3-051-924 - LTL/Heritage Images

Marble-covered counter, Thermopolium, Pompeii, Italy, 2009. In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a thermopolium was a cook-shop, a place where something hot is sold, ie a restaurant that served hot ready-to-eat meals. The Roman city of Pompeii was buried under 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 feet) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.