I.6.13 Pompeii. Casa di Stallius Eros.

Excavated 1926 and 1927.

I.6.13/14 Pompeii. 1929 plan.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1929, p. 432.

According to Maiuri –

The building, when excavated, would have been found in a state of extreme ruin and the most complete abandonment from before the eruption: because of the deterioration of the walls, and having found the entire area of the atrium filled for about one and a half metres in height with demolition material and on it the usual stratification of the lapilli and ash, the presence of a large mound of sea or river sand in the rooms around the atrium, all clearly lets you see that, the house reduced by now to inhabitable, was being used as a private storage of building materials.

The money/coins found among these deposited materials suggest that this state of affairs occurred at the time of the earthquake of 63, when not minor damage was suffered to the peristyle of the dwelling above (at I.6.11) by the failure and collapse of the vaults of the underground areas. This state of serious deterioration leads us to a short descriptions of the conditions in which the house at no.11, (did he mean 13?) was found,  when it would have been abandoned either for storage of materials or by the work of complete and radical makeover.

The doorway (no.14) had been opened in its last times, breaking through the limestone blocks to obtain a staircase that would lead to the upper floor of the rooms overlooking the road: at this time, the work was connected to the elevation of thick layer of signinum for the street pavement and the floor of the atrium that also appears to be elevated above the tablinum and surrounding rooms.  As to the presence of balconies on the facade above the fauces/entrance corridor and the staircase, the second of them would only have been a small room used as a kitchen or pantry and only accessible from the outside of the balcony.

Rooms 1 and 2 –

They appear very poorly decorated with a simple yellowish zoccolo and rustic plaster, as clearly shown cubiculum 2 contemporary with the construction of the staircase and the upper floors; both rooms appear lit by a window opened latterly onto the front roadway, and that of cubiculum 2 was also equipped with a window-grill.

Room 3 –

This was the most spacious of the entire building, where it would have been used for some time as a shop/workshop as shown by the large doorway, which was then closed with masonry from the front roadway, and was a shop/workshop linked and dependant on the house, whereas the narrow corridor that runs between the rooms (3 and 4) had no other purpose than to create an internal passageway between the rooms and the shop/workshop, later this inner door was closed, and we do not know what use this room could have served left without any access doorway.

Atrium -

The modestly sized atrium showed a small impluvium with border of tufo around the basin, the edges coated latterly with signinum and modestly tessellated, and the base poorly covered with a layer of tiles; even more poorly was the hole of the drain for the water which was made from an amphora and the closing cap, also made from the foot of an amphora.

At "a" was the mouth of the puteus (puteal/cistern-mouth) of the cistern, at "b" was the semi-circular podium of a rustic hearth resting in the corner of two walls.

Rooms 4/5/6/7 –

Number 4 was later partitioned by the wall of corridor “d” with all of the rough masonry, it was no longer identifiable as to its original use; maintaining instead some vestiges of a more noble and genteel phase of the house of the Second Style.

Number 5 was a cubiculum decorated with a stucco cornice and barrel-vaulted ceiling.

Number 6 was the tablinum with a simple but elegant flooring with a geometric design of white tesserae.

Number 7 was a cubiculum with remains of wall decoration of architectural motifs, but spoiled by the piles of lime that were leaning on it.

Corridor “e” –

At the side of the tablinum, the corridor led to the rear of the house, the rooms were even more restricted and narrow here.

Rooms 8/11/13 –

One could see opposite the room 8, the well-mouth equipped with a pedarole which would have risen up to the upper floor so that it could draw water directly from the upper rooms.

On the east side (No.11) was an elevated room with a completely rustic appearance, and had, in its external part, the niche of a modest lararium.

No.13, this enclosed, in addition to the latrine, the room with a small masonry staircase, which would have been used to access the upper rooms on this side of the house.

The rear part of the house was occupied by a wide masonry podium and a large wall painted with a landscape painting; the podium which would originally have been used only as a garden, was later occupied by a masonry gutter which collected the rain water affluent from the upper floors and would have discharged it into the cistern of the well in corridor “f”.

See Maiuri, A. Notizie degli Scavi, 1929, p.430 –434, and for finds and inscriptions, see pages 434 – 436.

(L’edificio doveva gia trovarsi nello stato di estremo rovina e del piu completo abbandono fin da prima dell’eruzione: poiche il deterioramento delle mura, l’aver trovato tutta l’area dell’atrio ricolma per circa un metro e mezzo di altezza, di materiale di demolizione e su di esso la stratificazione eguale dei lapilli e delle ceneri, la presenza di un gran cumulo di sabbia di mare o di fiume negli ambienti intorno all’atrio, tutto lascia chiaramente scorgere che, ridotta ormai inhabitabile la casa, questa venisse piu che altro adibita quale deposito privato di materiali da costruzione.

Le monete rinvenuti fra questi materiali di deposito permettono di supporre che questo stato di cose si sia verificato all’epoca del terremoto del 63, quando non minori danni dove subire il peristilio della sovrastante abitazione (no.11) per il cedimento ed il crollo delle volte dei sotterranei. Questo stato di grave deterioramento ci porta a brevi cenni descrittivi delle condizioni in cui trovavasi la casa no.11, quando dove essere abbandonata o per deposito di materiali o per opera di completo e radicale rifacimento (fig.44 – pianta).

Il vano (no.14) fu aperto negli ultimi tempi, spezzando la cortina in blocchi calcarei per ricavare una scala che portasse al piano superiore degli ambienti prospicienti sulla strada:  a quest’opera di modeste esigenze dell’ultimo periodo edilizio e mercantile della citta si ricollega la sopraelevazione di spessa massicciata di signino del marciapiede stradale e del pavimento dell’atrio che appare anch’esso sopraelevato su quello del tablino e degli ambienti circostanti.  Alla presenza di balconi sulla facciata al disopra delle fauces e della scala, ed il secondo di essi non poteva essere altro che un casotto, adoperato per cucina o per dispensa, accessibile solo dall’esterno del balcone.

Le stanze (nos 1 and 2) appaiono assai poveramente decorate con semplice zoccolo gialletto e intonaco rustico, come mostra chiaramente il cubicolo no.2 coevo della costruzione della scala e dei piani superiori: l’una e l’altra stanza appare rischiarata da una finestra aperta posteriormente sul fronte stradale, e quella del cubicolo no.2 era anche munita di inferriata.

L’ambienti (no.3), il piu spazioso di tutto questo edificio, dove essere per qualche tempo adibito a bottega, come mostra il grande vano, poi richiuso con muratura incerta, sul fronte stradale, ed era bottega connessa e dipendente dall’abitazione, poiche l’angusto corridoio che corre fra gli ambienti (nos. 3 e 4) non ebbe altro scopo, che quello di creare un passaggio interno tra le stanze di alloggio e la bottega; piu tardi anche questa porticina interna fu richiusa, e non sappiamo a quale uso potesse servire questo ambiente rimasto senza alcun vano di accesso.

L’atrio di modeste dimensioni, presenta ancora il piccolo impluvio con cornice sagomate di tufo intorna al bacino, i margini rivestiti posteriormente di signino e di modesto tessellato, e il fondo poveramente ricoperto con uno strato di tegole; piu poveramente ancora l’orificio dello scolo dell’acqua era ricavato da un scolo di anfora e il tappo di chiusura da un piede anch’esso di anfora.

In “a” era la bocca del puteus della cisterna, in “b” era il podio semicircolare di un rustico focolare poggiato nell’angolo fra due muri.

Il (no.4) intramezzato posteriormente dal muretto del corridoio “d” con tutte le murature grezze, non era piu identificabile nella sua primitiva destinazione; mantengono invece qualche vestigio di una fasepiu nobile e signorile della casa del secondo stile, il cubicolo (no.5) con decorazione a cornice a stucco e volta a botte; il tablino (no.6) con pavimento a semplice ed elegante disegno geometrico di tessellato bianco; il cubicolo (no.7) con avanzi di decorazione parietale a motivi architettonici guastadai cumuli di calce che vi furono addossati.

Al lato del tablino il corridoio “e” conduceva nella parte postica dell’abitazione ancora piu ristretta ed angusta di spazio e di ambienti.

Si osserva di contro al vano (no.8) la bocca di un pozzo munito di pedarole che doveva sopraelevarsi sino al piano superiore in modo da poter attingere l’acqua direttamente dagli ambienti soprastanti.  Dall’opposto lato di oriente (il no. 11) era uno stanzino sopraelevato di aspetto del tutto rustico, ed ha, nella sua parte esterna, la nicchietta di un modesto larario, e il (no.13) racchiude, oltre alla latrina, il vano di una piccola scala in muratura, che doveva servire per la stanze superiori di questo lato dell’abitazione.

Il prospetto di fondo della casa era occupato da un basso podio in muratura a da un grande parete dipinta con una pittura di paesaggio (fig.45); il podio che doveva in origine essere unicamente adibito a viridario, venne in seguito occupato da cunette in muratura che raccogliendo le acque pluviali affluenti dai piani superiori, dovevano discaricarle nella cisterna del pozzo del corridor “f”.)

See Maiuri, A. Notizie degli Scavi, 1929, p.430 –434, and for finds and inscriptions, see pages 434 – 436.

I.6.13 Pompeii, on left. September 2004.                 Vicolo del Menandro, looking east.                              I.10, on right.

I.6.13 on left, and I.6.14 on right. September 2015.

Looking north to entrance doorways on Vicolo del Menandro.

I.6.13 and I.6.14 Pompeii. Entrance doorways on north side of Vicolo del Menandro.

Photographed 1970-79 by Günther Einhorn, picture courtesy of his son Ralf Einhorn.

I.6.13 and I.6.14 Pompeii. 1961.

Entrance doorways on north side of Vicolo del Menandro. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. May 2005. Entrance doorway.

I.6.13 Pompeii. March 2009. Entrance doorway, looking north.

I.6.13 Pompeii. September 2015. Looking north along entrance fauces towards atrium, and tablinum.

I.6.13 Pompeii. c.1930. Flooring in atrium and impluvium.

DAIR 40.318. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.

See Pernice, E.  1938. Pavimente und Figürliche Mosaiken: Die Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Band VI. Berlin: de Gruyter, (p.42, and tav. 11.1 above.)

I.6.13 Pompeii. March 2009. Looking north along entrance fauces towards atrium, and tablinum.

I.6.13 Pompeii. September 2004. Looking north from entrance across atrium to tablinum and garden.

I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964.

Looking north from entrance across atrium to tablinum and garden. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1961.

Looking north through tablinum towards rear garden wall with remnants of garden painting. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. c.1930. Flooring in tablinum 6. 

DAIR 40.321. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.

See Pernice, E.  1938. Pavimente und Figürliche Mosaiken: Die Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Band VI. Berlin: de Gruyter, (p.42, and tav. 11.4 above.)

I.6.13 Pompeii. 1929. Seal found between the tablinum and the podium of the small garden.

The drawing from NdS shows rectangular tablet, with a ring grip on the back.

On the ring grip is a representation of a theatrical mask.

On it is the inscription STAL ERO, which Maiuri expands to Stal(lius) Ero(s).

According to Maiuri, this seal from the rubble of the house gives the name of the last owner, Stallius Eros, who lived here, before the [..earthquake?…] disaster of 63 reduced the house to a heap of ruins.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1929, p. 435, figs. 46-7.

I.6.13 Pompeii. September 2015. Looking north through tablinum to remains of small garden area.

I.6.13 Pompeii. March 2009. Looking north through tablinum to remains of small garden area.

According to Jashemski –

“The small garden at the rear of the house, which was undergoing extensive repairs at the time of the eruption, was originally outlined by a low masonry wall.

There were remnants of a garden painting on the rear wall, and a lararium niche in the east wall.”

See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.36).

I.6.13 Pompeii. September 2015. Looking north through tablinum to detail of remains of garden painting.

I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964.

Looking north through tablinum to remains of small garden area with painted garden scene. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1972. North wall of garden area, with painted garden scene. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. North wall of garden area, with painted garden scene. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. Detail from west (left) side of panel on north wall. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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According to Wilhelmina, on the left can be seen a bush with an owl, and higher and to the right another bird, below it was another bush.

See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.314-5)

I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964.

Detail from north wall showing a bush, an owl, and another bird, higher and to the right of the owl.

Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. Detail from north wall. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. Detail from north wall. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. Detail from north wall. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. 1964. Detail from north wall. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

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I.6.13 Pompeii. March 2009.

Looking north-east from entrance, towards cubiculum (5) in north-east corner of atrium.

I.6.13 Pompeii. December 2004. Looking across room on east side of entrance with stairs (I.6.14) against west wall.

Looking north-east towards doorway of cubiculum (5).

I.6.13 Pompeii. 1975.

Domus of Stallius Eros, room (cubiculum 5) in NE corner of atrium, E wall. Photo courtesy of Anne Laidlaw.

American Academy in Rome, Photographic Archive. Laidlaw collection _P_75_5_10.

I.6.13 Pompeii. December 2004. Tablinum, atrium and east side looking south-east photo taken from rear of I.6.11.

Behind the east wall of the tablinum, on left, would be the cubiculum (5) in NE corner of atrium.

Room 7 with doorway to corridor “e” is on the lower right, the corridor “e” is on the west side of the tablinum.

The remains of a lararium niche are on left of picture, in garden area behind tablinum.

According to Boyce –

“In the east wall of the garden is an arched niche (height 0.40, width 0.60, depth 0.27, height above the floor 1.30).

This was referred to in the report as “un modesto larario”.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14. (p. 25, no.38)

He quotes reference Not. Scavi, 1929, p.434.

I.6.13 Pompeii. December 2004.  West side looking south, photo taken from rear of I.6.11.

Triclinium 4 would appear to be the large room across the centre of the photo.

Room 7 can be seen on the lower left, room 10 on the lower right.

On the north side of room 10, (but not in the above photo) would have been a small room.

This was described on page 433 of Notizie degli Scavi, 1929, -

“as a second corridor “f” used to separate the narrow rooms 8-9-10 and corresponding to a side doorway to the western vicolo, with a wooden staircase giving access to the upper floor, a doorway that would have been closed or abolished at the time of the abandonment of the house, after the 63 earthquake.”

Room 9 would have been a small room in the north-west corner of the house.

I.6.13 Pompeii. c.1930. Flooring in triclinium 4. 

DAIR 40.322. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.

See Pernice, E.  1938. Pavimente und Figürliche Mosaiken: Die Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Band VI. Berlin: de Gruyter, (p.42, and tav. 11.5 above.)

I.6.13 Pompeii. c.1930. Flooring in room 9.  

DAIR 40.323. Photo © Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.

See Pernice, E.  1938. Pavimente und Figürliche Mosaiken: Die Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Band VI. Berlin: de Gruyter, (p.42, and tav. 11.6 above.)

I.6.12 or I.6.13 Pompeii. Round white limestone weight. SAP inventory number 3918. 

The two other black basalt weights were found somewhere in Pompeii, the larger one has SAP 20349 on it.

Photographed at “A Day in Pompeii” exhibition at Melbourne Museum where it is given as from I.6.13. September 2009.

I.6.12 or I.6.13 Pompeii. Round white limestone weight. SAP inventory number 3918. 

According to NdS (1929), this has the inscription SOC CRET on the side and X X on the top.

The location is given as I.6.12. Photo courtesy of Dan Pater.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1929, p. 430.

According to the SANP at the Day in Pompeii September 2009 exhibition this is from I.6.13.