VI.17.23 Pompeii. Steps to
peristyle of Casa del Leone (blocked).
Linked to VI.17.25. Excavated from 1771. New excavation 2019.
(VI.17.23-26 was also known as Casa di Polibio, as was VI.17.32-36)
Excavation in March
– April 2019.
Insula Occidentalis corresponds to the western sector of Pompeii, between Porta Ercolano and Porta Marina. The investigation area is concentrated in the area of Regio VI, in correspondence with the so-called Casa del Leone. From the first investigations it was possible to confirm the presence of a sizable portico located outside the line of the walls, in relation to the Casa del Leone, already investigated in the Bourbon era, of which traces had been lost, as it was partially hidden by the Bourbon spoil heap, as well as rooms with mosaics, never explored. This discovery provides new elements to the definition of the urban plan that characterized this side of the city with a system of house-villas close to the city walls, in a panoramic position towards the sea. The investigations are also aimed at identifying suitable access to the museum of organic finds to be built soon.
Scavi nel marzo – aprile 2019.
L’Insula Occidentalis corrisponde al settore ovest
di Pompei, compreso tra Porta Ercolano e Porta Marina. L’area di indagine si
concentra nella zona della Regio VI, in corrispondenza della cosiddetta Casa del Leone. Dalle prime indagini si è potuta
confermare la presenza di un portico di considerevoli dimensioni posto
all'esterno della linea delle mura, in relazione alla Casa del Leone, già
indagato in età borbonica, del quale si erano perse le tracce, in quanto
parzialmente nascosto anche dal cumulo borbonico, nonché ambienti mosaicati mai
esplorati. Tale scoperta fornisce nuovi elementi alla definizione del progetto urbanistico
che caratterizzava questo versante della città con un sistema di case-villa a
ridosso della cinta muraria, in posizione panoramica verso il mare. Le indagini
sono finalizzate anche a individuare un accesso idoneo al museo di reperti
organici di prossima realizzazione.
Vedi http://pompeiisites.org/press-kit/nuovi-scavi-e-ricerche-nel-parco-archeologico-di-pompei/
Fiorelli
Secondo
Fiorelli -
“Segue un grandioso edifizio a tre piani, cui
fu imposto il nome di Casa di Polibio, da un programma che vi era scritto,
simile a quello riferito piu innanzi al numero 2.
Aveva sulla
fronte sei botteghe e due ingressi, il secondo de’quali (no.25) preceduto da
vestibolo, ch’era seguito dall’atrio tuscanico privo di stanze nei lati, e con
tablino nel fondo situato tra due fauci, di cui una con la scala pel piano
inferiore.
L’altro adito
minore (no.23) dava accesso ad un peristilio, circuente il giardino, e
contenente nei suoi ambulacri un grandiose triclinio, con apotheca allato, due
oeci, un cubicolo finestrato, ed una gradinata dalla quale montavasi ad altre
stanze superiori, e discendevasi parimenti nel piano sottoposto, ov’erano
visibili gl’impianti di molte stanze, e l’area di un grande orto con piscina
nel mezzo, circondato da portici.”
See Fiorelli, G.
(1875). Descrizione di Pompei,
(p.433-434)
See Pappalardo, U., 2001. La Descrizione di Pompei per Giuseppe Fiorelli (1875). Napoli: Massa Editore. (p.159).
(translation – According to
Fiorelli, -
“Following was a
large three-floored building, which was given the name of the House of
Polybius, from a programma that was written there, similar to that reported
previously at VI.17.2.
On the front, this building had six shops and two
entrances, the second of which (VI.17.25) was preceded by a vestibule, which
was followed by the Tuscan Atrium without rooms at its sides, and with a
tablinum at the rear situated between two corridors, one with the stairs to a
lower level.
The other minor entrance (VI.17.23) gave access to a
peristyle surrounding the garden, its walkway containing a grandiose triclinium
with small room/cupboard at its side, two oeci, a windowed cubiculum, and a
staircase which went up to other upper rooms, and descended also to the floor
below, where the arrangement of many rooms was visible, and a large garden area
with pool in the middle surrounded by porticoes”. )
VI.17.23 Pompeii. September 2021.
Entrance doorway
leading to peristyle, in room on north side of shop at VI.17.24. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VI.17.23 Pompeii. September 2005. Step to peristyle, in room on north side of shop at VI.17.24.
VI.17.23 Pompeii. May 2011.
Looking towards small room on north side of shop at VI.17.24, leading to entrance to VI.17.23. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.
VI.17.23 Pompeii. May 2005. Small room with step to peristyle.
VI.17.23 Pompeii. Plan showing from left to right entrances VI.17.26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19.
See also VI.17.25 for description of rooms according to Mazois.
See Mazois, F., 1824. Les Ruines de Pompei : Second Partie. Paris: Firmin Didot. (p. 72, Pl. XXX)
According to CTP, Mazois and Overbeck-Mau wrongly showed a doorway directly onto the street at VI.17.23 on the above plan.
See Van der Poel, H. B., 1981. Corpus Topographicum Pompeianum, Part V. Austin: University of Texas. (p.307, note 1).
According to Jashemski, this large house with three floors adapted its plan to the terrain of the volcanic ledge it was built on.
The peristyle garden to the north of the atrium was on the street level.
This garden was enclosed by a portico on the south, west and north, supported by 14 columns and 2 engaged columns.
A large triclinium opened off the west portico and had a view of the garden.
See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.165, and plan)
The large peristyle garden on the lowest level was surrounded by a portico supported by 40 pillars.
According to Mazois, the portico was enclosed with glass windows.
In the middle of the garden there was a rectangular pool with a semi-circular projection on the west side.
VI.17.9, on left with letter G, then 10, followed by 13, then 16-17, and 23 peristyle with letter G, and 25, on right.
Part of a plan by Francesco La Vega c.1800-1810. Now in Naples Museum.
DAIR 76.1262. Photo
© Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom, Arkiv.
VI.17.9-27 Pompeii.
Detail from 1827 plan by Ing. del. R: Officio Topografico, Gaspare Marchesi.
Now in the Istituto Geografico Militare, Corpo di
Stato Maggiore, Sezione di Napoli, Cartella 82.24.
See Kockel V. 2005. Un capitolo dimenticato
della cartografia di Pompei Gaspare Marchesi e il Reale Officio Topografico di
Napoli: Rivista di Studi Pompeiana 16, pp. 11-36.
VI.17.26, on lower left, 25 entrance doorway, 24 with step to peristyle at 23.
Next to the entrance to the peristyle are numbers 22 shop, 21 shop, 20 shop, and 19 shop, on lower right Pompeii. c.1805.
Detail from plan, drawn by Piranesi, entitled –
“General plan of the continuation of the road, and the buildings adjacent (opposite) to the House of the Surgeon.”
(Note: this house is usually described as being opposite the House of Acteon).
VI.17.23 Pompeii. c.1805. Drawing by Piranesi. Looking west across peristyle at street level.
According to Jashemski, above, this peristyle would have had a portico supported by 14 columns and 2 engaged columns.
See Piranesi, F,
1804. Antiquités de la Grande Grèce : Tome II. Paris : Piranesi and Le
Blanc, (Vol. II, Pl. LIV).
VI.17.23 Pompeii. Second (lower) peristyle. Marble fountain statuette of a boy with a goose.
Now in Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number 6111.
The marble fountain statuette of a boy with a goose reported as being from this house would have been a garden decoration.
See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.165, and plan)
See Carrella, A;
D’Acunto, L.A; Inserra, N and Serpe, C. (2008). Marmorea Pompeiana nel Museo
Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli: SAP no.26, p.101-102, and B37.
See Fiorelli, G. (1860): Pompeianarum Antiquitatum Historia, Vol 1, 1748-1818, (extracts from 1778-1779, below)
(1778)
7th November – we continue the excavation to detect other underground areas immediate to the two already made visible, which is that which is under the house that has been excavated for a long time, where a few months ago the earth was raised from above.
21st November - excavated to detect the underground area already mentioned many times, where a stairway drops down, with the hope of finding another floor below them: but it seems that such stairs had no other use than to give an exit to outside the walls of the city. Among the ruins there they found a piece of a statue, and another piece of the marble body of a bird and continued with diligence in the hope of finding the remaining parts. As for continuing the excavation, it was necessary to repair a wall that threatened ruin…… (PAH, vol. 1, pt 1, p.301).
28th November - excavated to reach that same floor where the portion of statue noted in past reports was found, this being found near the door which exits out of the same house outside the city. How to do such a job takes time, so for now the statue we have found has been sent to the Royal Museum. The statue was of a group, which was of a naked boy with a bird namely a goose. The boy was shown in the act of pressing with the right knee the neck of the goose, which had been drilled to pass water from the mouth: the neck of the bird was broken and his head was missing: of the young boy, there was only the body combined with thigh and right leg, and left thigh, but it was broken in two above the belly button and corresponded to a figure of about 1.32 m in height. Certainly the goose head was that which was found and taken out in another time in the same house, as noted in the report of January 28, 1764, and maybe the base of this group, with the left foot of the young boy, was found at about the same time, as described in the report of the March 24, 1764.
Addendum 28th November – marble group of a young boy with a duck, which was used as a fountain in the underground area
(1779)
Most of January and February was spent still searching through the same underground area, hopeful of finding more missing parts of the same statue.
Finally, they moved on elsewhere, as in the reports of -
27th February – after having finished doing all the searching that has been possible to find the missing parts of the known marble statue, already mentioned many times, one has passed to explore the nearby underground areas of a house already for some time discovered, where one has worked also from the first of November of the past year, as my report of the 7th of the same month.
6th March – we continue to excavate the underground areas named in the past report, without anything new occurring, working from above to take up great quantities of earth.
For details of excavation from Fiorelli G., 1860. Pompeianarum antiquitatum historia, Vol.
1: 1748 - 1818, Naples, 1,1,
see page at VI.17.25, parts 2 and 3.