With its satisfying crunch and juicy interior, there’s no doubt fried chicken is one of today’s most iconic dishes worldwide. 

But we have the Romans to thank for pioneering this iconic fast food, new research shows.

Scientists have discovered the 2,000-year-old remains of small songbirds that were deep-fried and eaten as a quick and inexpensive snack. 

These bony leftovers were found at a trash pit near the ancient ruins of a fast-food shop in the Roman city of Pollentia on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The dead songbirds – precursors to today’s chicken – would have been flattened on-site and quick-fried for sale to walk-up customers. 

And they were consumed as a routine street food by the masses rather than an ‘elite rarity’ for the rich, as previously thought. 

‘Thrushes were commonly sold and consumed in Roman urban spaces,’ said Dr Alejandro Valenzuela, researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies.

‘[This challenges] the prevailing notion based on written sources that thrushes were exclusively a luxury food item for elite banquets.’ 

With its satisfying crunch and juicy interior, there’s no doubt fried chicken is one of today’s most iconic dishes worldwide. But we have the Romans to thank for pioneering this iconic fast food, new research shows (file photo)

From roads to books, we have the Romans to thank for many of our most-used objects. But new research has revealed that the Romans were also pioneers when it came to fast food. A taberna was a type of shop or stall in Ancient Rome selling fast food and drink for a quick stop or on-the-go (depicted)

Skeletal representation (%) of thrush remains from Pollentia. The color gradient indicates the relative abundance of skeletal elements, with darker shades representing higher % values. The dashed red outline marks the region of the body associated with the highest meaty parts

It might seem a modern marvel, but the Romans were the first to introduce street stalls and fast food, and ‘food on the move’ as we might think of it today.

In ancient Rome, so-called ‘taberna’ were small wooden shelters or huts selling the cheap food from a little window, frequented by the lower classes. 

As Roman Empire grew, so did its tabernae, becoming more luxurious and acquiring good or bad reputations for their offerings, which included bread, wine, meat and even non-edible items like jewellery. 

One of these stalls at the Roman city of Pollentia has been dated between the first century BC and the first century AD, as the Roman Empire approached its height. 

This particular ‘taberna’ had a cesspit, around 12.5 feet (3.9 metres) deep, which was filled rapidly with bones between 10 BC and AD 30.

So workers or even visitors to the stall would have likely dumped their animal waste into the pit once they’d extracted the meat. 

‘Characteristics indicate that the cesspit facilitated the decomposition and putrefaction of organic matter under conditions of high internal temperature,’ Dr Valenzuela said.

‘[The cesspit was] possibly influenced by spontaneous or intentional combustion processes.’ 

This particular ‘taberna’ at Pollentia had a cesspit, around 12.5 feet (3.9 metres) deep, which was filled rapidly with bones between 10 BC and AD 30

Analysis of the bony remains revealed a similarity with the modern song thrush (Turdus philomelos, pictured)

Given that Roman culinary practices often involved frying small birds in oil rather than grilling, it’s thought that at Pollentia, thrushes were not grilled but rather pan-fried, the expert added.

This method, documented in classical and medieval sources, was especially efficient for street food preparation, requiring ‘minimal butchery and producing a dish that could be quickly served’. 

Dr Valenzuela’s analysis of the remains also showed there were not just birds at the ancient taberna site – suggesting the original visitors consumed a wide variety of animals from there. 

In fact, out of 3,963 remains in the pit, the majority belonged to pig (1,151) and rabbit (853), although there were also sheep/goat (218) and cattle (104). 

In all, 165 of the remains belonged to thrushes, making them the most abundant bird, although there was also the domestic fowl (126) and pigeon (7).

There was also remains of 678 fish and 642 marine shells, which were prepared, cooked and consumed on-site, akin to modern-day seafood shacks, 

Overall, the remains were ‘well-preserved and did not show any signs of predation by carnivores or raptors’ – suggesting the Romans knew how to keep out pests. 

In ancient Rome, so-called ‘taberna’ were small wooden shelters or huts selling the cheap food from a little window (file photo)

Pollentia was a Roman city founded in the year 123 BC, located on the island of Mallorca, and now an archaeological site (pictured)

The study, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, shows that thrushes were ‘an important facet of urban food consumption’. 

This was even though the little birds were a ‘minor component of the Roman diet’ compared to livestock. 

What’s more, the fact they were sold from such a site rubbishes the idea that these small birds ‘were solely markers of elite status’.

‘Classical sources frequently describe these small birds as a delicacy served in elite banquets, often prepared with elaborate culinary techniques,’ said the academic.

‘The selective skeletal representation supports their processing and sale in a commercial context, likely as street food accessible to various social groups. 

‘This study not only re-evaluates the role of thrushes in Roman dietary practices but also underscores the importance of street food economies in ancient cities.’