East Wall

Thomas Staub

E wall: width 12.65 m, max. preserved height 3.40 m. The complete wall has undergone several repairs and partly reconstructions in modern times, why the original shape of the wall is largely obscured.
The northernmost part is taken up by the 1.25 m wide door opening towards room d, the upper part above this opening is a modern reconstruction, abutting against the under plaster of the north wall of peristyle b. The original placing of this wall can be seen a few cm to the east, where there is a 0.15 m wide rim in the plaster, and where presumably the antique wall abutted against the north wall of the house. The s doorframe consists of Sarno stone blocks, partly repaired in modern times, from bottom upwards: 0.55 x 0.30 m, 0.50 x 0.20 m, 0.25 x 0.80 m, 0.40 x 0.35 m and 0.20 x 0.35 m. Above this part follows the corner of the modern lintel and the upper, modern part of the wall.
The following section of the wall, reaching for 4.00 m to the south, is reconstructed above a height of 0.70 - 1.00 m. The antique wall seems to consist of lava-incertum, set into the reddish mortar, but is largely covered by modern concrete. Some larger (max. 1.10 x 0.30 m) Sarno stone blocks are inserted into this incertum.
At 4.60 m from the north-east corner, two Sarno stone blocks (0.60 x 0.30 m and placed on its southern half 0.25 x 0.45 m) form a vertical line, the area above is once more modern. Further 0.85 m to the south, two more Sarno stone blocks are standing on top of each other (0.30 x 0.30 m and 0.30 x 1.20 m), creating a further vertical line. On the other side of the wall (in room e), two lines of plaster continues into the wall, the southern one covering the two standing blocks, whereas the northern one is only 0.55 m away, thus not corresponding with the northern Sarno stone blocks. Into the area between these blocks, a terracotta hand basin is set into wall, in 1.15 m height, for which parts of the upper southern Sarno stone block has been cut away. The niche is 0.48 x 0.40 m large, the basin 0.39 x 0.16 m, 0.30 m deep. The basin is now set aslant into the wall and the drain, still visible on the photography in the PPM, is missing. The section of the wall between these two orthostats is filled with a mixed opus incertum with Sarno stone, cruma, lava, tuff and spolias with the reddish mortar. The area is thickly covered by modern concrete, so that the antique mortar is not discernible. On some of the stone pieces, remains of plaster are preserved. Both at the northern and southern orthostats channels are carved into the wall, the northern preserved up till 0.20 m height, the southern one to 0.12 m, thereafter both are filled in, as it seems, in modern times. They are both plastered on the inside and continue for at least 0.10 - 0.15 m under floor level. Since the southern one is placed under the middle of the hand basin, this could have functioned for the water outlet, whereas the function of the northern one remains unclear. Over the north corner of the basin, a 0.50 x 0.30 m large part of the wall is built with a yellowish mortar with a feature looking like a narrow window, with plaster on the sides and bottom. However, since it is set obliquely into the wall and it shows an irregular form at its southern side, it is quite possible that the area is one bigger spolia used when constructing or repairing the wall.
After another 1.35 m to the south, at ca. 7.50 m from the north-east corner, a further orthostats is placed in the wall, consisting of Sarno stone blocks with the following dimensions (from bottom to top): 0.35 x 0.20 m, 0.75 x 0.50 m, 0.35 x 0.90 m (with a repair of bricks at its northern rim), 0.50 x 0.25 m and 0.35 x 0.35 m. In this last block, the southern part of a round window is cut out of the stone. (Diam. on this side 0.45 m, larger on the side of room e, see below, description room e, west wall). The wall between this orthostats and the one before consists, up to the height of 1.00 m, of opus incertum of lava and Sarno stone rubble, there above of mainly Sarno stone with some pieces of cruma and lava with slightly larger stones (max. 0.15 x 0.25 m), covered by modern concrete, so that nothing of the antique mortar is visible. Above a rounded line in the modern concrete, in 2.00 - 2.10 m height, there is a 0.45 m high stripe, consisting of mainly Sarno stone pieces, set into a greyish-yellowish mortar, more or less in the height of the window; above this, the wall seems modern.
The next section of the wall, reaching from this last orthostats to a line in the modern concrete, at 9.60 m from north-east corner, is partly covered by plaster and partly by concrete. Here the antique structure is preserved up to 3.10 m height. The lowest part, up to 0.80 m high, the wall is of a lava-incertum in the reddish mortar, the upper parts, where visible, consist of incertum of mainly Sarno stone with some cruma and lava as well, once more set into the reddish mortar. To the north of the line, in the modern concrete, remains of a vertical line of plaster, between 0.15 and 0.55 m high, reach into the wall. In the middle of this wall section, in 1.05 m height, a lararium is set into the wall. The niche is 0.40 - 0.55 (at the keystone) m high, 0.50 m wide and 0.21 m deep. Underneath the niche, remains of stucco are visible, which probably covered the overhang (by 0.06 m), created by two rows of bricks. In the upper brick on its northern side, remains of a metal nail are preserved with its head at the lower side, going through the brick. This brick is covered with under and fine plaster, which continue and cover parts of the sides and the back of the niche as well. On top of this plaster, one further row of bricks was placed in a second phase.
Once more, modern concrete covers the section between the modern line and the door towards room 12. It is constructed of mainly Sarno stone ashlars, max. 0.25 x 0.20 m, containing some rubble of Sarno stone, cruma and brick as well. The max. preserved height is between 1.90 â€" 2.30 m. The mortar used in this section is hidden by the modern concrete and can thus not be defined. The northern doorframe towards room 12 consists of Sarno stone blocks, where the lowest has the same function as a stepping-stone between rooms 12 and c in its eastern prolongation. The dimensions of the stone blocks are: 0.30 x 0.50 m, 0.80 x 0.10 m, 0.80 x 0.35 m, 0.50 x 0.35 m, 0.60 x 0.35 m and, finally, 0.40 x 0.20 m. In the 1.00 m wide opening towards room 12, the travertine threshold served as the lowest step of the staircase towards the upper floor of this part of the house.
The last section of this wall consists of the 0.40 m wide part between this opening and the south-east corner. Some of the Sarno stone blocks, from the doorframe towards andron 10, are cut in the edge and bound into this east wall of the peristyle. This part of the wall consists, for the remaining parts, of smaller Sarno stone blocks (only the lowest one is 0.40 x 0.25 m large, the others max. 0.15 x 0.10 m), once more covered with modern concrete, leaving only small parts of the antique greyish-yellowish mortar visible. Above the height of 1.50 - 2.10 m, the wall is a modern reconstruction.