During recent conservation work at Pompeii's famous Thermopolium in Regio V, archaeologists discovered an unexpected treasure: a luxurious Egyptian situla made of glass-paste faience, decorated with hunting scenes in the distinctive Nilotic style. This refined vessel from Alexandria was being used as a simple kitchen container in the back room of what was essentially an ancient Roman fast-food establishment when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, providing fascinating evidence of how cultural objects from across the Mediterranean found their way into everyday Roman life.
The discovery, announced by Pompeii Sites, reveals how exotic items typically reserved for wealthy households were sometimes repurposed for practical use even in commercial kitchens. According to the official publication from the Parco Archeologico di Pompei, the situla was found positioned on a small earthen base near the center column of the service room, surrounded by other kitchen implements and storage vessels.
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Thermopolium of the Rooster with entrance to the back room. (Pompeii Sites)
A Kitchen Reveals Cross-Cultural Commerce
The excavations, conducted between late 2023 and May 2024, focused on completing work in the service area adjacent to the Thermopolium of the Rooster. This backroom functioned as an organized workspace where food was prepared, cooked, and stored. Archaeologists found the space remarkably well-preserved, with cooking tools, mortars, pans, and numerous wine amphorae still positioned as they were moments before the volcanic catastrophe struck.
The amphorae recovered from this kitchen came from various Mediterranean regions, demonstrating the extensive trade networks that supplied even modest commercial establishments in Pompeii. Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel emphasized that furnishing both the kitchen and household shrine with Egyptian objects shows how permeable the Roman world was to tastes, visual languages, and religious ideas from the East. Remarkably, this cultural circulation wasn't limited to elite households - even the back room of a popina, or street-food venue, participated in spreading cultural and religious fashions.
From Garden Ornament to Cooking Vessel
The situla itself represents a fascinating story of object biography. Glass-paste vessels like this one were typically manufactured in Alexandria, Egypt's great cultural and commercial center under Roman rule. These decorative containers usually adorned wealthy gardens or reception rooms in Vesuvian homes. The fact that this particular piece ended up as a utilitarian kitchen container speaks volumes about the complex routes artifacts could take through Roman society.
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Detail of the situla (vase) found in the Thermopolium Regio V of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. (Technodigit/Parco Archeologico di Pompei)
The situla's green and yellow coloring remains remarkably vivid, with human and animal figures alongside floral motifs decorating its surface in the characteristic Nilotic hunting style. Ongoing analyses may reveal traces of what it originally contained, whether imported Egyptian ingredients or local foodstuffs. The vessel was discovered alongside other items that suggest this wasn't the only exotic piece in the establishment - terracotta votive figures, a marble object, and a bone pin depicting a female figure were also found nearby, indicating a small domestic shrine area.
Life in a Roman Fast-Food Joint
The excavations paint a vivid picture of how the Thermopolium operated in its final days. The two-story structure had commercial space at ground level and modest residential quarters above. The service room where the situla was found had been carefully organized for efficiency: one section stored amphorae and liquid containers, another held food processing and cooking equipment, and a small bathroom opened onto the Vicolo dei Balconi.
Various other containers found in the service room. (Pompeii Sites)
The building showed signs of recent renovations following earthquake damage in the years before the eruption. Structural reinforcements had been added, including horizontal poles and a limestone column placed centrally to stabilize the upper floor's ceiling. Some repairs appeared hasty and makeshift, suggesting the establishment operated under financial constraints despite serving customers until the very end.
Upper-floor rooms revealed more refined tastes. One chamber featured Fourth Style frescoes with illusionistic architectural motifs and a yellow floor. Furnishings likely included pieces faced with polychrome marble panels, and personal belongings were kept in richly adorned wooden caskets - fragments of which survived with bronze decorative elements, glass unguentaria, and bone pins.
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Preserving Pompeii's Stories
The extraordinary maintenance project has restored not only the recently discovered areas but also wall structures and decorative schemes known from earlier interventions. New removable protective roofs, designed to harmonize with the archaeological setting, now shield the rooms and finds from the elements. Enhanced lighting systems highlight details and atmospheres while improving the visitor experience at this remarkable site.
The discovery underscores Pompeii's role as a cosmopolitan commercial hub where goods, ideas, and religious practices from across the Mediterranean converged. Egyptian artifacts turning up in modest commercial kitchens demonstrates how thoroughly Egyptian culture had permeated Roman society by the first century AD, extending far beyond elite collecting to influence daily life at every social level.
Top image: Precious antique Egyptian vase found in Pompeii 'street food' area, Thermopolium in Regio V of Pompeii. Source: Pompeii Sites
By Gary Manners
References
Parco Archeologico di Pompei. 2024. E-Journal Scavi di Pompei - Manutenzione straordinaria e indagini archeologiche nell'area del Thermopolium, Regio V, Insula 3. Available at: https://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/10_E-Journal-Manutenzione-straordinaria-e-indagini-archeologiche-nellarea-del-Thermopolium-Regio-V-Insula-3-ambienti-2-e-1_.pdf
Pompeii Online. 2025. Pompeii Regio V: an Egyptian situla in the back room of the Thermopolium. Available at: https://www.pompeionline.net/en/news/476-pompeii-regio-v-an-egyptian-situla-in-the-back-room-of-the-thermopolium
