'Pizza' spotted in 2000-year-old painting

A 'pizza' has been spotted in a 2,000-year-old painting that archaeologists discovered in Pompeii.

The piece of art was found during excavations in the Regio IX area of Pompeii’s archaeological park. While some social media users claimed it resembled a pizza, a dish that didn't exist for several hundred more years, others said it was a focaccia flatbread.

The flatbread seemingly missed the key components of a pizza such as tomato and mozzarella – and was instead garnished with spices instead.

"Pompeii never ceases to amaze, it is a casket that always reveals new treasures," Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said.

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Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii's archaeological park, used the opportunity to remind people how far the classic Italian dish has come.

"How can we fail to think, in this regard, of pizza, also born as a 'poor' dish in southern Italy, which has now conquered the world and is also served in starred restaurants," he said.

Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italian Ministry of Culture

It comes after eagle-eyed viewers were left baffled after claims of an Apple iPhone in a 350-year-old painting.

The 1670 painting by Pieter de Hooch shows a woman sitting with a dog on her lap while a man is standing and holding what very much resembles an iPhone.

The painting even left Apple’s CEO Tim Cook to question everything he thought he knew.

"There was an iPhone in one of the paintings," Cook said at a press conference in 2016. "It's tough to see, but I swear it's there."

www.rijksmuseum.nl

Many more people online used the painting as fuel to time-travel conspiracies, with one questioning: "Does this mean time-travel actually does exist?"

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