Based on what has been unearthed since 1748, life in the Roman city of Pompeii must have been pretty good—until its inhabitants were buried alive in white-hot volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The ancient city on the Bay of Naples boasted public thermal baths, palatial villas, and brothels sporting notoriously explicit frescoes. In 2019, archeologists discovered the remains of a thermopolium, literally translated as a “hot drinks counter,” as well as evidence that even the poorer members of Pompeii society ate rather well. Although much of Regio…
