MIRROR
It may be one of the world’s favourite dishes – but now evidence shows it may also be a lot older than we thought.
Archaeologists in Italy have uncovered a centuries-old painting depicting what looks like the humble pizza, despite many of the delicacy’s ingredients not being in use at the time it was painted.
Excavations in Pompeii at the foot of Vesuvius has unveiled a 2,000-year-old fresco detailing a plate of food, including what looks like a round piece of bread adorned with toppings.
But while the etching – which was discovered next to what the historians believe was a bakery – may look similar to a pizza, it still lacks today’s commonly-used ingredients.
Tomatoes and mozzarella, which form pizza’s base ingredients, would not be used in Italian kitchens for hundreds of years after the Romans.
