West Wall

A. Karivieri & R. Forsell

DESCRIPTION

The wall was built in opus incertum and consists of limestone, grey tufa, some cruma, lava and bricks. In the middle of the wall there is a window; window posts are built in opus mixtum, mainly with some limestone and grey tufa blocks alternating with bricks and rooftiles. In the N window post there is also a block of Apennine limestone. The S window post was damaged in the earthquake of AD 62, and fell down 27-28 cm with a part of the marble window sill. The window sill has been made of two marble slabs, width 36 cm; in the N part of window sill there is a square cutting, 8 (E-W) x 7 (N-S) cm. The S part of the window sill has several cracks and has been mended.

Wall-plaster is preserved in the N part of the wall up to the height of ca 3.40 m, in the S part, up to 1.60 m. Below the window, near the floor level, pieces of cocciopesto floor with white tesserae in curving line (as in S wall) can be seen behind the modern reinforcement mortar.

S of the window at the height of 1.60 m, there can be discerned part of an older plaster layer behind the last plaster layer. There is dark red plaster on the inside of the window.

Wall-plaster

Upper zone
A vertical red line is visible at the S part of the upper zone.

Main zone
The main zone has white background, and similar decorative scheme as in room t, with a red line and a yellow band framing a panel, where in the N part, a faintly visible figure can be seen at the height of ca 1.50 - 1.82 m. The figure in the panel N of the window is probably the same figure as the one described by Sogliano as Psyche.
Above this panel there is a horizontal band at the height of 2.50 m (upper edge of the band). The upper edge of the panel is at the height 2.24 m, width 70 cm (with yellow band to the NW corner), at a lower level than the central panel in the N wall. S of the window, a red horizontal line is visible at the height of 67-68 cm from the floor level. The main zone was framed with vertical red bands in the corners and along the window frames and with a horizontal red band under the window sill.

Dado
The upper border of the dado is decorated with a striped band alternating yellow and red horizontal lines 5-6 cm high. Under the window some remains of the decorative scheme are visible, that seems to be similar to the one in the W wall in room t.

State of preservation
The restored part is made of limestone, cruma, yellow tufa (as documented in 2004). The upper part of the wall above the window has been totally reconstructed to support a modern roof and a wooden lintel has been inserted after 2004.