Pompeii, Regio V thermopolis discovered in 2019 opens to the public

The thermopolium in Pompeii ’s Regio V, which was discovered in 2019, will open to the public starting Aug. 12. The thermopolis (an ancient food store: there are about 80 of them in Pompeii) was brought to light in an area of the ancient city that had never been investigated before, with special visits to the site of the House of Orion and the Garden House. Thermopolies, where hot drinks and food were served, as the name of Greek origin indicates, stored in large dolia (jars) embedded in the masonry countertop, were widespread in the Roman world, where it was customary for the lower middle class to consume prandium (the meal) outside the home. The value of the Regio V thermopolis lies in the decoration of the painted countertop: it features a Nereid riding a hippocampus and still-life and animal scenes, which probably allude to the food that was prepared, sold and consumed in the establishment.

The discovery, as mentioned, dates back to 2019, during the interventions of the Great Pompeii Project to secure and consolidate the historic excavation fronts. Given leccezionalità of the decorations and in order to return the complete configuration of the room (which are located in the widening at the intersection of the alley of the Marriage of Silver and the alley of Balconies), in 2020 the Archaeological Park of Pompeii decided to initiate a further intervention with the aim of completing the excavation and restoring the rooms and decorative apparatuses present. At the same time, a new wooden cover has been built to protect the painted counter, and the renovation of the ancient cantilevered meniano (balcony) has begun, on which part of the original cocciopesto flooring found during the excavation has been placed.

The thermopolis was inaugurated this morning at 11:30 a.m. by the director general of the Museums, Massimo Osanna (former director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii: under his direction the excavations that brought to light the structure were conducted) and the director general of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

The Park will then also organize extraordinary visits to the construction site of the House of Orion and the Garden (with restricted access and differentiated routes for a safe accompanied visit) where work is underway on the final restoration and roofing work preparatory to the permanent opening of the entire area. In the houses there are important decorations (the mosaic of Orion dallinedita iconography and the paintings of the triclinium of the garden house), which also emerged and secured during the excavations of the Regio V, connected to the broader intervention of securing the excavation fronts, provided by the Great Pompeii Project.

Pompeii, Regio V thermopolis discovered in 2019 opens to the public

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