• A fresco in Pompeii revealed a surprising feast: a bready food that looks like a pizza. 
  • It may not qualify as pizza as Pompeii didn't have access to tomatoes or mozzarella, researchers said.
  • The food may be a pizza ancestor, which seems to have been covered in fruit, they said.

A 2,000-year-old fresco uncovered in the ruins of Pompeo appears to show a very early form of pizza topped with fruit.

The bread dish is seen in the ancient painting next to a chalice of wine and several pieces fruit, some of which look very similar to a pineapple. 

While foodies may shudder at the thought of a Hawaiian pizza in Italy, experts believe the fruit shown on top of the bread is more likely to be a pomegranate and dates.

The pineapple-like fruits decorating the silver plater are likely to be a garland of "strawberry trees," which are grape-like spiky fruits also called arbutus commonly found in the Mediterranean region. 

"The image brings to mind a pizza since we are near Naples," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii archaeological park, in a video about the discovery, according to The Art Newspaper. 

"Obviously it's not a pizza but perhaps it could have been a distant ancestor of this food."

Experts, however, claim the image doesn't strictly qualify as a pizza because basic ingredients, like tomatoes and mozzarella, would not have been available in Pompeii at the time, per a press release published Tuesday.  

They claim the flatbread would have been topped with fruit spices, and a herb cheese called moretum.

The bread in this context may have been used as a sort of platter to present the foods rather than part of the meal, per the press release.

That being said, the debate lives on: Gino Sorbillo, owner of one of the oldest pizzerias in Naples, said in his view the food is "an ancient form of pizza," The Guardian reported. 

"You can use fruit, for example figs, or strawberries, if it's a sweet pizza," he said. But he emphasized pineapple on a pizza will always be taboo. 

"Tastes are tastes," he added. "We make traditional pizza and would never use pineapple."

A photo shows the ruins featuring the fresco in situ, set against a blue sky.
The fresco was found in newly-uncovered ruins.
Parco Archeologico di Pompei

The fresco, which has maintained its vibrant colors throughout the years, is a rare find for archaeologists.

They believe it is a depiction of foods that would have been offered as part of the Xenia, a symbol of hospitality in the Greek tradition. 

Zuchtriegel noted that the fresco sets itself apart from other Xenia depictions because of the stark contrast between the foods, which make up a "frugal and simple meal," and their elaborate presentation near a chalice full of red wine, presented on a silver platter.

The find is part of a new series of excavations in the Regio IX area of Pompeii, a central part of the site that hasn't been investigated since the 19th century.

People in Pompeii would come to this area to wash their laundry and dye their clothes at the local washbasin as well as visit a bakery, per archeology news site Heritage Daily. A bakery was found next to the house where the fresco was discovered. 

The skeletal remains of three victims were found at the site, two adults and a child aged 3 to 4 years old. The adults were likely killed in an earthquake preceding the volcano eruption, as the remains of one of the victims were found holding their arms up to protect themselves from the rubble, per The Guardian. 

Pompeii "never ceases to amaze," said Italian culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, in the press release about the fresco.

"It is a treasure chest that always reveals new treasures," he said.