I.3.15 Pompeii. Fullonica of Sestius Venustus.

Excavated 1853 and 1867.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. Looking south towards entrance doorway. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

Written in black, on the right of the entrance, was the following painted graffito which gave the name of the “fullone”:

Sestius  Venustus  (rogat)    [CIL IV 1082]

See Della Corte, M., 1965.  Case ed Abitanti di Pompei. Napoli: Fausto Fiorentino. (p. 266)

According to Pagano & Prisciandaro, the graffito was written

Segius  Venustus

Ofnoedn        [CIL IV 1082]

See Pagano, M. and Prisciandaro, R., 2006. Studio sulle provenienze degli oggetti rinvenuti negli scavi borbonici del regno di Napoli. Naples: Nicola Longobardi. (p. 169)

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. Entrance on Vicolo del Menandro.

I.3.15 Pompeii. May 2005. Entrance. 

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. ID number plate, looking east along Vicolo del Menandro. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010.

Looking south from entrance doorway towards corridor leading to two rear rooms. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. East wall with corridor to rear rooms.

I.3.15 Pompeii. July 2008. Downpipe in north wall of rear room. Photo courtesy of Barry Hobson.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. Looking south.

I.3.15 Pompeii.  Looking south. Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. Niche for household gods.

According to Boyce –

in the west wall to the right of the entrance above a masonry table was an arched niche (h.0.60, w.0.42, d.0.25, h. above table, 0.30).

Its walls covered with successive layers of stucco, variously painted red, blue and yellow.

He said Fiorelli referred to it as la nicchia dei Lari.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p.24, no.24).

I.3.15 Pompeii. 1935 photograph taken by Tatiana Warscher. Looking towards arched niche in west wall.

See Warscher, T, 1935: Codex Topographicus Pompejanus, Regio I, 3: (no.31), Rome, DAIR, whose copyright it remains. 

According to Warscher, quoting Fiorelli,

“On the right of this workshop were the first steps of the stairs that went up to the upper floor, under which was a podium, with furnace in the middle to accommodate a large boiler, which was used as a laundry. Embedded in the wall was the niche for the Lares”.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. Looking south from entrance towards the south-west corner. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. Detail from south wall of fullonica. 

I.3.15 Pompeii. June 2005. Looking towards west wall from south-east side. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. West wall with detail of step and niche on west wall. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. West wall with remains of hearth which would have heated a boiler for washing.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. West wall with detail of feature on west wall. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. June 2005. Looking down on area in hearth for heating boiler, near west wall. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

I.3.15 Pompeii. June 2005. Looking west towards area of boiler. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. West wall with detail of steps. Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

I.3.15 Pompeii. December 2007. Stairs in north-west corner near entrance.

I.3.15 Pompeii. September 2010. Detail of drainage course opposite property in Vicolo del Menandro.

Photo courtesy of Drew Baker.

In Codex Topographicus Pompeianus: Regio I.3, (the copy at DAIR), Warscher included a description of the insula.

This description is included at the end in all parts of I.3 on the website.

“L’isola 3 della Regio I apparteneva ai quartieri piuttosto poveri, ad’esenzione della casa no. 3 tutto le case sono di dimensioni non grandi.

La casa no. 3 presenta un interesse dal punto di vista della costruzione: il peristilio si trova ad un livello più alto di quello dell’atrio:

questa particolarità si riscontra solamente in questa casa.

Noi abbiamo un esempio inverso nella casa dell’Ancora nera ove l’atrio si trova ad un livello più alto di quello del peristilio.

Si sente bene nell’isola in questione la vicinanza dell’anfiteatro da una parte e delle caserme dei gladiatori dall’altra.

Non c’è dubbio che le case nos 23, 25 siano state abitato da gladiatori.

(translation: “Insula 3 of Region I belonged to a rather poor neighbourhood, with the exception of house No. 3 all the houses were not large in size.

The house at no. 3 had a special interest from the point of view of construction: the peristyle sits at a level higher than that of the atrium: this particularity was found only in this house. We have a contrary example in the House of the Black Anchor where the atrium was located at a higher level than that of the peristyle.

The nearness of the amphitheatre on one side and the gladiators' barracks on the other suited well the inhabitants of the insula in question.

There was no doubt that the houses numbered 23, 25 had been inhabited by gladiators.”).