A carbonised by volcanic ash loaf of bread with the stamp ‘Property of Celer, Slave of Q. Gran
A carbonised by volcanic ash loaf of bread with the stamp ‘Property of Celer, Slave of Q. Granius Verus’, Herculaneum (near Pompeii), 79 ADThe most known example of Vesuvius eruption food (and also something that Romans used every day) was bread. In 79 AD some bakers left their loafs in the oven. They were left unattended when the volcano exploded. Round and plump, like a cake, and divided into eight wedges. Pompeians ate bread with most meals — with fruit at breakfast, at lunch and dinner dipped in olive oil or used to sop up sauces and stews. It was hard bread, made from coarse flour. The poor couldn’t afford raised, they ate unleavened bread, similar to pita bread. The one loaf of bread (top photo) was even more special than others - it has a stamp ‘Property of Celer, Slave of Q. Granius Verus’. We do not know if the slave survived the cataclysm, but we do know that he was a baker, a good one - with a quality stamp. -- source link
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