Answer:
Snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations, indicating snails have been eaten since prehistoric times. A number of archaeological sites around the Mediterranean have been excavated yielding physical evidence of culinary use of several species of snails.
The Romans in particular are known to have considered escargot an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny.
The edible species Otala lactea has been recovered from the Roman-era city Volubilis in present-day Morocco. More recently, African land snails have been known to be edible.
In the late 1980s, escargots represented a $300-million-a-year business in the United States.
