The southernmost property in this insula had several unrecorded tanks visible in it at the start of the season. We wished to investigate this area to explore its developmental sequence and to solve several recording abnormalities in the historical record in this area. Several phases of development were uncovered here. The earliest seems to have been characterized by hard-packed earthen foundations. These were cut later in order to install the southern property wall of the insula and give the property its present boundary. There were several subsequent developments the eventually culminated in a small industrial complex with three deep tanks, water storage facilities, a stone ramp, and other utilitarian features. Many outstanding artifacts were recovered including two virtually complete Bucchero vessels and a small intaglio gem inscribed with a Capricorn.

Tanks in the Industrial Area

Bucchero vessels found in the Industrial Area

The Dining Space

Before the first season of the PARP:PS, the only historic pictures of this insula were of a dining space at the back of one of the properties. It contained a stone dining couch and table (triclinium) and a standing decorated box that may have served as a storage facility. At the start of the season, there was no visible evidence of these structures any longer, so we cleared this area to discover what had happened to them. It turned out that the installation of adjacent modern sewage developments in the Quadriporticus had obliterated most traces of the triclinium and storage box. In addition, the original construction of the couch had been over an underground cistern which had subsequently collapsed in modern times. This provided the perfect opportunity to explore the original construction of the triclinium and of the ancient cistern.

We were able to also trace the path of water movement in this garden dining area, from a settling tank and drain sequence to another large cistern. This second cistern was completely intact, showed signs of ancient repair and two phases of construction, and still contained a small amount of volcanic material from the 79 eruption.

Associated with the dining space was a full kitchen complex containing a double stove, drain system, and cesspit chute.

Half of the ruined and collapsed triclinium exposed

The intact cistern with signs of ancient repair

Double oven associated with the Dining Space

The Retail Space

A large trench was opened in the front of VIII.7.9-10 which consisted of a spacious room used for retail purposes. It was strategically located at a crossroads with a wide shuttered entranceway and a separate entrance to an upper floor. This retail phase had a long drain associated with it. This drain was cut into earlier industrial features, two plaster lined tanks, that were eventually buried to form the later retail space. One tank was circular in shape, very deep and located in the centre of the room. The second tank was rectangular and located along the inside of the front threshold to the property. We will be analyzing the hydraulic plaster in order to identify what was kept or mixed in these tanks.

Both tank structures were constructed over the natural plateau of lava which the entire city of Pompeii sits atop. Outcrops of lava are visible today at various places in Insula I.2.6 and along its southern street in the immediate vicinity. The discovery of bedrock lava in VIII.7 is of considerable significance to our first season of excavations, as it allows us to gain some semblance of the natural topography of the area, and to chart the full developmental sequence of urban activities in this part of Pompeii.

The late drain of the Retail Space

The two earlier tanks

Natural lava deposit under the floor of a tank

The Porta Stabia Corner

To our knowledge a detailed plan of the features in the area right inside the Porta Stabia had never been completed before this season. A roughly triangular area was cleared of modern debris and accumulated sediment from the fountain to before doorway 1. This cleaning and some small stratigraphic exploration enabled us to discern what appears to be two distinct phases in this area.

The earliest phase had a public fountain in operation alongside of the Via Stabiana immediately inside the city fortifications. It seems to have been accessible from three of its four sides. Deep wear patterns on the top of the fountain walls suggest that those wishing to fill vessels with water from the fountain’s mouth could lean over the northern, eastern, and western walls, and many people doing so over a prolonged period (with the additional factor of the water) produced the wearing visible at the top of the stones. This ubiquitous activity, visible at virtually every fountain in Pompeii, here became a valuable piece of phasing information because the later development blocked access to one of the walls of the fountain.

It is quite possible that in this first phase of activity with the street and fountain, the rampart area inside the fortification wall was open, similar to the way it was on the other side of the Via Stabiana where a small access road ran behind the rampart separating it from the properties to the north. A long wall was eventually built between the fortification wall and the properties of VIII.7 in the next phase. A large drain was installed to the west of the fountain which passed through the city’s fortification wall and discharged its contents outside of the city. Since this is the lowest point of the plateau Pompeii sits upon, this must have been an attempt to regulate the tremendous amount of waste and water washing down the Via Stabiana. A heavy rainstorm this season brought this need home to us, as the road became an impromptu river of silt and mud. The stones of the lower section of the Via Stabiana are much disturbed, and a modern steel and concrete ramp has been set down at the southern end of the insula, but the rainstorm this season seemed to suggest that concessions were made to try and channel liquid into this southwest corner of the Porta Stabia so it could pass out of the city without clogging the gate.

The construction of the Via Stabiana was also glimpsed in the cleaning of this area, as many stones seem to have been disturbed around the base of the fountain. A small section of lead pipe which once emerged from under the paving stones of the street and ran to the back of the fountain to supply it with water was also found.

The public fountain and large drain

The day of the big rain

The public fountain inside the Porta Stabia

The Future

Future seasons will investigate more properties in the insula, the construction of the Via Stabiana, the operation of the drain at its northern end, its outflow on the outside of the fortification wall (with an environmental study of its accumulated deposits and waste), and how the Porta Stabia factors into this preliminary phasing of this area.

Acknowledgements

PARP:PS would like to gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance and support of Pietro Giovanni Guzzo and Antonio d’Ambrosio. We consider their invitation to work in Pompeii an honor and a privilege. We would especially like to thank Giuseppe Di Martino for his tireless assistance on all matters. This project succeeded because of his generosity. All of our team enjoyed the companionship of the helpful custodians at the Porta Stabia. Of course our sincerest appreciation is extended to all of the members of our pioneering team. Stanford University and the University of Sydney offered a tremendous amount of assistance and encouragement which were very welcome.