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Eating out seems to have been as popular 5,000 years ago as it is today, with archaeologists in Iraq uncovering an ancient tavern dating back to 2,700 BCE, CNN reported.

Researchers working in the ancient city of Lagash discovered that the pub, hidden just 19 inches below the surface, was split into an open-air dining area and a room containing benches, an oven, ancient food remains, and even a 5,000-year-old fridge.

The team then discovered the industrial-sized oven, a moisture-wicking ancient "fridge," to keep food cool, and dozens of conical bowls, many containing fish remains, revealing the purpose of the courtyard to be an outdoor dining area.

Lagash, now the town of al-Hiba, was one of the oldest and largest cities in southern Mesopotamia—occupied from the fifth millennium until the middle of the second millennium BCE and encompassing an area of almost two square miles.

Uncovering a tavern supports the perspective that society was not organized into just elites and enslaved people—the previous prevailing view—but included an ancient middle class.

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