East Wall
Description
Thomas Staub
East wall: width: 2.95 m, max. preserved height: 4.80 m. Plaster covers most of the wall up to a height of 4.10 m. In the southern part, the floor has cracked, because parts of it have sunken for ca. 0.04 m. Only on a few places, where the plaster has fallen down, the masonry is visible. In 1.10 m height, a horizontal seam in the plaster reaches over the complete wall. Only in easternmost part, where the plaster is missing, between the height of 0.50 and 1.25 m, this seam is visible in the masonry as well. It might be a former niche for a cline, filled up in a later phase. This part of the wall contains many spoilias of cocciopesto pavement, Sarno stone, lava and parts of demolished tuff block. At 0.50 and 2.20 m distance from the north west corner, in 1.40 and 2.65 m height, four beam holes, 0.05 x 0.08 - 0.08 x 0.10 m large, are visible, probably to affix a cupboard. At the lower northern hole, the surrounding masonry of lava-incertum in reddish mortar, is visible. The same masonry is also visible in the northern section of the wall, between a height of 2.20 - 2.70 m, there above incertum of red cruma in the same mortar. This material is also visible in the upper part of the wall, where the plaster is missing. In the uppermost part, the wall contains Sarno Stone pieces as well, maybe as a part of a modern reconstruction. In 3.05 m height, in the middle of the wall, a window, 1.30 m wide and 1.10 m high, opens up towards to the side street, Vicolo di Caecilius Iucundus. Its measurements diminish towards the outside, where it is 0.75 x 0.65 m large. At the south corner of the window, the earlier plaster was pecked for the application of a new layer of plaster. In the north east corner, parts of a later blocked window can be observed in same height. The north wall of the room reaches into the opening, which was, as it seems, never totally filled in, as the plaster covering the north wall reaches into the thus created niche. In both the still open window and the niche from the blocked one, remains of the volcanic downfall from AD 79 are still attached to the corners.
