Property types
Property types
Thomas Staub
The property types at the time of eruption in AD 79 ranges from larger atrium houses to humble tabernae (one-two rooms). The three larger dwellings are the Casa del Torello (V 1,3.7.9, ELLER FÖR INTERNLÄNK: V 1,3 and V 1,7) approx. 972 m2, the Casa degli Epigrammi Greci (V 1,18.11), approx. 645 m2 and the Casa di Caecilius Iucundus (V 1,23.26.10, ELLER FÖR INTERNLÄNK S.O.), approx. 963 m2, of which two (first and last) form double atrium houses.
The next category of buildings consists of “larger” combined workshops/shops and dwellings, which probably were independent. Their sizes range between 60 m2 and 250 m2 on the ground floor. The first is the caupona V 1,13 (152 m2), with living area on the upper floor. Next to it we find the bakery V 1,14-16 (241 m2), a restructured former atrium house. Also V 1,20 (60 m2), probably earlier part of the larger dwelling of V 1,23 (north house of Caecilius Iucundus), belongs as the smallest example to this category. Also V 1,28 (100 m2) should be ascribed to this category. On the ground floor it seems to have housed productive activities (even if the product is unknown), once again supposedely with living quarters on the upper floor. Finaly also caupona V 1,1.32 (65 m2) can be placed in this group.
A third category consists of two upper-floor rental apartments: the first with the entrance from V 1,12 of uncertain extension, probably still belonging the Casa degli Epigrammi Greci (V 1,18), whose domestic work area it covers. The second one was entered by doorway V 1,21 and extended over the ground floor of building of V 1,20 (approx. 60 m2), thus probably part of the same property as the ground floor.
The next category consists of smaller (as compared to category 2) workshops with supposed living areas on the upper floor, which, closed off from larger houses, could possibly have been rental establishments. This group consists of 6 establishments, of which 3 are facing Via di Nola: the laundry V 1,2 (54 m2), the two dyers workshops of V 1,4 (40 m2) and V 1,5 (31 m2), which, even if lacking communications on the ground floor, might have formed one single establishment. The remaining three examples of this category are facing Via del Vesuvio: V 1,24 (21 m2) is a bottega with a retrobottega, whose function cannot be established with certainty. The existence of an upper floor, containing living areas is also unsure, but seems plausible. Also for the last two examples, V 1,30 (45 m2) and V 1,31 (40 m2), no clues remain that would enable us to establish the product that was sold and maybe manufactured in the rear rooms. The upper floors of these two unities seem to have covered not only their ground floor, but also extended above a series of ground-floor rooms of the neighbouring house V 1,3, indicating a joint ownership.
The final category is made up by the traditionell tabernae flanking the fauces of the larger atrium houses: smaller establishments consisting of one shop and in most cases one room on an upper floor. These entities are generally assumed to have had a direct contact with the dominating domus, sometimes proved by a doorway leading into the atrium behind. Most of these small entities served as shops, as can be seen by their wide doorways towards the street. Since usually these shops did not combine commercial activity with production, which could have left archaeological evidence, their exact function cannot be defined any more. Tabernae V 1,6 (18 m2) and V 1,8 (27 m2) are flanking the main fauces of Casa del Torello, both of them equipped with an upper floor. V 1,17 (29 m2) and V 1,19 (25 m2) are flanking the fauces of Casa degli Epigrammi Greci. Whether they were equipped with upper floors remains unknown, especially due to severe damages from the bombardments of the WW II. Taberna V 1,22 (15 m2) flanks the fauces of V 1,23, the northern part of the large double atrium house of Caecilius Iucundus and was in an earlier phase connected to its atrium through a doorway, later walled up. V 1,25 (27 m2) and V 1,27 (26 m2) are the shops that flanked the fauces of V 1,26, leading to the main atrium of the Casa di Caecilius Iucundus. At least in V 1,25, the existence of an upper floor is ascertained, whereas above the V 1,27, it can only be assumed. For this last one remains of water installations and other remains lead to the interpretation that it was related to some form textile treatment. Finaly V 1,29 (20 m2) flanks the fauces of Casa di Tofelanus Valens of the second group, once again consisting of one room on the ground floor and an upper floor of unknown dimension.
Upper floors
Some parts of insula V 1 were equipped with an upper floor, either over larger areas or over single rooms. These upper floors could either serve to enlarge the habitable surface of the ground floor entity or as a separate apartment. Indicators for upper floors consists in: beam holes, base for a staircase, upper floor door openings, upper floor windows, upper floor latrines or other upper floor features. Sometimes the extension of an upper floor must be estimated using the logic of space (for example when all surrounding rooms show clear indications of the existence of an upper floor a room lacking indications must be assumed to have had one as well, as long as it not a open court or light shaft.) The most common forms of upper floors are the ones over smaller entities like street front tabernae, which thus could double the useable surface, either for living space or for storage. The exact function is hard to establish, since no indicators seem to have survived the volcano’s eruption of AD 79, or if so, they didn’t survive the excavation techniques of the 19th century. In some cases, mainly in the south-western part of the insula, the upper floors extended over the ground surface into the area of the neighbouring entity, thus indicating a joint ownership of this area (see Pirson 1999, ???, Leander Touati ????, ???).
List of autonomous upper-floor apartments
V 1,12: apartment over the northern parts (mainly the service area) of Casa degli Epigrammi grecci. The threshold shows, that the door at entrance V 1,12 was closed separately. The extension of that apartment is not clear, but it probably covered the area of the ground floor rooms x, u, v, v‘, w, z, t, s, q, r, y. This is either indicated by the base for the staircase (0.96 x 1.06 m) inside the threshold of entrance V 1,12, beam holes (in rooms r, s, t, z, y, the down pipe from an upper floor latrina (over ground floor latrina z) and upper floor windows in the rooms above z and t. Since, where the beam holes are preserved, the beams were running in an east-western direction, the lack of beam holes in the other rooms could be explained by the fact that here the north-south running walls are not preserved in a sufficient height as to show beam holes. For the same reason also the questions about the lay-out of the apartment and from where its different rooms were entered most remain open.
V 1,21: apartment over taberna V 1,20. That this apartment was autonomous from V 1,20 is indicated by the thresholds of the two entities: the threshold towards the taberna shows the typical two-parted design of shop or workshop threshold with one broader part with a groove for the insertion of boards for closing the shop and a more narrow part (here on the south side, 0.85 m wide) with cavities for the use of a „normal“ house door, opening towards and lockable from the inside, in the evening or when the shop is closed, allowing passage for the proprietor at these times as well. Separated from the first threshold by a pier of bricks (0.65 m wide) comes a separate threshold (0.9 m wide) serving a double-leafed door opening inwards, again with locking devices from the inside. At approx. 1.1 m from the threshold the base for a staircase has been observed, 0.95 m deep. Even if no partition wall separates the area in front of the base and the base itself from room a today, it seems most plausible that there existed one in antiquity, either of wood or in opus cratticium of which no remains survived the eruption or the excavation. (See the reconstructed wall in the kitchen area of the Casa di Giulio Polibio (IX 13,1-3) and Pirson 1999, 213). The extension of this apartment cannot be determined anymore, since none of the interior walls, which must have carried the beams of the upper floor, are preserved in a sufficient height. Only in the easternmost room (e) the north and south walls show the holes for the beams, the adjacent room f probably served as an open light shaft for the rear part of the house and would therefor of course not have had an upper floor. In one earlier report (Viola 1879, 28) another base for a staircase is reported for the kitchen d, which could mean that the upper floor in the easternmost part did not belong to the separate apartment but to the taberna. But since absolutely no remains could be detected of such a feature during our detailed examination and it neither is reported by Mau (BdI 1877, 17f) the former existence of this second staircase is at least dubitable.
List of tabernae with upper floors and their extension:
V 1,1.32: probably over the entire entity. But indicators preserved only in two rooms: room 6 shows a row of beam holes in its north wall (the southern one modern repaired in the upper parts); room 2: remains of drain pipe in terracotta leading down from the upper floor in the west wall.
Note: hardly any walls are preserved in their ancient form to a sufficient height as to show beam holes; no remains of a base for staircases can be observed today (but are mentioned by Eschebach 1993).
V 1,2: probably over the entire entity. But only few indicators preserved: rooms 4 and 5 show beam holes in their north walls. In the west-wall a larger cavity (0.35 x 0.39 m) could have served for the insertion of a wooden support in east-west direction for the beams carrying the floor of the upper floor. The height of the upper rim of this hole corresponds with the lower rims of the beam holes in the north walls. A support would have been necessary, since on the ground floor now division wall between rooms 3 and 5 exists. The corresponding part to the east of the opening is not preserved in the ancient form in a sufficient height.
V 1,4: probably over the entire entity. But only few indicators preserved: the facade is preserved up to 5.1 m height, which would be an unusual height for such an establishment and the south wall (the inside of the façade) of room 1 shows two holes on the same level (at approx. 2.4 m height), probably for cantilevers bearing the east-west running support for the beams for the floor of the upper floor.
Note: the other walls are not preserved to a sufficient height in the ancient form as to show beam holes.
V 1,5: probably over the entire entity, but only one indicators preserved: a beam hole in the north-east corner in the east wall, probably for cantilevers bearing the north-south running support for the beams for the floor of the upper floor. The other walls and corner are either not preserved in a sufficient height or are modern reconstructions. The existence of an upper floor over this tinctoria is assumed mainly out of the preserved height of the facade (approx.. 5 m) and the logic of space: since all the surrounding areas (except for the Via di Nola) had upper floors (V 1,4, V 1,6 and room 17 in V 1,7) it seems inevitable that also V 1,5 had one.
V 1,6: upper floor above the single room. Indicators are the remains of drain pipe in terracotta leading down from the upper floor in the north wall, some beam holes in the south part of the east wall (the upper north part of this wall as well as the upper part of the west wall are heavily repaired and reconstructed in modern times) and the base of the staircase in the north-east corner of the room.
V 1,8: upper floor above the single room. Indicators are beam holes in the east wall, two holes near the corners in the west wall, probably for cantilevers bearing the north-south running support for the beams for the floor of the upper floor and the upper floor latrina in the east wall near the north-east corner.
V 1,13: upper floor at least over parts of the entity. Indicators are the base of a staircase observed in room d and a horizontal line in the north wall of room b in approx. 3 m height, probably after the boards of the pavement of the upper floor. The extension of the first floor is difficult to establish, especially since a window in room d is inserted in the north wall in a height where the line after the pavement in the adjacent room b is running. This means that either this room had no first floor or that there was a change in the height levels between these two rooms. Since already on the ground floor the level rises towards the east, this would be a logical way to ascertain the desired height of the ground floor rooms.
V 1,14-16: unknown. There are no clear indicators for an upper floor. Since two vertically running terracotta pipes inserted into two walls (east wall of viridarium h and south wall of room f) both are or were attached to conduits under floor level and probably (in the viridarium assured) led to water cisterns these are no indicators for upper floor latrines and thus neither for the existence of an upper floor. Instead they are related to the collection of rain water from the roofs above some rooms. They probably belong to an earlier stage in the history of the house and were not in use in AD 79.
V 1,17: probably over the taberna. Remains of an installation are preserved near the north wall, which could be the base for a staircase. The walls are not preserved up to a sufficient height as to show beam holes, the eastern one is more or less completely modern after that the area was hit by a bomb during WW II. It could be possible that this presumed upper floor continued past the ground floor boundaries of V 1,17 and also strechted above room c of the neighbouring Casa degli Epigrammi grecci (V 1,18). This hypothesis is suggested by the fact, that some walls of that room are preserved above the level of the vaulted roof without any possibility to reach this upstairs area from anywhere else.
V 1,19: unknown, but in analogy to V 1,17 the existence of an upper floor seems probable.
V 1,22: unknown. The walls are not preserved in sufficient height as to show any beam holes and no remains of a staircase or other indicators for an upper floor can be observed. The only argument for the former existence of an upper floor is found in a supposed analogy to V 1,24, see below.
V 1,24: according to older reports, remains of the base of staircase were found but later destroyed during WW II (See CTP III, p.70) See Van der Poel, H. B., 1986. Corpus Topographicum Pompeianum, Part IIIA. Austin: University of Texas. (p.70) Another argument in favour for the existence of an upper floor can be found in the great height (4.3 m) to which especially the south wall is preserved. The southern beam hole for the lintel of the shops door can be observed in 3.2 m height in the south-west corner, which indeed confirms the former existence of an upper floor. The extension of it cannot be determined anymore.
V 1,25: the existence of an upper floor can be assumed due to the remains of the base of the staircase along the east wall and the downpipe from a latrina or something similar in the upper floor, also in the east wall. No beam holes are visible, probably because of the extensive modern repairs of the upper parts of the walls. The upper floor most probably extended only over the single room of V 1,25.
V 1,27: the existence of an upper floor can be assumed due to an assumed symmetric organisation of space in relation to the façade of the important house of Caecilius Iucundus. But no remains, neither of a stair case or beam holes supports that assumption.
V 1,29: Five (possibly seven) beam holes in the north wall bear witness to the fact that there was an upper floor above this one-room establishment.
V 1,30: There are six beam holes in the south wall of room 1 in a height of 3.4 m (The north wall is not preserved to that height). In room 2 there are there are two beam holes (and probably also a third one that has been closed) in the north wall and a row of five beam holes in the south wall. A further proof for the existence of an upper floor is the well preserved niche of the upper floor latrina in the s-e corner of the room. On the east wall a horizontal line can be observed in 3.75 m height, probably after the floor of the upper storey, and a doorway leading to a room above room 5 of V 1,3, showing, that the upper floor extended over the boundaries of the taberna itself. There are no signs of a staircase, and since there is a door in the second floor west wall of room 2, leading into Casa V 1,3, the question is to which entity this upper floor belonged. But since the staircase in V 1,3, room b, only serves the upper floor above the latrina and there no possibilities of this upper floor extending further south, it seems most plausible, also in analogy with the situation in the neighbouring taberna V 1,31, that this upper floor belongs to V 1,30.
V 1,31: There are beam holes in all the rooms (in rooms 1 and 3 north and if preserved in proper height south walls, and in room 2 in the east wall), but no remains of a staircase. On the east wall of room 2 a horizontal line can be observed in 3.4 m height, probably after the floor of the upper storey, and a doorway leading to a room above room 6 of V 1,3, showing, that the upper floor extended over the boundaries of the taberna itself. There are no signs of a staircase, and since there is a door in the second floor west wall of room 2, leading into Casa V 1,3, the question is to which entity this upper floor belonged. But since the staircase in V 1,3, room b, only serves the upper floor above the latrina and there no possibilities of this upper floor extending further south, it seems most plausible, also in analogy with the situation in the neighbouring taberna V 1,30, that this upper floor belongs to V 1,31.