South Wall
Description
A. Karivieri & R. Forsell
DESCRIPTION
The wall is built of Sarno limestone, cruma, some bricks; one stone block is visible in the dado area, otherwise major part of wall is covered by plaster. The wall-plaster is in bad condition. The bricks are visible in the central uppermost part of the wall, as a border against the upper reconstruction of the wall. Remains of older yellow plaster are visible at the floor level behind cocciopesto floor. The remains of yellow plaster at the floor level belong to the first preserved wall decoration, which is earlier than the cocciopesto floor, made against it. The visible wall plaster was made above the cocciopesto floor. There are round holes in the plaster, which may have been caused by lapilli or volcanic material.
There is a hole in the plaster of the middle zone, 1.30 m from floor level, diameter 10 cm, where the pieces of terracotta are visible, attached to the Unterputz. Iron nails are attached to the plaster at the height 77-78 cm, located 1.25 m from each other in the W part of the wall.
Wall-plaster
Upper zone
The upper zone does not preserve any distinguishable remains of decoration.
Main zone
In the upper middle zone red colour is visible in the centre and W corner. Middle zone was decorated with three panels, red in the centre, vertical bands between the panels. The panels flanking the red one seemed at the time of documentation to have been yellow; according to the reconstruction of Mau (Mau, tavola 18b), they should have been black. The framing in the red panel seems to have been similar to the one in the N wall.
Dado
In the dado, red vertical stripes visible on the Unterputz.
State of preservation
The wall plaster is very destroyed in the W part. There is a vertical cracking from middle zone through the dado, 1.72 m from W corner.
