A Taste of Ancient Pompeii: The Oldest Olive Oil from 79 AD

In the ruins of Pompeii, a city frozen in time by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, a remarkable discovery was made a nearly 2,000-year-old bottle filled with solidified olive oil. Alongside it lay a piece of carbonized bread, offering a rare glimpse into the daily life and culinary traditions of ancient Rome. This extraordinary find, preserved in volcanic ash, is one of the oldest known examples of olive oil, a staple of Roman cuisine and culture.

Olive oil was a vital component of Roman life, used not only for cooking but also in religious rituals, cosmetics, and medicine. Its presence in Pompeii highlights the importance of this liquid gold in the daily lives of Romans. The bottle, still containing solidified oil after two millennia, serves as a powerful reminder of how integral olive oil was to Roman households. Paired with the carbonized bread, this find paints a vivid picture of a typical Roman meal, simple yet nourishing, centered around essential staples like bread and olive oil.

The eruption of Vesuvius, while tragic, left behind a perfectly preserved snapshot of Roman life. The solidified olive oil, preserved in its original state, offers scientists and historians invaluable insights into ancient food storage, production methods, and the diet of the Pompeians. The bottle, once a common household item, now stands as a testament to the endurance of one of the Mediterranean’s most prized resources.

Today, this ancient bottle of olive oil remains a symbol of the vibrant culinary traditions of ancient Rome. The nearly 2,000-year-old artifact serves as a reminder of the city of Pompeii’s bustling life, cut short yet immortalized by the volcanic ash. This olive oil, along with the carbonized bread, connects us to a distant past where the rhythms of life were as rich and flavorful as the oil that nourished them.