8.1.2012 In Pompeii they stored garbage on the roofs

Archaeologists made an interesting discovery eight years ago. According to them, there was no system in Pompeii for storing and disposing of garbage. It ended up on the roofs of houses and even in graves.

The findings of archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati were presented by archaeologist Allison Emmerson in January 2012. The archaeologists found graves in and around which various wastes, including animal bones or broken pottery, were lying around.

The first such graves were found in the 19th century. At the time, it was thought that the graves were covered in waste as a result of the earthquake that struck Pompeii in 62. Scientists at the time thought it unthinkable that the local population would dispose of waste in this way.

But that was indeed the case. The people of Pompeii threw their rubbish everywhere. They even found waste pits in one of the houses, with a drinking water supply between them. Researchers have also found that rubbish was dumped and left on the floor of the houses, sometimes flying directly into the street or into small alleys between two houses, but also ending up on the outskirts of the city along the city walls. And it was said that there was a lot of it.

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There is simply no evidence that Pompeii had any centrally controlled system for disposing of the impact. So it's very likely that there was rubbish lying all over the place and the locals were just used to it. And the cemeteries and tombs were just another "convenient" place to dump rubbish.

"In general, when confronted with death back then, they were more concerned with preserving memories than with any afterlife. Their tombs were never meant to be a place for contemplation. They were simply part of everyday life. They were never kept neat and clean. On the contrary, they were dirty and neglected," the archaeologists say.

Research on Pompeii has been going on for years. For archaeologists, it's a really interesting place, and every now and then it will yield an interesting discovery. Most recently, for example, they published photos of a fast food restaurant that they managed to completely uncover. They found a beautiful counter decorated with frescoes and containers of animal bones. In Pompeii, there was fast food on almost every corner and it was called thermopolium.

Sources: www.sciencedaily.com, www.eurekalert.org, www.nbcnews.com