In ancient Rome, people seeking a quick snack often turned to fried songbirds, according to new research findings. A researcher on the island of Mallorca has discovered the remains of song thrushes in a trash pit near the ruins of an ancient fast-food establishment.

The study, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology in May, suggests that thrushes were a common food item in Roman cities, challenging the long-held notion that they were a luxury reserved for elite gatherings. Furthermore, the findings provide new insights into the vibrant street food culture of the Roman Empire.

Alejandro Valenzuela, the study’s author and a researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca, Spain, notes that the flavor of song thrushes is more comparable to small game birds like quail than to chicken, based on local culinary traditions where song thrushes (Turdus philomelos) are occasionally consumed. Valenzuela shared this observation with Live Science via email.

Valenzuela analyzed a collection of discarded animal bones found in the ancient city of Pollentia, located near the modern town of Alcúdia in northern Mallorca. After the Roman Empire conquered the Balearic Islands—Mallorca and Menorca—in 123 BCE, it strategically built this city on the isthmus between two large bays. According to Valenzuela’s report, Pollentia was once one of the most active Roman ports in the region.

Archaeological excavations of Pollentia’s ruins have uncovered a forum, temples, homes, a theater, cemeteries, and tabernae—small roadside shops that sold goods, drinks, and affordable meals. In the late 1990s, researchers excavated one of these buildings, known as “room Z,” and found a central drain that emptied into a cesspit located on the porch in front of the taberna. The roughly 4-foot-wide (1-meter-wide) and 13-foot-deep (4-meter-deep) pit contained ceramic fragments indicating it was excavated around 10 BCE, as well as materials associated with food waste.

The animal remains inside the pit included multiple species of mammals, fish, and birds that had likely been prepared, cooked, and consumed in or around the taberna. Valenzuela analyzed and taxonomically identified these remains, finding five different species of birds: common cranes, domestic fowl such as chicken, pigeons, thrushes, and other thrush-sized songbirds. Thrushes were the most prevalent, with 165 identified specimens.

Valenzuela noticed something surprising: the assemblage of remains included numerous skulls, breastbones, and distal bones of the wings and legs, but very few bones from the meatiest parts of birds, such as the upper wing, lower wing, thigh, and upper breast.

The most plausible explanation for this is that these bones were discarded by kitchen workers during butchering, Valenzuela explains in the study. The few meatier bones found inside the pit also support this hypothesis, as they showed damage consistent with butchery.

“This evidence suggests that thrushes were widely consumed, forming part of the everyday diet and urban food economy,” Valenzuela writes.

Despite their abundance, ancient Roman literature typically portrays thrushes as a luxury food reserved for the upper echelons of society, according to the study. In Plutarch’s biography of the Roman general Lucullus, for example, he describes the practice of fattening thrushes for elite banquets. Valenzuela’s findings, however, suggest that this dish was not as exclusive as the literature makes it seem. In fact, it appears that these birds were a staple of street food culture in Roman-era Mallorca.

To determine whether this was true in other parts of the Roman Empire, further research is necessary. Valenzuela states that exploring the role of other songbirds in ancient Roman cities could provide insight into how they integrated seasonal resources into their food systems.

“Ultimately, this research highlights the need to move beyond elite-centric narratives and consider the diverse ways in which food practices shaped the lived experiences of ancient urban communities,” Valenzuela concludes.