KITCHENS AND DINING ROOMS AT POMPEII ... - Get a Free Blog

(3) Commercial eating establishments 22
This category includes both independent eating establishments and those attached to the
front of a house. Food is prepared and sold for persons both 'dining in' and 'taking out'. Eating
establishments, like (work)shops, are distributed primarily off major thoroughfares; 67% lie along
the Via Stabiana or Via dell'Abbondanza. The remainder are concentrated along or near the Via
di Castricio, an avenue of importance because of its direct access to the amphitheater towards the
east, and (after being split by insula I.10), to the theater-odeon complex to the west (Figs. 2.1-2.2).
The Via di Castricio was not as heavily traveled as the two major avenues, so eating
establishments in this sector are placed at intersections in order to serve additional traffic from
the cross-streets. This sample includes seven 'lunch counters' (popinae), seven 'diners' (cauponae),
and a single bakery (see Table 3.2 and Fig. 3.1 for the size range of these buildings). 23
Lunch counters
'Lunch counters' are small cook-shops that sell food to passersby, or persons seated or
standing near the front counter; popinae is the closest Latin equivalent. The counter in the front
room is where food and drink are stored, prepared and distributed. Storage jars containing food
or liquids are immured in its top surface, and a hearth is usually built into its end. Sometimes
there are additional rooms: a latrine for customers behind the counter, a bedroom or living
space, or a stair to an upper loft with living and storage space. 24 As a group, lunch counters
average 33.2 m 2 and 2.6 spaces. Those connected to larger houses are slightly smaller (28.5 m 2 ),
presumably because they could draw on the resources and extra space from their houses. Larger
independent shops average 38.1 m 2 , with an estimated population of 2-3 individuals.
Diners
'Diners' are lunch counters with additional space for customers to take meals seated or
reclining; cauponae is the closest Latin equivalent. By comparison, diners are approximately four
times larger; they average 125.6 m 2 and 6.6 spaces. Those connected to houses are slightly
smaller (103.8 m 2 ) than the larger, independent diners (141.9 m 2 , with an estimated population of
4-7 persons). Diners contain a serving counter with storage jars and a built-in hearth from which
they can serve persons off the street. They also have a separate dining area where couches for
22 Examples of commercial eating establishments from the study sample include: I.4.3, I.4.11, I.4.12-17,
I.4.27, I.6.5-6, I.6.8-9, I.7.8-9, I.7.13-14, I.8.1, I.8.8-9, I.8.15-16, I.9.4, I.9.11, I.10.2, I.10.13.
23 The bakery is: I.4.12-17. Inns or taverns (hospitia) are not represented in the gazetteer, but one is
identified by an inscription at VII.1.44-45; see chapter two, p. 91. Parslow 1989 distinguishes between a
popina (no fixed dining area) and a caupona (containing a fixed dining area). See above, pp. 35-37 for a
discussion of the Latin terminology for commercial eating establishments, and also Laurence 1994, 55-59
(bakeries) and 78-87 (lunch counters and diners) for city-wide distributions.
24 I.6.5-6, I.8.1, I.10.2, I.7.8-9 and I.4.27 have rooms behind the counter; the latter two have latrines.
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