Gardens of the Roman Empire

Bakery with Dwelling Rooms (V.iv.1.)

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House 1

Garden

Bakery with Dwelling Rooms (V.iv.1)

Keywords

Garden Description

This house was excavated in 1900 and a small garden (a) was found to the east of the atrium. A masonry planting bed on the north, east and south walls (0.32 m. high, 0.25 m. wide) was shortened on the south to leave room for the cistern puteal that stood in the southwestern corner. A podium (0.60 x 0.90 m.;) 0.55 m. high against the middle of the east wall with a niche in the wall above it was thought by Boyce to be an altar. Above the planting bed, traces of garden paintings could be seen. The only records of these paintings are reports from those present at the time of excavation. Mau relates that the paintings consisted of a lattice fence with plants above. There were two openings depicted in the fence on the on the east wall, the one on the left 0.95 m and the one on the right 1.15 m. Each opening had plants and a vessel, the one on the left was bottle-shaped and silver colored and the one on the right was goblet-shaped and gold colored. Jashemski notes that these vessels probably represented fountains. Sogliano commented that the garden had representations of xenia.

Dates

Unspecified

Excavation Dates

1900CE

Bibliography

Boyce, p. 39, no. 117. (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, pp. 116, 336. (worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), pp. 313-314. (worldcat)
Schefold, WändP, p. 83. (worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1901), p.256 and fig. 1 (plan). (worldcat)

Places

Casa Delle Origini di Roma; House of M. Fabius Secundus (V.iv.13.)

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House 13

Garden

Casa Delle Origini di Roma; House of M. Fabius Secundus (V.iv.13.)

Keywords

Garden Description

This house with an unusual design had a garden (a) in the rear southwest corner that was separated from a courtyard to the north by a low masonry wall. Between the garden wall and the wall of the house a gutter was formed which directed the roof run off into a cistern. A marble garden herm was found on the low wall with the head of a satyr sporting goat's ears and ram's horns (0.20 high). In the center of the garden stood a masonry triclinium (l. medius, 4.00 m.; l. imus and. summus 3.75 m.) decorated with plants painted on a yellow background, a masonry table with a colored marble top (090 x 1.50 m.) sat between the couches. Excavators reported the post holes for the pergola were reinforced with potsherds to bolster the posts. The south and west walls were lined with cavities (the dimensions were not recorded) that were centered in soil depressions to hold water. In the northwest corner of the garden a masonry altar sat in front of an arched niche.

Dates

Unspecified

Excavation Dates

Unspecified

Bibliography

Boyce, p. 41, no. 126 and pl. 11.2. (worldcat)
Döhl, p. 14; (Döhl, Plastik aus Pompeji)
Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, p. 116. (worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1905), pp. 91-92 and fig. 1 (plan) on p. 87. (worldcat)
Soprano, p. 299, no. 12 (identifies the structure in the garden as a true triclinium and not triclinium-shaped seats as Sogliano suggests); (Soprano, I triclini all'aperto di Pompei)
Thédenat, p. 88. (worldcat)

Places

House of M. Lucretius Fronto (V.iv.a/11)

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House a/11

Garden

House of M. Lucretius Fronto (V.iv.a/11)

Keywords

Garden Description

A. Immediately to the south of the rear door to the tablinium, excavated in 1900, was a very small garden (a) with a low wall on the north end. A gutter bordered the garden on the west, north and east sides. The cubiculum (c) on the south side of the atrium had garden representations on the east and west walls. These were painted in yellow on a black background on the predella under the central panels. The panel on the east wall is 0.12 x 0.80 m. and shows a rectangular garden 0.39 m. long enclosed by a lattice fence. The entrance in the middle of the front occupies approximately one third of the length of the wall and so the square area either side of the entrance and directly behind the entrance are of the same size. Vegetation is drawn along the outside of the fence in front.

Dates

Unspecified

Excavation Dates

1900CE

Bibliography

Della Corte, Case, p. 11. (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, pp. 116, 396. (worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), p. 352; PPP, 2:85. (worldcat)
Schefold, WändP, p. 85. (worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1901), p. 161 and fig. 1 (plan) on p.145. (worldcat)

Places

V.iv.3

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House 3

Garden

V.iv.3

Keywords

Garden Description

At the rear of this house excavated in 1899 was a courtyard garden (a) with a portico on the south. This was supported by one column that was reinforced by a large pillar. The garden was enclosed by a low wall with an opening on the south. A gutter that encircled the edges had a settling basin (0.35 x 0.45 m.; 0.55 m. deep) in the southwest corner. There was no cistern, but a puteal stood in the southeast corner.

Dates

Unspecified

Excavation Dates

1899

Bibliography

Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, p. 116.(worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), p. 324.(worldcat)
Pernice, p. 28.(worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1899), fig. 1 (plan) on p. 339.(worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1901), p.258. (worldcat)

Places

V.iv.a/11

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House a/11

Garden

V.iv.a/11

Keywords

Garden Description

B. At the rear of this house a peristyle garden (b) was bordered on the south by a portico. Three columns and an engaged column, stuccoed and fluted on the top, red at the bottom, supported the portico. A large animal painting occupied three walls of the peristyle garden with a bold checkerboard above and a black dado at the base painted with stylized plants and flowers. The west wall featured a garden representation on the predella. The garden is entered through a tall portal with a round oscillum suspended beneath a crater-shaped vase on the top of the entry. The front fence forms an excedra on either side of the entrance and shrubbery painted in green is shown along the front. Garden representations cover the entire dado (0.55 x 3.50 m.) of both the north and south walls of the tablinium. On a black background a garden is enclosed by an elaborate fence that suggests marble with a curvilinear and rectilinear design. The garden on the north wall a large semicircle in the center has a footed circular fountain with a water jet in the center, the water falling in two streams. The south wall has a crater-shaped fountain in an angular niche. Flowers bloom in lavender and white while birds sit on the fence in both paintings. A white flower garland graces the base of the paintings and traces of a schola are visible on the north wall.

Dates

Unspecified

Excavation Dates

1900CE

Bibliography

Bastet, p. 66. (worldcat)
Curtius, Wandmalerei, fig. 33. (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, 1:71 and fig. 115b on p. 71, 1:79 and fig. 128 on p. 78. (worldcat)
Idem, Gardens, vol.II, pp. 116, 336, 396-397. (worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), pp. 338, 356, plan pl. 13. (worldcat)
Michel, pp. 390-391. (worldcat)
PPP, 2:87, 89, 90-91. (worldcat)
Schefold, RM, (1953-1954), pp. 113, 117. (worldcat)
Idem, WändP, pp. 85, 87.
Sogliano, NSc (1901), pp. 155, 163, 164-166 and figs. 15 and 15. (worldcat)
Warscher, "Flora pompei" p. 36.

Places

V.iv.b.

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House b

Garden

V.iv.b.

Keywords

Garden Description

When the excavation work reached the northeast corner of this house in 1901, a small garden (a) with a proportionately small portico supported by two masonry columns was found. The major part of the garden was occupied by the masonry triclinium (l. medius, 3.00 m.; l. imus and. summus 2.69 m.) with a round table (0.65 m. dia.) and a lectus imus that had a fulcrum. The masonry couch had three large holes that may have received the posts for the pergola, and a marble leopard's head fountain was found in the first room to the right of the entrance. The large window in the triclinium offered a fine view of the garden.

Dates

79 CE

Excavation Dates

1901 CE

Bibliography

Döhl, p. 14.
Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, p. 117. (worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), p. 363. (worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1901), pp. 261, 330, 331 and plan on p. 329. (worldcat)
Soprano, p. 299, no. 11.

Places

V.iv.c.

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

The Italian peninsula extending northward to the Alps as recognized by the Romans.

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 V

Insula

Insula iv

House

House c

Garden

V.iv.c.

Keywords

Garden Description

Wooden steps at the rear of this house excavated in 1902 led up to a viridarium (a) confined by a low masonry wall. A cistern had been walled up and the garden was built over the cistern mouth and a paved courtyard. Water from the neighbor's roof (no.13) supplied the cistern. The east and south walls once had garden paintings, and from the entrance the garden could be viewed through a window in the tablinium. The painting on the east wall was visible from the entrance and continued not only on the south wall but additionally on the pillar to the northeast. According to the excavator's reports the painting had a lattice fence at the base with a variety of tall, bushy plants and birds throughout. There was a marble basin with a bearded sphinx above, reposing with the profile turned to the left. At the extreme left of the east wall was a niche that most likely had been a lararium (Fig.25, 48.1.61).

Images

Fig.25, 48.1.61: Picture of the east wall of the viridarium.

Dates

79 CE

Excavation Dates

1902 CE

Bibliography

Boyce, p. 39, no. 117. (worldcat)
Jashemski, Gardens, vol.II, pp. 116, 336. (worldcat)
Mau, RM (1901), pp. 313-314. (worldcat)
Schefold, WändP, p. 83. (worldcat)
Sogliano, NSc (1901), p.256 and fig. 1 (plan). (worldcat)