What food could Ancient Romans buy in street stalls?

Answer 1

At medieval markets they sold many different things such as meat, cloth, pottery and fruits.

Answer 2

The Forum, or Forum Magnum, as the Romans called it (Roman Forum is a modern term) was not a market. It was a forum civilium (civic centre). The forum civilium was separate from the forum venalium, the commercial forum, or market.

Rome had several fora venalia (plural of forum venalium): the forum boarium (cattle market), forum vinarium (wine market) forum piscarium (fish market), forum suarium (meat market), forum pistorium (bakers' market), forum holitorium (vegetable market) and forum cuppedinis (delicatessen market). Rome also had a number of other fora dotted around the city whose trade and location are not known. There were also many shops on the Argiletum, a street to the east on the Forum Magnum, and the centre of the book trade, was in the nearby Vicus Sandaliarius. The Velabrum, an area west of this forum, there were traders in foodstuff, oil, wine and incense.

Answer 3

It depends; the Romans had two types of fora (plural of forum): the forum civilium and the forum venalium (plural fora venalia). The former was the civic centre; the latter was a commercial forum, or market. In the forum civilium was separate from the fora venalia.

Rome had several fora venalia: the Forum Boarium (cattle market) the Forum Suarium (meat market) the Forum Piscarium (fish market) the Forum Holitorium (vegetable market) the Forum Vinarium (wine market) the Forum Pistorium (bakers' market) and the Forum Cuppedinis(delicatessen market).

The forum civilium was the Forum or Forum Magnum, as the Romans called it (Roman Forum is a modern term). It had the seats of the administrators, the courts, the senate house, the comitia, where the popular assemblies met and public speeches were made, the aerarium (the treasury) the tabularium (the state archives), the regia, the residence of the pontifex maximus (the head of the Roman state religion), public buildings (basilicas), important temples, shops and entertainment.

Answer 4

The Romans did not sell food in street stalls. Most Romans were poor and ate outdoors. They lived on the upper floors of the insulae (apartment blocks sex-seven floors high) which had small and overcrowded rooms with no running water, cooking facilities or toilets. People went there only to sleep and lived outdoors. They went to outdoors public toilets and to the public baths and eat outdoors.

Bread and other grain based foods were all that the poor could afford. Therefore, the bakeries and the thermopolia were the places where the food they ate and sold.

Roman bakeries were usually mills-bakeries. Only in later antiquity can we make a distinction between the milling and baking came only in Late Antiquity, after the introduction of water mills. The grain was poured into the top of the mill, which was turned by a slave. The flour was then sifted and kneaded with water, salt and yeast. It was baked in charcoal heated ovens surrounded by chambers which held the heat. At the front there was the shop which sold bread, rolls and cakes sweetened with honey.

The bakers also supplied the thermpolium (plural thermopolia) which was the Roman equivalent of a takeout. The word was Greek and meant a place where (something) hot is sold. It sold ready to eat food and it has been considered the forerunner of the restaurant (the Romans did not have restaurants). The food they served had been compared to today's fast food. It had a counter at the front with recesses for heat efficient containers. Many had dining areas at the back. However, most people eat their food on benches along the sidewalk.

The thermopolia were scorned by the rich who lived in detached houses, had their own kitchens and their food was cooked by slaves.

Answer 5

"My son pillaged Carthage and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" t-shirts were all the rage for a brief period.

Answer 6

At medieval markets they sold many different things such as meat, cloth, pottery and fruits.

Answer 7

They olive oil, wine, silk, and, cattle.