Room b (cantina)
Description
Thomas Staub
A small cellar (approx. 1.5 m x 2.5 m) is situated in the north end of the west portico of the peristyle. This small, barrel-vaulted room was entered from above by means of a ca. 0.5 m x 0.5 m-large opening in the north-west corner, probably by means of a ladder. It might have served for colder storage of foodstuffs, as has been suggested earlier (Mau 1876, 147f). The cooling of the room was probably secured by the lead water pipe leading from the bottom of the basin in front of the nymphaeum towards the west, visible in the eastern and western walls of the cellar.
