate rectangular
dish, and presented it to his teacher, who ridiculed his claims that it was Roman and ordered
him to throw it away. The priceless platter was recovered from the school bin! Here's the full
story.
Roman Pepper Pot
A very rare find... and it's from Britain!
Pepper was first imported into the Roman world from India in the first century AD. Now in
the British Museum.
Roman Recipes 1
From this homepage you can select ready prepared menus, and then look at individual
recipes for various courses.
Roman Recipes 2
Practical recipes for Roman dishes to spice up your next dinner party.
Modern Recipe Use dry ice or jelly (jello in the US) to create your own Pompeian masterpiece!