VIII.2.34 Pompeii. Casa delle
Colombe a mosaico or House of the Mosaic Doves.
Excavated 1767, 1885 and 1928.
Entrance level
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Lower levels VIII.2.34 Plan
Front wall between VIII.2.34 Pompeii and VIII.2.33, looking west. December 2006. Entrance doorway to VIII.2.34, on left.
Front wall to east of entrance of VIII.2.34. December 2006. Looking west.
Plaster from front wall of VIII.2.34. December 2006.
Fallen plaster from front wall of VIII.2.34, described as ashlar (imitating blocks of stone) incised into the plaster. December 2006.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.
East wall of vestibule, with ashlar engraved in the plaster still remaining attached to the wall.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023.
Looking towards east
wall of vestibule. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2024.
Looking south along
east wall of entrance corridor, from vestibule. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
Looking south-east to entrance vestibule and
entrance corridor. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019.
Looking south to
entrance vestibule and entrance corridor.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. December 2018.
Looking south to entrance vestibule and entrance corridor. Photo courtesy of Aude Durand.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Looking south from Vicolo della
Regina towards step to vestibule and step to entrance corridor.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023.
Looking towards west wall of entrance corridor from vestibule. Photo
courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking from vestibule ‘a’, into fauces ‘b’, and across atrium ‘c’.
Looking south across entrance corridor, from vestibule with remains of stone seat, on right.
According to NdS, the entrance was preceded by a vestibule, a masonry seat would have been leaning against each side vestibule wall.
There was one travertine step between the vestibule and the wide entrance corridor.
Both the fauces and the vestibule sloped towards the roadway.
The flooring of the fauces was made of opus signinum.
See Notizie degli Scavi, April 1885, (p.163)
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Looking south along remaining
flooring in entrance corridor.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
Foto
Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
According
to PPM –
“The
cocciopesto flooring showed a motif of scales and towards the threshold of the
atrium had a design of swastika-like meanders alternating with concentric
squares, partly damaged by the insertion of the threshold made of six pieces of
white marble veined with grey, equipped at the ends with recesses for the hinges
but without those for the latches as the door shutters were held together by
the lock.”
See Carratelli, G. P., 1990-2003. Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici. VIII. (8). Roma:
Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, (no.
2, p.266).
Foto
Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023. Detail
of flooring in entrance corridor at east side of south end. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023. Detail of flooring near east wall. Photo
courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. c.1930.
Flooring in entrance corridor “b”, of cocciopesto consisting of a
pattern of scales with the threshold towards the atrium showing a pattern of
meandering swastika’s alternating with squares.
DAIR 41.685.
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, (taf. 31.2)
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south from entrance fauces or corridor, towards atrium.
According to Mau, the floor of the entrance corridor was separated from the atrium flooring by a threshold of white marble with some dark veining;
at its ends you could see the holes for the door hinges.
There were no bolts; so, to fasten the door closed there were no other means than to unite the two shutters, either with a lock or some other way.
See Mau, Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza
Archeologica (DAIR), 1886, (p.149).
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking north across atrium ‘c’, towards entrance doorway.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking east into and across atrium ‘c’, from VIII.2.30.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south across remains of impluvium in atrium, ‘c’.
According to NdS, the atrium was rather spacious and in the middle was a large impluvium.
The impluvium was found without any of the marble that at one time it would have been covered with.
Around its edge would have been a beautiful “greca” black and white mosaic.
The floor was of black mosaic scattered with small mosaics of white cubes and white small stars.
The walls of the atrium, like those of the entrance corridor, did not have any decoration just being clad in rustic plaster.
At the sides of the impluvium were two cistern-mouths, one in the northern edge and the other in the southern.
See Notizie degli Scavi di
Antichità, April 1885,
(p.163)
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Cistern mouth on north side, near impluvium in atrium, ‘c’.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Doorway to room ‘d’, on north side of atrium, in north-east corner.
Room ‘v’, which was reached through this doorway, was to be found at its rear.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2024.
Doorway to room ‘e’ on east side of atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus
Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023.
Doorway to room ‘e’ on east side of atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus
Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Doorway to cubiculum ‘e’, in north-east corner of atrium, looking east.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘e’, doorway
threshold.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘e’, looking east
across flooring.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘e’, detail from
north-east corner.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Decorated floor in cubiculum ‘e’, of cocciopesto with regular lines of small white tesserae.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘e’, detail of
flooring near south wall.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2024.
Looking south along east side of atrium, with doorways to rooms ‘e’, ‘f’
and ‘g’. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2024.
Looking through doorway towards south wall of cubiculum ‘f’. Photo
courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023.
Doorway to room ‘f’ on east side of atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus
Heese.
Detail from south wall of cubiculum ‘f’. Photo
courtesy of Klaus Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Doorway to cubiculum ‘f’, in centre of east side of atrium.
The floor in this room was identical to room ‘e’, being of cocciopesto with dots of small white tesserae in regular lines.
The east wall can be seen through the doorway, with red zoccolo which had painted plants in panels separated from a central panel.
The middle zone of the wall would have been white.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘f’, doorway
threshold.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘f’, looking east
across flooring.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘f’, looking towards
north-east corner.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. October 2023.
Doorway to room ‘g’ on east side of atrium. Photo courtesy of Klaus
Heese.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Doorway to cubiculum ‘g’, on east side of atrium, next to east ala.
The threshold was of travertine with housing for the hinges of the door with two shutters opening towards the Interior of the room, like those of all the other rooms around the atrium.
The walls were decorated with a red zoccolo partitioned into simple geometric panels.
In the middle of the walls, the red central panel was separated from the yellow side panels by a narrow white panel.
The upper zones of the walls were completely faded but conserved a trace of a stucco cornice.
On the east wall, visible through the doorway, the large hole made by previous excavators or perhaps by burrowers after the eruption, can be seen.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Looking east through doorway to
cubiculum ‘g’.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Doorway threshold to cubiculum
‘g’.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019. Cubiculum ‘g’, looking east
across flooring.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Decorated floor in cubiculum ‘g’, on east side of atrium.
The centre of the floor was formed of cocciopesto with small white tesserae forming the carpet of a net of lozenges.
Around the edges of the walls, the floor was decorated with two lines of small white tiles.
VIII.2.34 Pompeii. September 2019.
Cubiculum
‘g’, south-east corner, with red zoccolo, and flooring with two lines of small
white tiles around the edge.
Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.
Part 2 Part 3 Lower levels VIII.2.34 Plan