Excavations of Pompeii Seem to Reveal a Pizza and Other Treasures

Discoveries of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii never cease to amaze, and the latest one is no exception. Found in a beautifully preserves fresco, people can see the appearance of something Naples is famous for - pizza! This latest discovery was made in a large insula first excavated in the 19th century. It was left alone back then because archeologists found what’s now identified as laundry.

Now, with the return to the insula of Via Di Nola, archaeologists have found a lot more. They've come upon a bakery oven, a kitchen shrine, remains of a mattress, and gorgeous frescos. These treasures were found in a building suspected to be a merchant's wholesaler with a skylight on the atrium featuring lion-headed statues. Inside, on the right side, a massive oven could be seen, which might have baked as many as 100 loaves of bread daily. Gennaro Iovino announced the discovery of the pizza in June, and this space was where they found it.

However similar to a pizza the painted shape might seem, archeologists remind us it may not be. Since tomatoes are native to South America - a long way from Pompeii - and mozzarella wasn't around at the time this fresco was painted, there's almost no chance for it to be a pizza. Their hypothesis leads to it being a focaccia with various toppings. The park director, however, explains that it might be pizza as it's placed on a silver platter which depicts its rise from poor man's food to a culinary wonder.

There were many other hidden treasures found from recent discoveries. For example, an old charred mattress. Pompeii reveals as many treasures as it does tragedies. Archeologists found other frescos depicting a myth about Achilles dressed as a woman to avoid fighting in the Trojan War. Only ⅓ of the entire area has been excavated to this day, which means many more treasures are waiting to be found in the future.