West Wall

Thomas Staub

West wall: width: 0.95 m, max. preserved height: 4.30 m, depth of the door opening towards atrium4: 0.40 m, with its corner chamfered, shows holes (diam. 0.04 - 0.05 m), filled up with modern concrete in 2.60 and 3.10 m height. The wall is up to a height of 3.25 m largely covered by plaster. Thus, only where parts of the plaster have fallen down, the material of the wall is discernible. Up to 1.20 m height, it seems to consist of an opus incertum of lava, maybe even Sarno stone (but maybe an inserted laying block), set into the usual reddish mortar. The same mortar is also visible at 2.60 - 2.90 m height; the used stone is not recognisable. In 2.95 m height, a seam in the plaster separates two plastered zones, where the lower one covers the upper one for ca. 0.005 m. In 3.10 and 3.15 m height, lines in the plaster are visible, probably off prints of or markings for the later lost stucco-frieze. Above this, a part of one laying Sarno stone block is visible; on top of this two further ones, the northern one as part of the doorframe between fauces3 and atrium4. Above this, to the north one Sarno stone and to the south an opus incertum of red cruma.