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Fried Thrush Was a Popular Roman Street Food
Archaeology Magazine ^ | June 6, 2025 | editors / unattributed

Posted on 06/09/2025 7:43:36 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Several ancient Roman writers describe how thrushes were a culinary delicacy, often elaborately prepared and served at banquets attended by society's wealthiest members. However, a new study suggests that the rich were not the only ones dining on these small songbirds, La Brüjula Verde reports. Excavations in a cesspit connected with a taberna in the Roman city of Pollentia on the island of Mallorca uncovered a myriad of animal bones from mammals, fish, and, birds. Tabernae were the Roman world's fast-food establishments that often served hot food for the working classes. The archaeologists were surprised to find an abundance of skeletal remains of thrushes found in the food waste pit. This implies that the avian treat was not just reserved for the elite, but was also widely consumed by the masses as a type of street food. The researchers believe that the birds would have been spatchcocked, a process where the sternum is broken and flattened, and fried whole in oil. Read the original scholarly article about this research in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: dietandcuisine; godsgravesglyphs; romanempire; thrush
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Diagram showing the skeletal remains of thrush recovered from the site of Pollentia
Valenzuela 2025, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Valenzuela 2025, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

1 posted on 06/09/2025 7:43:36 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
It can now be told -- James Bond was sent back in time to stop Thrush, and this is what he devised. [crickets] Sorry, I've only been up long enough to realize I need more sleep.

2 posted on 06/09/2025 7:44:14 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I love me some thrush gumbo.


3 posted on 06/09/2025 7:54:53 AM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: SunkenCiv

Thrush band
There are multiple bands named Thrush, each with distinct characteristics:

Thrush (Montreal, Quebec): This is a hardcore band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They released an album titled “Just What I Needed” in 2019.
Thrush (Manhattan College): This is a self-described “punk-grunge” group consisting of Michael Kurtis, Peter Johannes, and Jack Schiller, along with a drummer named Chris. They are associated with Manhattan College and have performed at various venues, including Cafe 1853 on campus.
Thrush (Gainesville, Florida): This band is known for their “out of phase fuzz rock” style and consists of Michael, Jonny, Alex, and Daniel.
T.H.R.U.S.H. (Minneapolis, Minnesota): This is a power trio featuring Phil Solem, Michael Bland, and John Fields.
Each of these bands has its own unique identity and musical style, ranging from hardcore to punk-grunge and fuzz rock.


4 posted on 06/09/2025 7:55:15 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: SunkenCiv

As a retired RN, the headline conjured up an entirely different scenario...


5 posted on 06/09/2025 7:58:06 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing)
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To: SunkenCiv

The most famous American species of thrush is the American robin, but European robins are flycatchers, not thrushes.


6 posted on 06/09/2025 7:58:09 AM PDT by dangus
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To: Red Badger

Let’s not forget the ‘Hush Thrush’. Those of us who hung out in speed shops in the 70s remember them well.


7 posted on 06/09/2025 8:01:25 AM PDT by FKASomeoneElse (Heads on swivels, boys and girls. The Zombie Apocalypse ain't got nothing on what's coming.)
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To: FKASomeoneElse

I had a Thrush muffler on one car I had!..................


8 posted on 06/09/2025 8:02:48 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: SunkenCiv

You should ask some folks from Virginia’s Northern Neck about Robin pie!


9 posted on 06/09/2025 8:04:43 AM PDT by steve in DC
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To: crusty old prospector

roman version of street tacos.


10 posted on 06/09/2025 8:06:16 AM PDT by MIA_eccl1212 (10-10-10-10)
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To: SunkenCiv

Was Wile E. Coyote there?


11 posted on 06/09/2025 8:16:24 AM PDT by Hyman Roth
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To: Flaming Conservative

Same here.


12 posted on 06/09/2025 8:20:23 AM PDT by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Tastes like chicken!


13 posted on 06/09/2025 8:21:01 AM PDT by njmaugbill (bill from NJ (without drones))
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To: crusty old prospector

14 posted on 06/09/2025 8:21:47 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: SunkenCiv
Roman street food, per Monty Python. "I'll have a bag of otter's noses."
15 posted on 06/09/2025 8:22:41 AM PDT by Flatus I. Maximus (I didn't leave the Democratic Party. It LEFT me, and keeps going further left. )
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To: dangus

Scissor-tail flycatcher is a Robin? OK.


16 posted on 06/09/2025 8:22:46 AM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: Flatus I. Maximus

:^)


17 posted on 06/09/2025 8:58:51 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: dangus

In the 1920’s my grandparents had some French neighbors.

My Dad would tell the story that in the fall around the oat shocks.

The neighbor man would ground shoot flocks of robins.

Then is wife would bake them into meat pies.

You know 4 and 20 black birds baked into a pie.

Or such.


18 posted on 06/09/2025 9:18:30 AM PDT by riverrunner
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To: tumblindice

No, there are many species of flycatchers. One is the European robin. More precisely (and using Wikipedia), members of the family Muscicapidae are generally called flycatchers, but also include European robins, chats, wheatears and redstarts.


19 posted on 06/09/2025 10:05:13 AM PDT by dangus
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To: FKASomeoneElse

I remember the cool sticker too.


20 posted on 06/09/2025 10:37:16 AM PDT by JZelle
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