V 1,12 Upper floor apartment

Thomas Staub

V 1,12 constitutes the entrance to a proposed self-contained upper-floor apartment above the n-e parts (mainly the service area) of Casa degli Epigrammi greci. The extension of that apartment is not clear, but the area above the ground floor rooms x, u, v, v‘, w, z, t, s, q, r, y was probably covered by an upper floor. This is indicated by the base for the staircase (0.96 x 1.06 m) inside the threshold of entrance V 1,12, beam holes (in rooms r, s, t, z, y), the down pipe from an upper floor latrina (over ground floor latrina z) and upper floor windows above rooms z and t. If indeed this entire area belonged to one apartment or if part of itserved as an upper floor proper to Casa degli Epigrammi greci is not evident.  As it seems, no passage existed between the upper rooms in the north (above x, u, v, v’, w, z and t) and the southern part (above s, q, r and y). But since parts of the upper walls seem to be modern reconstructions (especially above corridor q), this question must remain open. Sincethe preserved beam holes indicates beams running in an east-western direction, the lack of beam holes in the other rooms could be explained by the fact that here the north-south running walls are not preserved in a sufficient height as to show beam holes. For the same reason also the questions about the lay-out of the apartment and from where its different rooms were entered most remain open.  Remains of plaster with reed imprints found during our cleaning next to the staircase base indicates the former existence of a dividing wall made in a canuccia technique. This wall would have separated the entrance V 1,12 from room w of the house itself.