Lararium

Thomas Staub

The middle part of the south wall is taken up by the semi-circular altar, width 0.65 m, depth 0.45 m and height 0.95 m (upper 0.05 m modern), according to the line in the plaster originally probably 0.90 m high. The altar, made of mixed materials (Sarno stone, cruma and lava), seems to abut against an older layer of plaster.
The altar is framed by wall paintings as follows: on the lower part, the wall was painted yellow, with a coiling snake on each side. The snake seems to be up to 0.04 m wide in light yellow with contours painted in red. On the snake to the west of the altar, the skin’s structure is depicted through rounded crosswise depicted lines. Occasional green spots on the yellow ground could be remains of painted plants. Just above the altar, in ca. 1.00 m height, a 0.07 m thick red stripe framed the altar. On the western side of the altar, some small remains of painted marble with red veins on a lighter ground are visible.