South Wall

Thomas Staub

S wall: width 12.56 m, max. preserved height 3.25 m (next to opening towards tablinum 13).
Eastern part of the wall: the easternmost part of the wall consists of the narrow stripe (width 0.12 m) to the east of the door towards andron 10. This stripe is constructed of Sarno stone block, bounding to alternating the north and the east with faint traces of under plaster preserved. The lowest block is 0.45 m high with a cut off lower corner over the threshold. The following has the same height, whereas the next one is a 1.10 m high stander. Then follows a smaller one, 0.20 m high, and then, finally, a 0.45 m high block. The door towards andron 10 is 1.19 m wide; the doorframe is 0.39 m deep.
The following section of the wall, between the doors toward andron 10 and tablinum 13, is 1.05 m wide. In 0.95 m height, a line in the modern concrete reinforcing the wall probably marks the beginning of a modern reconstruction. The lower part consists of lava-incertum with one cruma and one tuff piece and some ceramic shards, set into the reddish mortar, and framed by one Sarno stone block on each side (eastern side: 0.26 x 1.27 m, western side: 0.22 x 0.95 m). Above this, the wall is constructed of smaller Sarno stone blocks in a grey mortar, probably a modern reconstruction. The following opening towards tablinum 13 has a width of 4.20 m.
The next section of the wall, between tablinum 13 and room 18, is 1.25 m wide. The lowest 0.50 m consist of the usual lava-incertum in a reddish mortar with some pieces of ceramic, except for the westernmost part and towards the opening to room 18, where the incertum even contains pieces of Sarno stone, and is set into a yellowish mortar. Above this zone follows one constructed in mixed materials: Sarno stone, lava, cruma and tuff (larger than the normal incertum, here 0.15 x 0.06 - 0.25 x 0.20 m), set into a grey mortar and partly reinforced with modern concrete. The upper zone of the wall is a modern (Bourbon) reconstruction using regular mainly Sarno stone blocks. The then following opening towards room 18 has a width of 4.35 m.
The westernmost section of the wall is 0.40 m wide and 2.90 m high, and is partly covered by plaster and partly by modern concrete. The wall is constructed with mainly blocks of Sarno stone, also cruma tuff and lava (0.12 x 0.18 - 0.20 x 0.25 m) and rubble, set into grey mortar. The relation to the west wall is obscured, since the corner is covered either by plaster or by modern concrete.