Gardens of the Roman Empire

II.i.12 (House of the Birii; House of the Sibyl)

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

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

House

House of the Birii; House of the Sibyl

Garden

Two gardens, one with root cavities and the remains of a new cistern.

Garden Description

The worship of the Thracian-Phrygian vegetation god, Sabazius, took place in this large peristyles (Roman courtyards) garden which was entered through a wide vestibule from the street. Crude paintings of Venus, Mercury, Bacchus, and Priapus with their accompanying symbols were located high on the sides of the entrance. The peristyles (Roman courtyards) garden was large enough to accommodate a large assembly of worshippers who attended the sacrifices at the altar directly across from the entrance.

A large room to the back had been transformed into a sacella and had a lava threshold that indicated it could be closed off with a shutter. A square masonry altar stood before it with the iron rings to hold garlands still preserved. Offerings of perfume, incense, libations or blood sacrifice could have taken place here. The pillars either side of the door sported graffiti which included the word antrum (grotto) inscribed on the left pilaster. This word was used by Vergil to describe the dwelling of the Cumean Sibyl. There was an illustration of a nude priest (16 cm. high) with a scabellum (instrument of the nature of a castanet) in his right hand and a tambourine in his left while performing a ritual skipping dance.Across the rear wall of the sacellum stretched a large red podium which has been explained either as a base for a statue or as a couch for a sybil. Two storerooms were located to the left (north) of the sacellum and various cult objects were stored in two roughly furnished rooms to the right. The cult objects included various bronze and terra-cotta lamps, in addition to two close to life-sized bronze right hands (mantic hands associated with the worship of Sabazius). Two squat terra-cotta vases of unusual shape with a little bowl on the rim just above each handle sat near the altar. Various objects decorated the sides of the vases, including a lizard, palm leaf, serpent, toad, stairs, a syrinx, loaf of bread, bucrane, and a bunch of grapes. The vases may have served as urns for lots.

Examination of the garden revealed that it had been shaded by a row of four trees, their diameter at the surface ranging from 0.25 to 0.56 m. There was more than adequate room for the worshipers beneath the trees. The water channel noted in the entry above carried water to this garden under a door that allowed passage to the garden to the south.

Bibliography

Olga Elia, 1960, 'Vasi magici e mani pantee a Pompei' In RendAccNapoli, 35, pp.5-10 and pl.1 (plan) W. F. Jashemski, 1979, Garden of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius, pp.31, 135-137, fig. 48 on p.31, and figs. pp.213-215 on pp.135-136. (worldcat) Halsted B. Van der Poel, Laurentino García y García, and Joan McConnell, 1986, Corpus topographicum Pompeianum Pars IIIA, p.40-41 (worldcat) W. F. Jashemski, 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p.76. (worldcat) PompeiiinPictures, 2018, Pompeii. Complesso dei Riti magici or Magic Rites Complex or Casa di Biria, Sibilla pompeiana or Officina Magica of Sextilius Pyrricus. (PompeiiinPictures)

Places

Excavation Dates

1954, 1957, 1963, 1985

II.i.2 (House of Aemilius Primio and Aemiluis Saturninus)

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

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

House

House of Aemilius Primio and Aemiluis Saturninus

Garden

Small garden to the rear of a taberna

Garden Description

Behind the shop, living quarters were located, including a garden to the rear. The west garden wall was topped with the broken amphorae]; this wall was shared with the rear open area in I.i.1.

Bibliography

W. F. Jashemski, 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p.75. (worldcat)

Places

Excavation Dates

1915, 1985

II.i.3-7

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

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

Small garden to the rear of a caupona

Garden Description

The garden in the southeast section of this area was shared the house at entrance 3 and shops 4, 5, and 6 on the Via dell'Abbondanza. It was also possible to enter the garden from the side street at entrance 7. Jashemski established in 1975 that the area had been planted due to the presence of scattered root cavities, but extensive damage to the soil prevented the recovery of an accurate planting plan.

Bibliography

Jashemski, W.F. 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p.75 (worldcat)

Places

Excavation Dates

1916, 1950, 1985. Bombed in 1943.

II.i.7A/11

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

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

House

Casa Imperiale

Garden

Two gardens, one with root cavities and the remains of a new cistern.

Garden Description

A. (Entrance 7A) A square garden area was tucked behind two rooms. The beginnings of an arc-shaped structure in the northeast corner could have been the beginning of an additional cistern according to Dr. De Caro. The soil was badly damaged and Jashemski could not determine the planting patterns, although a few root cavities were recorded. Water was directed by way of a well-worn channel from under a door in II.i.12, across this garden and into garden II.i.10 to the east.

B. (Entrance 11) The two rooms in back of this area were an industrial complex, and the large rectangular area in front was entered directly from the street. This had been cleared, probably after the earthquake (AD 62), and used as a garden. The industrial areas were likely also connected to the House of the Sibyl (II.i.12) after AD 62.

Bibliography

W. F. Jashemski, 1993, Gardens of Pompeii: Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Volume 2, Appendices, p.76. (worldcat) Armando La Porta, Laurentino García y García, Joan McConnell and Halsted B. Van der Poel, 1983, Corpus topographicum Pompeianum Pars II, p.234 (worldcat) Halsted B. Van der Poel, Laurentino García y García, and Joan McConnell, 1986, Corpus topographicum Pompeianum Pars IIIA, p.40-41 (worldcat) PompeiiinPictures, 2018, II.1.11 Pompeii. Large garden yard. Linked to II.1.12. (PompeiiinPictures) PompeiiinPictures, 2018, II.1.12 Pompeii. Complesso dei Riti magici or Magic Rites Complex or Casa di Biria, Sibilla pompeiana or Officina Magica of Sextilius Pyrricus. (PompeiiinPictures)

Places

Excavation Dates

1954, 1957, 1963, 1985

Jessica Venner (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-6222)

II.i.7B/8-9

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

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)

Places

Excavation Dates

1939, 1953-1955, 1983

Jessica Venner (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-6222)