II.i.7B/8-9

Province

Location

Location Description

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

Sublocation

Region II

Insula

Insula I

Keywords

Garden

Vineyard with large masonry triclinium, treading floor and courtyard garden.

Garden Description

A. The access to this garden featured an arched niche high on the garden wall located either side of the direct entrance from the street at entrance 8. A further entrance (7A) from the street was located on the east wall. The masonry triclinium (l. medius, 3.60 m.; l. imus 3.20 l. summus 2.43 m.) in the northwest corner had a round table (0.55 m. in dia.) between the couches and a rectangular table (0.65 x 1.03 m.) built against the north wall. A cistern opening was found to the south of the triclinium. To the left of entrance 8, a small room was excavated in 1985 to reveal a treading floor that allowed the juice from the grapes to flow into a small dolium. This indicates that the garden was most likely planted in vines.

B. Entrance 8 opened directly into a courtyard garden. A cistern opening in the northeast corner of the garden was fed by a gutter along the east edge. To the right of the door on the east wall was a small niche lararium with an aedicules façade. To the right of this niche, a painting of Hercules was displayed in a red border. Below this was a garden setting with an altar and a crested serpent painted in low stucco relief. In the interior area of this property, stairs leading to an upper floor and a hearth in a kitchen area were located. The stairs likely led to accommodation.

Bibliography

W. F. Jashemski, 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p.75. (worldcat) Halsted B. Van der Poel, Laurentino García y García, and Joan McConnell, 1986, Corpus topographicum Pompeianum Pars IIIA, p.40-41 (worldcat)

Pleiades ID

456321707

TGN ID

7004658

Excavation Dates

1939, 1953-1955, 1983

Contributors

Wilhelmina Jashemski (https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=326514&p=2193250)
Jessica Venner (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-6222)

Publication date

21 Apr 2021