VIII.7.10. Shop-House

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 VIII

Insula

Insula VII

Keywords

Garden Description

Behind shop no. 10 and the accompanying living quarters was a garden (a) enclosed by a low wall on the east with an entrance on the north end. The excavations in 1906 uncovered a triclinium (l. medius, 4.60 m.; l. imus and l. summus 3.20 m.) attached to the south wall with painted plaster decorating the sides. Against a red background an amorino on the right tries to defend a bunch of grapes he is holding from a pheasant, and an amorino on the left drinks from a bowl while holding off what is perhaps a leopard. The rectangular triclinium table (1.40 x 0.90 m.) had a semicircular cut-out in the front and colored marble shapes inlaid on the top. The semicircular area in front of the triclinium was compacted soil with bits of marble. To the north of the triclinium there was an unusual masonry table (1.11 x 0.73m., 0.90 m. high) with two openings 0.25.m. square on each of the long sides and one on each of the short sides to store food and utensils. The top of this was also inlaid with marble, one circle and various small squares and rhomboids. A beautiful two-handled vase was found inside, made of terra-cotta but evidentially a copy of a silver vase. On the south side of the table there was a white marble statuette of a boy (0.38 m. high) holding a bunch of grapes and a small animal propped up in a small millstone of Vesuvian lava due to the fact the lower part of the statuette had broken off. This was found to the left on a small base. On the right of the statuette was a small rectangular capital of a post, used for garden decoration, with a white marble statuette of a crouching dog 0.16 m. long on the top. Additionally some broken terra-cotta pots were uncovered and two other bases. Soil cavities were found, the three round cavities near the triclinium were possibly the holes for the pergola posts and the others more likely to had been trees. The southwest corner of the garden contained a circular raised planting bed in which Spano reported finding a red terra-cotta pot, wide except for the base and top. Jashemski commented that it was likely a planting pot but was not sure, for Spano did not mention any holes in the pot. Also in this bed a small alabastron was found, similar to ones found in the pre-Roman tombs in the Villa of the Mosaic Columns. Two masonry basins were attached to the north wall on either side of an opening with a lava step leading to the garden to the north. The long basin on the west side had a terra-cotta channel which directed the overflow to the garden. The basin on the east side was deep and faced with opus signinum, collecting water from the neighbor’s roof through a terra-cotta pipe. This garden was also connected to the large garden to the south.

Plans

Pleiades ID

432873

TGN ID

7031897

Excavation Dates

Unspecified

Bibliography

Döhl,Plastik aus Pompeji, p. 48, (listed under VIII.vii.5-11) (worldcat)
Fiorelli, Notizie degli scavi di Antichita (1881), p. 17 (worldcat)
Fiorelli, Descrizione di Pompei, p. 349 (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, 1:187 and fig. 277 on p. 187 (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, vol. II, pp. 221-222 (worldcat)
Mau, Bullettino dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (1875), p. 168 (worldcat)
Soprano, I triclini all'aperto di Pompei In Pompeiana, p. 302, no. 18 (worldcat)
Spano, Notizie degli scavi di Antichita (1910), pp. 265-268 and fig. 5 (plan) on p. 263 (worldcat)

Contributor

Wilhelmina Jashemski (https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=326514&p=2193250)

Publication date

21 Apr 2021