Impluvium

Thomas Staub

A white marble impluvium adorns atrium4, functioning as a fountain basin as well. The complete dimensions are 3.00 x 4.10 m, its inner part 1.88 x 2.91 m with a depth of about 0.18 m. It is bounded against the atrium floor by a standing, 0.025 m thick, marble slab. The floor of the basin is made up by two large plates of marble, each ca. 1.88 x 1.45 m, whereas the southern and northern rims are made by one plate each with diagonally cut off corners (max. 3.07 x 0.56 m, the southern one is broken in two), the eastern and western ones of two plates each (max. 2.05 x 0.60 m), again with diagonally cut corners. A pedestal placed on the northern rim originally bore the eponymous bronze fountain statuette depicting a bull (MN. Napoli, inv. nr. 4890). The measurements of the pedestal are 0.40 x 0.40 m, h 0.80 m, adorned with a base moulding. The statuette itself is 0.43 m long and 0.38 m high. Behind the pedestal, 3/4 of a round opening is cut into the marble (diam. ca. 0.35 m). Beneath this pedestal, a row of four small holes (diam. ca. 0.005 m) is placed in the moulding of the basin, serving as water outlets for four small water jets. On the southern rim, two more round openings are to be found: one, in the middle of the rim, is the cistern-mouth (diam. ca. 0.40 m), the other one near the south east corner probably functioned as a cleaning hole for the water channel, leading the water into the cistern, and when this was full, out to the street. Finally, also in the middle of the basin, a round hole was cut into the two plates (diam. 0.04 m), serving as outlet for a water-jet adorning the centre of the impluvium.