VII.6.14 Pompeii. Large shop.

Linked to VII.6.13 and VII.6.15. Excavated previously and in 1910.

According to Garcia y Garcia Region VII, Insula VI was one of the insulae most devastated over the years since its excavation.

He calls it the “Cinderella” of Pompeii. Between the years 1759 and 1762 it was vandalised and stripped by the Bourbons, then re-interred.

Then came the slow and non-systematic uncovering again before the final destruction in September 1943.

The area was ignored and abandoned during the years following the war, which reduced the insula to a heap of bricks and masonry.

See Garcia y Garcia, L., 2006. Danni di guerra a Pompei. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider. (p.102).

According to Fiorelli,

Spacious Taberna, having three large urns buried in the soil, a room at the rear, and a communicating door with the one that follows in the Vico to the east.

(Spaziosa taberna, avente tre grandi urne infisse nel suolo, una cella nel fondo, ed una porta di comunicazione con quella che segue nel vico ad oriente.)

See Pappalardo, U., 2001. La Descrizione di Pompei per Giuseppe Fiorelli (1875). Napoli: Massa Editore. (p.160).

According to NdS,

XIII, XIV, XV were three doorways of the same large shop, resulting from different rooms.

The north-east corner of the insula, which occurs between the doorways of XIV and XV, was made in the lowest part with large parallelepipeds of Sarno stone (Samnite construction), to which another species of masonry was added. This later re-fitting of older constructions, was observed in many parts of the insula.

(XIII, XIV, XV. Tre vani d’ingresso di una stessa grande bottega, risultante di diversi ambienti.)

L’angolo nord-est dell’isola, che capita tra i vani XIV e XV, era fatto inferiormente con grossi parallelepipedi di pietra di Sarno (costruzione sannitica), ai quali fu poi aggiunta altra specie di muratura. Tale riattazioni posteriori di costruzioni piu antiche, osservansi in molte parti dell’isola.

See Notizie degli Scavi, 1910, p.463.

VII.6.14 Pompeii. Plan based on PPM.

See Carratelli, G. P., 1990-2003. Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici: Vol. VII. Roma: Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, p. 180.

VII.6.14 on left, and steps at VII.6.13 on right. September 2021. Looking south on Via delle Terme. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VII.6.14 on left, and steps at VII.6.13 on right. October 2020. Looking south. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

VII.6.14 on left, and steps at VII.6.13 on right. December 2018. Looking south to entrance doorways. Photo courtesy of Aude Durand.

VII.6.14 Pompeii. December 2004. Entrance, looking south.

According to Fiorelli, this shop had 3 large urns buried into the floor, a room at the rear, and a door that led into VII.6.15 in the vicolo to the east.

See Pappalardo, U., 2001. La Descrizione di Pompei per Giuseppe Fiorelli (1875). Napoli: Massa Editore. (p.160).

According to Eschebach, these 3 large dolia were on the west (right) of the shop. No sign remains of them.

See Eschebach, L., 1993. Gebäudeverzeichnis und Stadtplan der antiken Stadt Pompeji. Köln: Böhlau. (p.294)

According to Garcia y Garcia, the 3 large urns seen by Fiorelli, were found destroyed after the bombing.

See Garcia y Garcia, L., 2006. Danni di guerra a Pompei. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider.  (p. 102)

VII.6.14 Pompeii. March 2009. Looking south towards doorway to rear room and VII.6.15

VII.6.13/14 Pompeii. Drawing by Giuseppe Abbate, 1840, copy of a painting of Venus with her mirror held in the left hand.

Two paintings were found, this one from the rear wall was detached and taken to Naples Archaeological Museum, inventory number 28873.

The other presumably was left in situ, and lost.

The writing below the drawing said

“Nella parete di fronte d’una specie di bottega a lato dell gran Piscine recentemente scavata nel vico che dai Bagni conduce al Foro di Pompei”

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number ADS 692.

Photo © ICCD. https://www.catalogo.beniculturali.it/

Utilizzabili alle condizioni della licenza Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Condividi allo stesso modo 2.5 Italia (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 IT)

PAH, Vol 2, 25^th May 1840,

….. to excavate the dwelling in front (opposite) the house called “of Pansa”, separated by the small vicolo from the rustic Baths

1-3 June 1840.

We continue to excavate the dwelling that is opposite to the House of Pansa, in the entrance of the first room that is to the right of the dwelling (di circa pal. 3 per 3): in that of the facing wall we see a Venus, holding a mirror in her left hand, and in the painting to the left we see a female figure, facing back, perhaps in the act of dressing, both of these paintings were of extremely mediocre design and poorly preserved.

See Fiorelli G., 1862. Pompeianarum antiquitatum historia, Vol. 2: 1819 - 1860, Naples, p. 379-380.

PAH, Vol.3, (Addenda), 3^rd June 1840

In the wall to the left of the entrance of the dwelling, to the right of the vicolo of the rustic baths, were revealed one of the usual obscene paintings, and in the facing wall was a Venus, that held a mirror in her right hand.

See Fiorelli G., 1864. Pompeianarum antiquitatum historia, Vol. 3: Naples, p.159.

VII.6.13/14/15/16 Pompeii? Between 1819 and 1832, sketches by William Gell.

These may or may not be from here but are described mainly as being in and around “Street north end of Forum”, and “In the street leading from Forum to Pansa’s house.

Then at the lower end is a note regarding the sketches on the underside, but no location given, other than the “scandalous chamber” or “scandalous house”, so we must assume that no location is known, (see below). 

See Gell, W. Pompeii unpublished [Dessins de l'édition de 1832 donnant le résultat des fouilles post 1819 (?)] vol II, pl. 74.

Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Identifiant numérique Num MS180 (2).

See book in INHA Use Etalab Licence Ouverte

VII.6.13/14/15/16 Pompeii? Between 1819 and 1832, sketches by William Gell.

(Note -These may or may not be from here.)

Graffiti inscribed with a nail on the wall, and drawings from the walls of the “scandalous chamber”.

See Gell, W. Pompeii unpublished [Dessins de l'édition de 1832 donnant le résultat des fouilles post 1819 (?)] vol II, pl. 74 verso.

Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Identifiant numérique Num MS180 (2).

See book in INHA Use Etalab Licence Ouverte

VII.6.13/14/15/16 Pompeii? July 2017.

Erotic scene, is this the other drawing as seen by Gell from the walls of the “scandalous chamber”?

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum, inventory number – unknown.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.

VII.6.13/14/15/16 Pompeii? July 2017. Erotic scene with inscription "ad ... sic Amilliu (s)" [CIL IV 2510]

Graffiti inscribed with a nail on the wall, and drawings from the walls of the “scandalous chamber” (as described by Gell).

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number 27689.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.

VII.6.13/14/15/16 Pompeii? Erotic scene with inscription "ad ... sic Amilliu (s)" [CIL IV 2510]

Graffiti inscribed with a nail on the wall, and drawings from the walls of the “scandalous chamber”.

Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number 27689.

According to BDI, 1841, -

“At another point of the same Strada della Fortuna and precisely facing the grand Casa di Pansa, some new houses have been returned to the light that stretch out towards the Vicolo delle Terme and which were already unearthed from 1757 to 1761, and then recovered again, like the Casa called “of Cicero” and the Casa dell’Imperadore Giuseppe II. Nothing significant has been found in these houses, but from the Vicolo delle Terme one entered into a new lupanare, adjacent to them. On the wall facing to where one entered into the first room, formed like a shop, a naked Venus was painted, almost to tempt the competition, and various obscene compositions, now for the most part faded and shabby, which decorated the side walls of the large room, and the small neighbouring ones………..” 

See Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (DAIR), 1841, (p. 118).

(The drawings by Gell, above, have also been entered in to Via del Foro, as today this would be one of the ways between the north of the Forum and Pansa’s House, however in the plan below, it would appear that it was not entirely excavated in 1819, and the way would have been via Vicolo dei Soprastanti and Vicolo delle Terme).

Enlargement of plan of Forum area, c.1819, drawn by H. Wilkins.

VI.6.1, Pansa’ House is shown at the top of the straight roadway leading down towards the Forum.

This would seem to show that the way between the north end of the Forum and Pansa’s House (as mentioned in the Gell drawings above) would have been along the line of the (present) Vicolo delle Terme. Perhaps the Gell drawings, and the scandalous chamber, were from the north side of Vicolo dei Soprastanti (VII.5.14-17) or as already mentioned from VII.6.14/15. 

See Wilkins, H. (1819). Suite des Vues Pittoresques des ruines de Pompei, p.5, Pl.II.

Although the extracts above, from 1840 PAH (PAH, Vol 2, 25th May 1840, and PAH, Vol.3, (Addenda), 3rd June 1840) and BdI 1841, show that excavations were taking place in 1840/41, on the above plan drawn by Wilkins in 1819, it would appear that some buildings on the corner of VII.6, opposite Pansa’s House, were already in the light, as they had been previously been unearthed from 1757 to 1761

Enlargement of plan of Forum area, c.1810, drawn by W. Gell.

On this plan, on the north-west side of the Forum, the roadway of Vicolo delle Terme is more clearly shown as well as the excavated buildings along the north and east side of VII.6, as well as the buildings on the south side of Vicolo dei Soprastanti (VII.5.14-17)

See Gell W & Gandy, J.P: Pompeii published 1819 [Dessins publiés dans l'ouvrage de Sir William Gell et John P. Gandy, Pompeiana: the topography, edifices and ornaments of Pompei, 1817-1819], pl. 81.

See book in Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art [France], collections Jacques Doucet Gell Dessins 1817-1819

Use Etalab Open Licence ou Etalab Licence Ouverte

See Dessales, H. (2019). Recueils de William Gell – Pompei, publiée et inédite, 1801-1829. Paris : Hermann, p.158-159, (pl.81) & (p.210).

 VII.5 Pompeii, on left. May 2005.                    Vicolo delle Terme looking south.                              VII.6.14/15, on right.