East Wall
Description
Susanna Blåndman
The east wall is a partition wall of the taberna, marking the east boundary towards V 1,3. The wall is built in opus mixtum with opus testaceum to the north and opus incertum to the south. Above the height of 2.80 m the wall is reconstructed in the south part of the opus incertum, in a 1.50 m wide area. The upper north part, above the height of 2.86 m, is also reconstructed to some extent, but how much is difficult to decide due to the amount of modern mortar covering the stones. A small patch of fine wall plaster in the uppermost part of the north corner confirms that at least the north corner is original.
Opus testaceum
The north part of the wall, a 0.74 m wide area from the height of 0.15 m and up to 2.80 m, is built in opus testaceum. Four longer tongues, 1.02 - 1.09 m long, stretch into the opus incertum to the south. The bricks are 0.08 - 0.36 m long and 0.02 - 0.04 m thick, most of them are long. A few bricks are broken.
Opus incertum
The south part of the wall, an up to 2.06 m wide area, and the area above the opus testaceum is built in opus incertum, consisting mainly of lava pieces and a few Sarno stones. In the upper north part there are also a few blocks of cruma. The central part of the wall is badly worn, from the height of 1.20 m and up to 1.60 m. A thick layer of modern mortar covers the stones except for this central part. In the lower south part of the wall there is a shallow oblong recess. The function of the recess remains unclear but it could have functioned as support for something. The recess is located at a distance of 0.12 m from the south corner and at the height of 0.68 m. It is 0.63 m long, 0.10 m high and 0.06 m deep at most.The lowest south part of the wall is thickened by a few centimetres in a 1.50 m long area.
The mortar in the opus testaceum is mainly brownish and contains grains of lava. From the height of 0.48 m and up to 1.03 m the mortar is greyish but still contains fragments of lava. In the opus incertum the mortar is mostly greyish and tempered with grains of lava and lime. From the height of 2.85 m and up to 3.80 m, close to the north corner and at a 0.40 m wide area, the mortar is yellowish and tempered with large grains of lava and lime.
Three minor patches of fine wall plaster still remain in situ and they are all located in the north corner, at the height of 0.18 m; 1.64 m and 3.85 m. The lowermost patch is 0.80 m high and 0.05 - 0.45 m wide; the central patch is 0.72 m high and 0.03 - 0.26 m wide and the uppermost patch is 0.40 m high and 0.05 - 0.20 m wide.They are all heavily weathered and no colour remains except for a 0.05 m wide vertical red stripe in the corner, visible in the lowermost and the central patches. The central patch is discoloured and has a dirty black surface. The other two patches are whitish/greyish. All three patches are partly supported by modern plaster.
At the height of 2.85 m and a distance of 0.90 m from the north corner there is a hole that penetrates the wall. It is 0.15 m wide and 0.13 m high. It corresponds in level to the beam holes on the north wall and a hole in the west wall. The hole is most probably modern since the area around it looks modern, but it could also be from a scaffold since a beam would have blocked it if ancient.
H: 3.28 m (S); 4.55 m (N). L: 2.80 m
