VIII.2.34 Pompeii. Casa delle Colombe a mosaico or House of the Mosaic Doves.

Excavated 1767, 1885 and 1928.

Lower levels

Part 1      Part 2      Entrance level      VIII.2.34 Plan

VIII.2.32 Pompeii. May 2006. Corridor ‘u’, vaulted entrance to terrace and lower levels of VIII.2.34.

VIII.2.32 Pompeii. May 2006. Corridor ‘u’, looking south to terrace and lower levels of VIII.2.34.

According to Mau, the walls would have been black and white.

The zoccolo (or plinth, 1.42m high) or lowest section of the wall would have been painted black, above the zoccolo the walls were plastered white.

See Mau, in Bullettino dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica (DAIR), 1886, (p.153).

VIII.2.32 Pompeii. May 2006. Corridor ‘u’, looking south to terrace and lower levels of VIII.2.34

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.

Looking south-east into rooms on lower level, room ‘4’ on the left, room ‘3’ lower centre, corridor ‘5’ on the right, and terrace ‘12’ on the centre right.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking east across corridor ‘5’ of rear lower level rooms.

On the left is the doorway to room ‘1’, followed by room ‘2’ with the yellow, red and black wall decoration.

Behind the painted east wall of room ‘2’, would be ‘room 3’, and at the end of the corridor would be room ‘5’, facing the camera.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.

Room ‘1’ –

north wall of cubiculum of lower rear room, painted with a high yellow zoccolo, separated from the black painted middle zone by a red line.

Above were the remains of the holes for the beams for the support of a wooden mezzanine.

At the north end of the west wall, the recess for the bed could be seen on the higher level.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘2’, north wall and north-east corner of another cubiculum.

The yellow zoccolo reached the height 1.52m, before it was separated from the middle area of the wall by a painted red line.

Above the red line the wall was painted black.

Inserted in the wall are the beam holes for the wooden floor supports of an upper mezzanine.

The east wall, on the right, was the better preserved of the walls, and above the black painted area of wall, the upper part had been painted white.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘3’, north wall with remains of painted wall decoration in lower rear room.

Above a high red zoccolo with a yellow cornice whose mouldings were made in light brown, the middle zone was green, topped with a white band with fake red cornice that signalled the attachment of the upper red zone.

Inserted in the wall were the beam holes for the wooden floor supports of an upper floor.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Room ‘4’, looking towards north and east walls of room on lower level, possibly a triclinium.

The floor, now re-filled with rubble from the fallen walls and upper floors, originally was of beaten cement ornamented with white tesserae to indicate the positions of the triclinium couches. The east wall, on the right, shows the signs of a collapsed vaulted ceiling.

The painted candelabra III style walls showed a red zoccolo, the middle zone was painted black divided into panels but without any ornamental decoration, ending above with a frieze on a black background between red, white and yellow lines; the upper wall was white.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking east across remains of rooms on lower rear level from VIII.2.30. Room ‘4’ is in the centre on the left.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south-east into rooms on lower level, from VIII.2.30.

Rooms ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘4’ are on the left, the entrance doorway to passageway ‘7’ is in the centre.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006. Looking south onto rooms on lower level with the doorway to passageway ‘7’ in the centre.

VIII.2.34 Pompeii. May 2006.

Looking south across ramp or steps of passageway ‘7’ towards site of three triclinia, leading onto the lower terrace.

Part 2      Entrance level      VIII.2.34 Plan