Article Preview
Pompeii's bars not so seedy after all
- 22 January 2005
-
- Magazine issue 2483
An archaeological pub crawl around every bar in ancient Pompeii has
revealed that they were not the dens of iniquity that their reputations
suggest
A PUB crawl around every bar in ancient Pompeii has revealed that they
were not the dens of iniquity we tend to think they were. Instead, taverns
played a vital role in the lives of most residents as a place to eat,
drink and socialise.
Steven Ellis of the University of Sydney, Australia, started off by
identifying which buildings in Pompeii had been bars. Broad entrances and
counters usually indicate shops rather than houses, so he studied these
buildings closely for evidence that they had been used to prepare and
consume food and drink. Also, from the 2nd century AD, grave reliefs began
to depict the work of the buried person. And Ellis was able to use images
of bar-keepers at their counters to help identify which shops were pubs.
In total, he found 158. "That's quite a lot for a small town of 12,000
to 15,000 people," he says. ...
The complete article is 326 words
long.
