House of the Cascade (Maison de la Cascade)

Contributor: Jinyi Yang
Published: 2021-04-21
Modified: 2025-09-16

Dates

1st-2nd century CE

Garden Description

This house, the largest in the insula II (lots 2,3,8,9,10), was given its present form in the second century. A large peristyle with elaborate viridarium dominated the S part of the house. The large shallow pool in the center of the garden occupied a rectangular area that was largely filled by a huge marble-faced masonry construction with semicircular and rectangular niches that gave the pool a baroque shape. The marble-faced construction probably held an important sculpture. Water from the fountain jet spilled from the marble-lined channel cut into the base and then spilled into the pool. The sundial, today at the edge of the base of the pool, is not in its original position.

Extending into the garden from the two central columns on the N was a semicircular pool (which faced the large room (XXXIV), decorated with a well preserved mosaic showing an Eros fishing from a boat, surrounded by fish and other sea animals. A wide entrance on the E side of the garden led through the portico to the triclinium, by far the largest room in the house.

Opening off of the triclinium to the S was a smaller area enclosed by a portico on three sides. The dominant feature was the shallow square basin (1.92x 1.2 m) decorated with a fish mosaic and the adjacent mosaic panel from which the house is named. In the cascade panel, two fishermen are pulling in a vast net full of fish and sea animals. The soil on each side of the cascade was probably planted.

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of the House of the Cascade (CMT, plan 5,7)

Bibliography

  • Alexander, M. A., Ennaifer, M., Corpus des Mosaïques de Tunisie, Utique, insulae, I-II-III, INA, Tunis, 1973, pp. 19-56, plan 5,7 and plates 8, 9, 25, 63. (worldcat)
  • Bullo, S. and F. Ghedini,. Amplissimae atque ornatissimae domus: l'edilizia residenziale nelle città della Tunisia romana, Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 2003, pp.351-354. (worldcat)
  • Février P.-A., "Image, imaginaire et symbolisme. A propos de deux maisons du Maghreb antique", in Mosaïque, Recueil d'hommages à Henri Stern, Paris,1983, pp. 159-162. (worldcat)

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