Room 09 (ala)

Thomas Staub

Room 9 is the eastern ala related to the atrium of the house. It opens up towards that room on its entire west side with a row of geometric pattern inserted into the pavement as only marker of the boundary between these two rooms. A small doorway opens up towards cubiculum8 in the south wall, near the south west corner. Much of the walls, especially the eastern one is covered by plaster, but the decorations have fainted away totally. Were visible, the walls consist mainly of opus incertum of lava in the lower and Cruma in the upper areas, thus belonging to the original building phase of the house. Only the doorway in the southern wall is a later change, made probably at the same time as the decorations, since the plaster reaches into the door. The now lost decorations were according to Mau (Mau 1882, 252f.) from the Second Style, belonging to the redecoration phase in the front part of the house. Besides the description by Mau, parts of the decorations are submitted to us through a water colour made by H.J. Holm, showing the east wall of the room (Staub Gierow 2008, kat.nr. 1) and a drawing by G. Marsigila, showing the small panel painting from the upper zone of the same wall, depicting the myth of Leda and the swan (PPM suppl., 234). Holes after tunnelers, repaired in modern times, can be observed on both the north and the south wall.