We may not have fancy frescoed bars (Pompeii fast food bar unearthed in ancient city after 2,000 years, 28 March), but in Worcester we also have evidence of Roman fast food.
Excavations at the Hive revealed unusual prefabricated Roman ovens and clay baking plates. Experimental cooking by Roman food historian Sally Grainger suggested they worked best for barbecuing meat; we tried chicken marinated in fish sauce, lovage and ground coriander, served with sourdough bread baked on the ceramic plate.
A variety of ovens have been found elsewhere in Britain: tannur-like ovens associated with the amphitheatre in Chester, feeding the gathered spectators, and large jars reused as ovens near Roman temple sites in Cambridgeshire and Essex, catering for hungry worshippers. Nihil sub sole novum, as they might have said in Roman Worcester – there’s nothing new under the sun!
Jane Evans
Malvern, Worcestershire
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