Archaeologists in Germany claim to have found an ancient roadside rest-stop. From The Telegraph: Welcome to the Little Chef of the ancient world.
Posted on November 29, 2004 07:09 AM. Filed under: history & archaeology.Deep beneath a bus terminus in the town of Neuss, near Dusseldorf, they have found the 2,000-year-old foundations of a roadside rest-stop complete with forecourt, chariot workshop, restaurant and an area to give horses water and hay.
A Roman traveller would have been able to order a quick meal before setting off on the wide road — which ran the length of Germany — or book a room and spend the night. There may not have been sweets or hamburgers but travellers could buy other essentials such as clothes, preserved meat and olives.
Sabine Sauer, the archaeologist leading the team which spent the past year investigating the site, said: "We've nicknamed it Big Maximus, because people would have pulled their chariots into the forecourt and ordered pork cutlets and wine, before heading back on the road." [continue]