Insula VI on Gardens of the Roman Empire

I.6.11 Casa Dei Quadretti Teatralli; House of the Calavii; Casa di Casca Longus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1912, 1926 to 1927.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

A partially completed wall joined the columns supporting the portico at the rear of this house. Next to this was a small garden which was in an extreme state of ruin at the time of excavation due to the weakening of the wine cellar vaults below. The vaults had openings to admit light and air for the wine ageing and a cistern was also located under the garden. On the portico to the east there was a large terra-cotta puteal. A room on the south end of the east portico contains a garden representation on the west wall. Barely a third of the representation survived and what remains is extremely faded. It is painted in yellow on a small dark green panel in the center of a red wall and shows a pergola with a lattice fences extending from both sides and a section of fence in front.

Bibliography

Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, pp. 36, 395. (worldcat). Maiuri, A. 1929. NSc, pp. 414-415 and fig. 26 on p. 401.

Keywords

Garden

Casa Dei Quadretti Teatralli; House of the Calavii; Casa di Casca Longus.

Places

I.6.13 House of Stallus Eros

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1926 and 1927.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

At the rear of this house a masonry wall surrounded the small garden which was undergoing extensive repairs at the time of the eruption. A lararium niche was located on the east wall and the rear wall held remnants of a garden painting. This painting was evidently in poor condition at the time of the eruption. Maiuri mentions the painting in his excavation report: "una grande parete dipinta con una pittura di paesaggio." A detailed description is given by Della Corte who stated that the viridarium was given the illusion of enlargement by the paintings of woodland trees and flowering plants. He reported the usual lattice fence painted in the foreground with a tetrastyle pavilion and a statue of a winged female sphinx painted at each end of the fence. Oscilla were painted to appear to hang from the upper border of the large wall. A painting of Orpheus charming the beasts was barely visible on the right side of the wall. Seated on a dark red cloak between gigantic rocks in a landscape, his lyre against his leg, a variety of animals approached him. A section of the painting that survived on the right depicted a peacock, a goose, a cock, a wild boar, and a large black guinea hen. The painting was photographed at the time of excavation in 1929 (Mus. Naz. negative C/1614). Jashemski examined this site in 1964 and found part of a narrow panel still visible to the right of the large panel, although covered by vines. This panel was separated from the rest by a dark vertical stripe. At the bottom a lattice fencehad daisy-like flowers growing through it, with both rounded and pointed petals. Above the fence two roughly painted cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens L.) flank several bushes which are not Acacia vera as suggested by Grimal. Jashemski notes that Grimal wrote his description on the basis of one sentence of Maiuri and the Museo Nazionale photograph included in Maiuri's report. He also had Warscher's photograph of the sphinx detail from the large panel but could not identify where it was located in the large panel. Jashemski also speculated that it was likely there had been an identical narrow panel on the other side of the large panel, but all the plaster had fallen leaving no trace of decorations. The best preserved section of the painting that Jashemski found was a large bush painted on the left side of the large panel. The bush could not be identified by the form of the fruit and/or flowers but perched in the bush was a crudely depicted owl identified as Athene noctua (Scopoli, 1769) by way of its big head and hefty legs. Another bird was painted on a higher branch to the right which may have been a thrush. Another bush just below and to the right edge of the painting and a large cypress to the right of the bush with the owl was shown in the Museo Nazionale (negative C/1614).

Bibliography

Boyce, G.K. 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii, p. 25, no. 38.
de Vos, M. 1977. Meded, 39, p. 39.
Della Corte, M. NSc (1914), p. 269.
Grimal, P. 1969. Les jardins romaines, p. 446, no. 3. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, pp. 36, 313-314. (worldcat).
Maiuri, A. 1929. NSc, pp. 434, fig. 44 (plan) on p. 432 and fig. 45.
PPP, 1, p. 39.
Schefold, K. and Dräyer, W. 1956. Pompeji, p. 26.

Keywords

Garden

House of Stallus Eros.

Places

I.6.15 House of L. Ceius Secundus; House of the Ceii; of Queen Elena; of Fabia and Tyrannus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1913.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

This small garden was located at the rear of the house and featured a portico on part of the south side and a gutter along the south and east sides which carried water to the cistern. Preserved on the rear wall was one of the best animal paintings found in Pompeii, with three large openings provided in the painting to accommodate garden lights. On either side of the animal painting at the lower part of the wall is a garden painting with a sphinx crouching in oleanders with dark red blossoms holding a fountain basin. The fountain on the right would appear to pour water into the actual gutter below. A realistic border of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) and ivy (Hedera helix L.) is painted along the bottom of the wall with birds flying across a red background. Just above this, branches of ivy are painted along the bottom of an expansive wild animal scene. A bull is being pursued by a lion across a rocky lake shore on the lower foreground, wolves and wild boars occupy the center of the picture on the opposite shore, on the right a leopard is chasing two rams, and two gazelles are painted on the left. Brackets for garden lights had been installed where three large holes remained in this animal painting. The outside walls of the apotheca (storeroom) on the southwest corner of the garden had painted garden motifs. There was a garden scene painted on a reddish background depicting a statue of a water nymph with a two handled basin appearing to catch water from the roof and directing it to the gutter below. To the left are bushes with a tawny owl (Strix aluco L.) and to the right is a white pigeon or rock dove (Columba livia Gmelin). Over this was a panel with two peacocks (Pavo cristatus L.) facing a bronze garden ornament that consists of a leafy stalk topped by a round shield. Flowering plants fill in the bottom while the top of the panel is graced with two garlands and two flying birds, a swallow (Hirundo rustica L.) on the left and a large headed bird on the right which could be a shrike (Lanius sp.) Although the outside wall of the apotheca was badly damaged, to the right of the window paintings of a bush with red blossoms and a myrtle bush on a yellow background survived. The east and west walls were decorated with large Egyptian landscapes. Another garden decoration, a marble dove (0.29 m. long) was found in the kitchen.

Bibliography

Jashemski, W.F. 1979. Garden of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius, pp. 69-70, 113 and fig 43, 111-114. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p. 315. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 2002. The Natural History of Pompeii, p. 37.(worldcat)
Maiuri, A. 1926. Boll. D'Arte, n.s., p. 69, fig. 112.
Peters, Landscape, pp. 172-173. (worldcat)
PPP, pp. 43-44.
Schefold, K. and Dräyer, W. 1956. Pompeji, p. 9.
Spinazzola, V. 1910-1923. Pompei alla luce degli Scavi Nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza, pp. 407-418 and figs. 467-478, 481 on pp.409-416, 418.
Spinazzola, Scavi nuovi, pp. 275-277, fig. 282 (plan) on p. 258, and figs. 304, 306, and 307 on pp. 275-277. (worldcat)
Zanker, P. 1998. Pompeii: Public and Private Life, pp. 477-480.

Keywords

Garden

House of L. Ceius Secundus; House of the Ceii; of Queen Elena; of Fabia and Tyrannus.

Places

I.6.2 House of the Cryptoporticus; Casa Del Crirtoportico; Casa Omerica; House of T. Lucretius Carus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1911-1929.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

A. A passageway from the atrium led to a modest peristyle garden visible through a window in the rear wall. A low wall enclosed the garden on the north and east sides along with five brick columns covered with white stucco and a pillar supporting the roof of the portico. A large, well preserved wall painting survived on the west wall of the north portico as well as a niche lararium decorated with a painted bust of Mercury. From the garden a flight of stairs led down to an elegant cryptoporticus (underground portico) illuminated by light from the adjacent garden through high windows. A solarium terrace, or loggia, overlooking the large garden could be reached by another flight of stairs form the east portico.

B. At the rear of the house, a large enclosed garden had been increased in size by reducing the wings of the cryptoporticus. The last owner had built a spacious loggia (5 x 20 m.) above the north wing of the cryptoporticus overlooking the garden. A high wall joined the five pillars and the roof supporting pilaster and formed windows into the garden. At the west end of the loggia was a masonry triclinium with side couches, each having a fulcrum (foot), (l. medius 4.41m.; l.summus and l. imus 4.68 m.; dia. of table 0.55m.). A large area was left open for tables or dancers, suggesting to Spinoza that this could have been a public gathering place. There were low seats in front of the side couches and extended along the terrace walls that may have been intended for children according to Soprano. A kitchen was located on the north side of the loggia. Six steps from the southeast corner of the loggia led up into the garden which had been raised to the level of the windows in the cryptoporticus. Della Corte thought that this garden had been used to raise many cabbages and leeks. The remains of eleven victims of the volcanic eruption were found in the garden.

Bibliography

Della Corte, M. NSc (1914), pp. 74-75, 228.
Fiorelli, G. 1875. Descrizione di Pompei, pp. 452-453. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, pp. 33-34. (worldcat)
Maiuri, A. 1933. NSc, pp. 256, 258-259, 272 and pl. 5 (plan).
Prina Ricotti, S.P. Cucine Romana a Pompei E Come Eseguirle, pp. 268-271.
Soprano, P. 1950, 'I triclini all'aperto di Pompei', In Pompeiana, raccolta di studi per il secondo centenario degli scavi di Pompei, Napoli, Gaetano Macchiaroli, Editore, pp. 294-295, no. 4 and fig. 30. (worldcat)
Spinazzola, V. 1914. NSc, pp. 256, 259-262, 287, 365-368.
Spinazzola, V. 1910-1923, Pompei alla luce degli Scavi Nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza, pp. 121-122, 442, 444-445, 451, 453. (worldcat)
Viola, L. 1879. Gli scavi di Pompei dal 1873 al 1878, p. 16.

Keywords

Garden

House of the Cryptoporticus; Casa Del Crirtoportico; Casa Omerica; House of T. Lucretius Carus.

Places

I.6.4 House of the Lararium; Casa del Larario; Sabello Iliaco

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1873-1874.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

A small garden was located at the rear of the tablinum accessed by a passageway from the atrium. A small pool (0.70 m. deep) was centered in the garden enclosed by a crudely built double wall with a space in between for flowers. At the time of the eruption the house was undergoing extensive repairs.

Bibliography

Della Corte, M. 1913. NSc, pp. 356-357 and fig. 1 on p.356. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, p. 35. (worldcat).
Spinazzola, V. 1910-1923. Pompei alla luce degli Scavi Nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza, pp. 446 and fig. 493 (plan) on p. 433.

Keywords

Garden

House of the Lararium; Casa del Larario; Sabello Iliaco.

Places

I.6.7 Fullonica of Stephanus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1912.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

This house had been converted to a fullery and the small peristyle garden to the rear probably served as a drying area. Five pillars of the portico were connected by a low, marble topped wall. This enclosed the raised garden on the east, north and west sides with a deep gutter running around the garden along the wall.

Bibliography

Jashemski, W.F. 1979. Garden of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius, p. 198. (worldcat)
Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, p. 35. (worldcat).
Moeller, W.O. 1976. The Wool Trade of Ancient Pompeii, p. 42. (worldcat)
Spinazzola, V. 1910-1923. Pompei alla luce degli Scavi Nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza, pp. 446 and fig. 493 (plan) on p. 773 and fig. 744 (plan) on p. 765.

Keywords

Garden

Fullonica of Stephanus; Fullery of Stephanus.

Places

I.6.8-9

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Excavated 1912, 1926-27. Bombed in 1943.

Province

Italia
Italia (Pleiades:1052)

Location

Pompeii (Pleiades:433032)

Location Description

An ancient city of Campania destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79, Pompeii was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Sublocation

Region I

Insula

Insula VI

Garden Description

This modest house had rooms opening off the small peristyle garden at the rear of the structure. The rooms had been remodeled to serve as a shop and at the time of the eruption, were in disrepair. Four columns, two of tufa, two of brick, supported the peristyle portico on the north and east sides and were connected by a low wall with an entrance to the garden on the east side. A terra-cotta puteal was located on the east side of the portico. The house to the rear was completely destroyed necessitated the building of a crude doghouse in the last intercolumniation on the east side. Keeping a dog would have prevented intruders from entering through the ruins and robbing the shop as well as the adjacent house (no. 11) where the shopkeeper most likely resided.

Bibliography

Jashemski, W.F. 1993. Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Vol. II, Appendices, p. 35. (worldcat).
Maiuri, A. 1929. NSc, pp. 393-395 and fig. 26 on p. 401.
Pernice, E. and Winter, F. 1925, Gefässe und Geräthe aus BronzeDie Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeii, p. 32 and plate 21.1.

Keywords

Garden

Shop property with peristyle garden and doghouse.