V.2 Pompeii, Vicolo dei Balconi. Casa di Orione. Casa con mosaico groma. Casa dell’agrimensore?

House of Orion. House with groma mosaic. House of the surveyor?

Excavated 2018. Some rooms originally excavated 1883, 1891-93.

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Rooms 10, 11a to 11e excavated 1883, 1891-93

V.2.15 Pompeii. Casa di Giove. December 2007.

Room 9, looking towards north end of kitchen and into room 10. The latrine may have been on the lower left side of the photo.

According to PPM –

Mau hypothesised that the area behind this kitchen, although not completely excavated, was a courtyard, (our room 10.)

He thought this area may originally have been the end of this house, and the rooms at its rear may have been added to it at a later time?

Now he could recognise a kitchen or an ample storeroom, our room 11e, (PPM’s room w)

A small corridor, our room 11d, (PPM’s room x) which leads to the latrine (x1) where at the extreme north of the east wall was a lararium niche (?) under which was a type of terracotta wash-basin.

A cubiculum, our room 11b, (PPM’s y) which preserved traces of white plaster.

A corridor, our room 11a, (PPM’s z) in which there was a masonry podium which rendered the passageway difficult towards the courtyard, our room 10, (PPM’s v) and the peristyle, our room 11c, (PPM’s z1).

Together in this area, we have a duplication of rooms which we have already seen in the house, by this it does not seem impossible to exclude the hypothesis that in reality these rooms were in fact part of a house accessible from the still buried vicolo, between insulae 2 and 3.

See Carratelli, G. P., 1990-2003. Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici, Vol. III. Roma: Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, p. 855.

(Note: the latest excavation (2018-19) now recognises the rear of this house and peristyle as belonging to the separate house of Casa di Orione/House of Orion entered from the Vicolo dei Balconi. Room 10 is therefore now the final room in V.2.15 the Casa di Giove.)

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. Plan as shown in PPM.

See Carratelli, G. P., 1990-2003. Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici, Vol. III. Roma: Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, p. 855.

V = our room 10

W = our room 11e

X = our room 11d

X1 = not shown

Y = our room 11b

Z = our room 11a

Z1= our room 11c = Casa di Orione room A19

(Note: the latest excavation (2018-20) now recognises the rooms 11a to 11e (PPM W to Z1) of this house and peristyle as belonging to the separate Casa di Orione/House of Orion entered from the Vicolo dei Balconi.)

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Looking east across room 10, with wall and doorway to room 9, on right.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007.

Doorway, in north wall of room 10, leading to a corridor 11a, leading to another peristyle 11c (A19), at rear.

The Notizie degli Scavi refers to a passage leading to a second peristyle.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1896, page 439.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007.

Looking north along corridor, 11a. On the left is the doorway to room 11b.  

Following the 2018 excavations, this area is now considered to be the Casa di Orione with a separate entrance from the Vicolo dei Balconi.

It is considered to be two separate houses, with two entrance doorways and two names.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Corridor 11a with stone bench or base in corridor.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007.

Room 11b, room on west side of corridor, a cubiculum with traces of white plaster. Looking west through doorway from corridor 11a.

On the right, in the north wall, is a window overlooking the peristyle garden.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Looking north-west across peristyle from north end of corridor 11a.

South portico of peristyle garden 11c to the left, with peristyle (now A19 after 2018 excavations) east portico, on right.

According to NdS,

“On the south side of this second peristyle, on the painted black plaster of the zoccolo, one could read the graffito –

Liberalis [CIL IV 4149]

Anicetus [CIL IV 4148]

Nero co(n)s(ul?) [CIL IV 4147]

When the black plaster fell, on the rustic plaster, appeared the graffito –

[Nar]cissus(?) [CIL IV 4146]

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1896, p.439

See Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby (See www.manfredclauss.de)

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11c, looking north across peristyle garden now numbered A19.

The site of the lararium is protected by a corrugated sheet.

The Notizie degli Scavi refers to a passage leading to a second peristyle.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1894, page 439.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. Old undated photograph. Garden 11c. North wall. Lararium.

The Notizie degli Scavi records a panel of white stucco.

On this is painted an aedicula, which Boyce says is painted in blue, yellow, dark red and green.

Within the aedicula is a painting of Giove (Jupiter) seated on a throne.

Underneath is a masonry altar covered with white plaster.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1894, p. 439.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14.  (96, p.35, Pl 39,3).

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. Old undated photograph.

North wall of peristyle garden 11c. Remains of central painting in lararium.

Giove (Jupiter) sits on a throne, his lower body covered with a green robe.

The sceptre is in the left hand, leaning on the arm of the throne.

The lightning bolt is in his outstretched right hand and the eagle at his feet.

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1894, p. 439.

V.2.Pompeii. Casa di Orione. May 2018. Room A6, looking towards portico A19 and garden with uncovered lararium painting.

Photograph © Parco Archeologico di Pompei.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11c, garden, now A19, looking north-east into unexcavated area.

According to NdS –

On the east side, on the red plaster of the zoccolo, between the window and the room/doorway to the north –

At(h)enais aeris II / Sabina aeris II / aes [CIL IV 4150]

On the same zoccolo, between the said window, and the room/doorway to the south, were two unfinished alphabets.

On the south-east corner column, above the white plaster –

Fructus [CIL IV 4151]

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1896, p.440

For finds, see Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1893, p.213 (27th and 29th April) and p. 241 (2^nd May).

According to NdS –

18th October. Upon carrying out an ordinary excavation in V.2.15 on the Via Nolana, then two amphorae were found in the garden, on one of which, towards the base of the neck, was written in red letters

On the other, on the neck, we read in thick red letters

Also found was a shallow bowl/basin with the mark of a trident on one side of the edge, on the other the writing in relief letters:

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1894, p.382.

See Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby (See www.manfredclauss.de)

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. Late 19th century photograph showing excavation, (c.1896).

Looking south from south-east corner of V.2.i, across the columns in the peristyle garden of Casa di Orione/V.2.15 Casa di Giove, towards the rear of the Casina dell’Aquila in the distance.

In the centre front, the second style decoration on south wall of Corinthian oecus, room 21 of The House of the Silver Wedding at V.2.i can be seen.

Photo courtesy of Rick Bauer.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11c (A19), peristyle with stone puteal built into the wall between columns.

Originally the columns would have been plastered and painted red up to a height of 1.30m, and then painted white above.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11d, corridor on left, and doorway to room 11e, on right.

Looking through doorway from south portico of peristyle.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11d, corridor leading to latrine.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11d, niches at north end of east wall.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11d, rectangular niche.

According to Boyce, Mau described this as a lararium. 

The walls were coated with white stucco, and in the floor were three holes for the bases of statuettes.

The walls around the niche were covered with the same white stucco. 

In the wall below, a semi-circular receptacle of terracotta was embedded in the floor of an arched niche. 

In the bottom of the terracotta was a round hole, as if for drainage, which suggested a connection with the water supply.

Today, there is not much remaining.

See Boyce G. K., 1937. Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii. Rome: MAAR 14.  (no.97 on p. 35)

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11d, arched niche below rectangular niche.

This is the arched niche as described by Boyce above, which may have contained a type of terracotta washbasin.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11e, large kitchen or storeroom, looking south.

Built against the west wall were two pilasters of Sarno limestone.

According to NdS –

18^th October. Upon carrying out an ordinary excavation in V.2.15 on the Via Nolana, and found in the room to the left facing to the second garden, was –

Terracotta: a fragment of amphora with part of the neck, on which in black letters, we read –

See Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1894, p.382.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11e, looking south.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11e, niche on east wall.

V.2 Pompeii. Casa di Orione. December 2007. Room 11e, south wall in south-west corner.

V.2.15 Pompeii, right of centre. 1964. Looking north across insula IX.5, and into the unexcavated V.2, on the right. 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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