Threshold

Susanna Blåndman

A threshold made of three blocks of lava is placed in the 3.72 m wide entrance between room 3 and Via di Nola. A 0.10 m wide gap between the threshold and the southeast wall is partly filled by a lava stone. The foundation of the southwest wall of room 3 looks truncated in order for the western block to fit. The central block is fractured in the northeast corner and has a crack in the southwest corner. Only filling material abuts on the threshold. There are a few lava stones in the vicinity of the threshold, one stone on the south side of the central block abuts on the block.

The outer ends of the threshold have been cut down by a few centimetres. The east side of the eastern block and the west side of the western block have been cut down by 0.02 - 0.06 m. A slot, running from east to west, is chiselled out along the upper surface on both the east and central block and partly on the west block. It is 0.04 m deep and located 0.24 m from the south side. The slot ends at the west block, at a distance of 0.23 m from the east side of the block. A lintel above the doorway have had the same slot so that boards could be put in when the taberna was closed. The boards were secured by a door in the west part of the doorway.

The surface of almost the entire northern part of the west block is cut down by 0.03 - 0.04 m in a 1.10 m long area, to create a rim that has functioned as a door stop. A pivot hole, measuring 0.06 x 0.06 m and containing a fragment of iron, is located at a distance of 0.11 m from the west edge and 0.24 m from the south edge. A hole for a locking bolt is located where the slots end, next to a fragment of iron. The hole measures 0.04 x 0.05 m and it is 0.02 m deep. The iron fragment measures 0.04 x 0.04 m. A second fragment of iron, measuring 0.04 x 0.04 m and partly elevated by 0.016 m, is located at a distance of 0.49 m from the east edge and 0.29 m from the south edge. Two minor slots, 0.005, deep, run from it towards the north edge of the block, almost forming a triangle. This could be traces from an earlier phase. Another hole is located at a distance of 0.64 m from the east edge and 0.32 m from the south edge. It measures 0.04 x 0.03 m and it is 0.04 m deep. This is also most probably from an earlier phase.