Private buildings
The history of the study of private houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum has been affected by the
tendency of many classically trained archaeologists to privilege written texts over the archaeological
record. The work of Vitruvius (his book, On Architecture, describes the features of the ideal house),
in particular, has shaped the responses of such influential archaeologists as Mauiri, for example, in
his reconstruction of private dwellings in Herculaneum. The commonest errors are in the area of
room use where scholars have often been too quick to label rooms, not appreciating that room use
in Roman houses is a much more flexible concept than in the modern world. Penelope Allison has
recorded and analysed the contents of thirty households and, among her conclusions, is the
determination that Pompeiians were much more flexible in their use of rooms, many of which
tended to have multiple functions.
There is also no such thing as a standard Roman house in either size or design. The literature may be
full of atrium houses and certainly there are many examples of this design but they are not uniform.
The peristyle house, which usually retains an atrium, also exhibits a variety of structures. Over time,
the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum were often remodeled, rebuilt, extended or subdivided,
according to changing needs. W-H. argues that what we see in Herculaneum “seems to illustrate
how Roman domestic architecture was progressively moving away from traditional forms”. In the
Samnite House and the House of the Wooden Partitions, there is a shift in focus to the peristyle
garden to ensure that the principal reception rooms opened on to the garden rather than the
atrium. These houses could be seen as ‘middle class’. The larger houses e.g. the House of the Faun in
Pompeii, show this in a more dramatic form; in the case of the House of the Faun, with the use of
two peristyle gardens.
We also see considerable variation in the size of houses. AWH (Herculaneum Conservation Project)
points to an original standard size in house blocks but then shows how that pattern changed over
time with changing patterns of ownership. Householders might sell off rooms or gardens while
others bought up properties and added them to their original block. Thus an insula may vary
significantly, as this table of insulae in Region VI in Pompeii demonstrates.
Reg VI, Ins 1
A variety of shops and bars. Also the House of the Surgeon.
Reg VI, Ins 2
Contains a general mix of domestic and commercial properties.
Reg VI, Ins 6
A bakery, a few shops, but mostly the large House of Pansa.
Reg VI, Ins 7
Mainly domestic in nature, with a few shops and workshops.
Reg VI, Ins 8
Contains a mix of shops, bars and domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 9
The insula consists of five large domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 10
A mix of shops and dwellings, including the House of the Ship.
Reg VI, Ins 12
A few shops, but mostly one large property, the House of the Faun.
Reg VI, Ins 15
Mostly domestic properties including the House of the Vettii.
The homeowner used his/her property to generate revenue and this mixture of residential
(including rental properties) and commercial dwellings is repeated in Herculaneum. The House of
the Bicentenary is an instance; a grand house but, like so many of these houses, it also includes a
series of shops and some upstairs apartments. According to AWH, Maiuri saw this sort of thing as
“the disintegration of a grand old house in the hands of freedmen upstarts” but the house was
actually built in its present form in the early days of the empire; the shops and apartments are
clearly a source of revenue that did not impinge on the show of grandeur made by the house. “Its
position and form made it suitable enough for the family of one of the local ruling elite, irrespective
of the number of shops and flats.” In fact, it could have been owned by freedmen; we simply don’t
know who the owners of these impressive houses are. The House of the Black Saloon (in
Herculaneum) is another example of such a house; it includes shops and the workshop of a
metalworker. Julia Felix, - the House of Julia Felix – is another example from Pompeii. As we know
from an advertisement, she rented out rooms in her very large house.
A further development is the Palaestra block in Herculaneum; this is a purpose-built multi-storey,
multiple-occupancy building, familiar from Roman and Ostia during the imperial period but not
found elsewhere in Herculaneum or Pompeii. Three storeys high, with an underground sewer, this
building is structured around the Palaestra and the pool (the whole complex appears to have been
built in two phases – during the Augustan period and a later phase – during the Claudian period).
(AWH ) Because Herculaneum is much better preserved than Pompeii, it is possible to identify a
common pattern of workshops or shops below and apartments above – “a pattern of living that is so
familiar from Rome and Ostia in the imperial period”. The survival of staircases, cupboards and beds
shows clearly the function of these upper storey dwellings. A number of artifacts have also been
found, including an impressive collection of statuettes of gods from the House of Wattlework. The
quality of this find highlights Wallace-Hadrill’s further point that we cannot assume these dwellings
were necessarily all occupied by the poorer classes.
Some archaeologists, and again Maiuri is an obvious example, have brought expectations about
patterns of settlement based on contemporary experience and, observing the pattern of rich and
poor residing side by side in the same areas, have concluded that this is the result of a decline in the
economy, following the earthquake. The emergence of wealthy freedmen was, according to Maiuri,
another factor. AWH, among others, has pointed out this misconception, showing that in both
Pompeii and Herculaneum, rich and poor lived virtually side by side and have done so over time.
The range of private buildings in the two cities comprises villas, large and small houses, workshops
and apartments. Dickmann argues that the pattern of large wealthy houses in the city centre took
much longer to develop in Herculaneum than in Pompeii, suggesting it may have only begun in the
Augustan age whereas the building of large impressive houses inn Pompeii followed the city’s
inauguration as a Roman colony – the new colonists driving much construction, both private and
public. Examples of great private houses from this period - the House of the Silver Wedding and the
House of the Menander; both had baths which was a luxury for a private house.
Arguably the most dramatic transformation of Herculaneum took place with the alteration of the
city walls which were no longer needed for defensive purposes. They were altered to allow
householders to extend their houses onto terraces and thus gain access to spectacular views of the
Bay of Naples. Exceptional houses of great size and luxurious decorations are found here – the House
of Stags and the House of the Mosaic Atrium which, in layout, richness of decoration and collection
of statuary are exceptional. These houses used opus sectile – colour marble inlay – which was far
more expensive than frescoes or mosaics. It was rare in Pompeii but in Herculaeum “the mark of the
most prestigious houses.” (AWH)
Focus on the wealthy houses: Much of the work that has been done on the private buildings of
Pompeii and Herculaneum has tended to focus on the large houses – the issue of room use, for
example, becomes irrelevant when you are discussing a couple of rooms like those in the House of
Wattlework in Herculaneum where a few beds and cupboards are fitted into a narrow room. It is the
privileged inhabitants of the large houses that had the luxury of choosing how to use the many
rooms at their disposal. The interest in classification of wall paintings is another aspect of research
that inevitably entails a concentration on these same houses. More recently, however, a number of
teams e.g. Porta Stabia, the Anglo-American Project, have focused their investigations on specific
insula, rather than the houses and lives of the wealthy.
PARP: Porta Stabia “PARP:PS is advancing the latest theoretical and methodological approaches in
Roman archaeology by using modern digital technologies to help systematically unravel the
structural and social history of a non-elite Pompeian neighbourhood. The buildings chosen for
excavation line one of the major thoroughfares of Pompeii, just inside one of its gates (the Porta
Stabia). Even so, no stratigraphic excavations have ever taken place here since they were first
cleared of volcanic debris – then left to be consumed by vegetation – just over a century ago. Our
intention is to study the buildings as a group – as a neighbourhood – and to monitor how
developments from one building affected, or were limited by its neighbor. To penetrate the history
of Pompeii in such a way is unusual in the tradition of Pompeian studies, and to focus on the
development of a working-class city block especially so. An essential aim of the Project is to
contextualize the results into broader Pompeian and especially regional economic and social
histories.” From the file PARP:PS
Anglo-American Project has been investigating Reg. VI Ins. I “The Project's work is building an
unparalleled understanding of the social range of the ancient urban community and revealing how
this was created over five centuries. There is clear evidence for social inequality increasing sharply
from the first century BC. So far the team has completed the investigation of the House of the
Vestals, one of the largest and most luxurious houses of the city. It has also begun research on the
insulas inn, bars and workshops. This year, they will continue in the commercial properties and in
another large residence, the House of the Surgeon.
Rick said: "The questions we're asking are 'What was the life of Pompeii's ordinary citizens? How did
economic and social life change in the centuries that led to Pompeii's violent destruction in 79CE?'
"Now we're answering them. All our studies give a picture of rapidly changing social dynamics, as the
gaps between rich and poor became ever more sharply defined. One sign of this was who got to eat
fresh fish and who didn't." from the file - Anglo-American Project
British School at Rome investigating houses in Insula 9 discovering info about history of settlement
and development of the town.
“History of construction of house 11 In contrast, the evidence of numerous alterations to the fabric
of house 11, which is built largely of mortared rubble, suggested a complicated history of change to
its internal space. Here, excavation below the AD79 levels allows a better understanding of the
significance of changes evident in the upstanding walls. Excavation at the front of the house shows
the complexity of these changes. In the case of the bar counter it is clear that this was only
constructed in the last decade or two before the eruption. This reminds us that any particular
function associated with a house as it was in AD79 may have been short-lived. In AD79 the garden
area (5) was used for storing empty amphorae from the bar. But it was also possible to demonstrate
by taking casts of root cavities that a variety of plants were growing there, including some vines and
one well-established tree. However, it was evident that this final garden surface was about half a
metre above the level presupposed by the brick columns of the peristyle.
Deeper excavation into and below the garden of house 11 revealed important evidence of domestic
sacrifice. Careful examination of the contents of a cist which was constructed early in the first
century AD showed that it had been used to contain the cremated remains of at least three lambs
and seventeen mature cockerels represented by the remains of the less edible parts, such as skull,
wing and limb bone fragments. Associated with these bones were the charred remains of stone-pine
nuts, figs and dates. The character of this assemblage suggests the careful interment of the remains
of household sacrifice, perhaps over a number of years until the final burial of the cist by the
dumping of soil to create the garden in the mid-first century AD. At lower levels, numerous other
features emerged, particularly a series of demolished walls indicating previous structures beneath
the garden, several cesspits linked to latrines of the first century AD, and a series of other pits dug to
recover building sand for the construction of mortared walls. These pits were exceptional rich in
finds (broken vessels, lamps, loom-weights etc), and in organic materials revealing the changing diet
of the inhabitants.” – from the file British School at Rome Pompeii Project
Penelope Allison, writing about the Insula of the Menander, has looked at the distribution of
domestic material and is now researching who used these artefacts and why e.g. "Also, where there
are a number of looms found in one house, does this imply commercial activity? Not necessarily. We
need to think more carefully about the relationship between commercial wool shops and the
houses. Did women buy wool from shops and weave for their own household, selling off the
surplus? We don't know, this is not something archaeologists have looked at. Was weaving done by
both men and women? We would assume men were involved in any commercial environment, but
this is just our conception. "We are taking Roman domestic life into a more intellectual realm," Dr
Allison said, adding a caution. "Domestic life in the past was not necessarily the same as it is
nowadays." Also looking at the lives of slaves cf. article in file – Everyday Life in Pompeii revealed
Penelope Allison
Herculaneum Conservation Project: Investigation of cesspit under the Palaestra block – daily life and
diet of inhabitants. Analysis of the sewer has produced a wide range of finds – kitchen waste,
human waste and nonorganic materials. The nonorganic materials included lamps (some broken),
containers, bronze vessels and a range of pieces of jewellery and gemstones. Kitchen waste and
human waste contained a variety of fish, animal and bird bones, egg shells and sea shells – sea
urchins were evidently popular – plus the remains of various fruit and vegetables. The rich and
varied diet these remains indicate suggests that the idea that the poor of Italy lived on a diet chiefly
of pulses is inaccurate but it also suggests that, taken with the nonorganic materials found, we
cannot assume all who lived in these buildings were necessarily poor or of low class.
Private Buildings – new research and technologies
Selected extracts
PARP: Porta Stabia “PARP:PS is advancing the latest theoretical and methodological
approaches in Roman archaeology by using modern digital technologies to help
systematically unravel the structural and social history of a non-elite Pompeian
neighbourhood. The buildings chosen for excavation line one of the major thoroughfares of
Pompeii, just inside one of its gates (the Porta Stabia). Even so, no stratigraphic excavations
have ever taken place here since they were first cleared of volcanic debris – then left to be
consumed by vegetation – just over a century ago. Our intention is to study the buildings as
a group – as a neighbourhood – and to monitor how developments from one building
affected, or were limited by its neighbor. To penetrate the history of Pompeii in such a way
is unusual in the tradition of Pompeian studies, and to focus on the development of a
working-class city block especially so. An essential aim of the Project is to contextualize the
results into broader Pompeian and especially regional economic and social histories.” From
the file PARP:PS
Anglo-American Project has been investigating Reg. VI Ins. I “The Project's work is building
an unparalleled understanding of the social range of the ancient urban community and
revealing how this was created over five centuries. There is clear evidence for social
inequality increasing sharply from the first century BC. So far the team has completed the
investigation of the House of the Vestals, one of the largest and most luxurious houses of
the city. It has also begun research on the insulas inn, bars and workshops. This year, they
will continue in the commercial properties and in another large residence, the House of the
Surgeon. Rick said: "The questions we're asking are 'What was the life of Pompeii's ordinary
citizens? How did economic and social life change in the centuries that led to Pompeii's
violent destruction in 79CE?' "Now we're answering them. All our studies give a picture of
rapidly changing social dynamics, as the gaps between rich and poor became ever more
sharply defined. One sign of this was who got to eat fresh fish and who didn't." from the file
- Anglo-American Project
British School at Rome investigating houses in Insula 9 discovering info about history of
settlement and development of the town. “History of construction of house 11 In contrast,
the evidence of numerous alterations to the fabric of house 11, which is built largely of
mortared rubble, suggested a complicated history of change to its internal space. Here,
excavation below the AD79 levels allows a better understanding of the significance of
changes evident in the upstanding walls. Excavation at the front of the house shows the
complexity of these changes. In the case of the bar counter it is clear that this was only
constructed in the last decade or two before the eruption. This reminds us that any
particular function associated with a house as it was in AD79 may have been short-lived. In
AD79 the garden area (5) was used for storing empty amphorae from the bar. But it was
also possible to demonstrate by taking casts of root cavities that a variety of plants were
growing there, including some vines and one well-established tree. However, it was evident
that this final garden surface was about half a metre above the level presupposed by the
brick columns of the peristyle.
Deeper excavation into and below the garden of house 11 revealed important evidence of
domestic sacrifice. Careful examination of the contents of a cist which was constructed early
in the first century AD showed that it had been used to contain the cremated remains of at
least three lambs and seventeen mature cockerels represented by the remains of the less
edible parts, such as skull, wing and limb bone fragments. Associated with these bones were
the charred remains of stone-pine nuts, figs and dates. The character of this assemblage
suggests the careful interment of the remains of household sacrifice, perhaps over a
number of years until the final burial of the cist by the dumping of soil to create the garden
in the mid-first century AD. At lower levels, numerous other features emerged, particularly a
series of demolished walls indicating previous structures beneath the garden, several
cesspits linked to latrines of the first century AD, and a series of other pits dug to recover
building sand for the construction of mortared walls. These pits were exceptional rich in
finds (broken vessels, lamps, loom-weights etc), and in organic materials revealing the
changing diet of the inhabitants.” – from the file British School at Rome Pompeii Project
Penelope Allisson, writing about the Insula of the Menander, has looked at the distribution
of domestic material and is now researching who used these artefacts and why e.g. "Also,
where there are a number of looms found in one house, does this imply commercial
activity? Not necessarily. We need to think more carefully about the relationship between
commercial wool shops and the houses. Did women buy wool from shops and weave for
their own household, selling off the surplus? We don't know, this is not something
archaeologists have looked at. Was weaving done by both men and women? We would
assume men were involved in any commercial environment, but this is just our conception."
Also looking at slaves cf. article in file – Everyday Life in Pompeii revealed Penelope Allison
Herculaneum Conservation Project: Investigation of cesspit under the Palaestra block –
daily life and diet of inhabitants. Analysis of the sewer has produced a wide range of finds –
kitchen waste, human waste and nonorganic materials. The nonorganic materials included
lamps (some broken), containers, bronze vessels and a range of pieces of jewellery and
gemstones. Kitchen waste and human waste contained a variety of fish, animal and bird
bones, egg shells and sea shells – sea urchins were evidently popular – plus the remains of
various fruit and vegetables. The rich and varied diet these remains indicate suggests that
the idea that the poor of Italy lived on a diet chiefly of pulses is inaccurate but it also
suggests that, taken with the nonorganic materials found, we cannot assume all who lived in
these buildings were necessarily poor or of low class.
Reg VI, Ins 1
A variety of shops and bars. Also the House of the Surgeon.
Reg VI, Ins 2
Contains a general mix of domestic and commercial properties.
Reg VI, Ins 6
A bakery, a few shops, but mostly the large House of Pansa.
Reg VI, Ins 7
Mainly domestic in nature, with a few shops and workshops.
Reg VI, Ins 8
Contains a mix of shops, bars and domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 9
The insula consists of five large domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 10
A mix of shops and dwellings, including the House of the Ship.
Reg VI, Ins 12
A few shops, but mostly one large property, the House of the Faun.
Reg VI, Ins 15
Mostly domestic properties including the House of the Vettii.
Reg VI, Ins 1
A variety of shops and bars. Also the House of the Surgeon.
Reg VI, Ins 2
Contains a general mix of domestic and commercial properties.
Reg VI, Ins 6
A bakery, a few shops, but mostly the large House of Pansa.
Reg VI, Ins 7
Mainly domestic in nature, with a few shops and workshops.
Reg VI, Ins 8
Contains a mix of shops, bars and domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 9
The insula consists of five large domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 10
A mix of shops and dwellings, including the House of the Ship.
Reg VI, Ins 12
A few shops, but mostly one large property, the House of the Faun.
Reg VI, Ins 15
Mostly domestic properties including the House of the Vettii.
Reg VI, Ins 1
A variety of shops and bars. Also the House of the Surgeon.
Reg VI, Ins 2
Contains a general mix of domestic and commercial properties.
Reg VI, Ins 6
A bakery, a few shops, but mostly the large House of Pansa.
Reg VI, Ins 7
Mainly domestic in nature, with a few shops and workshops.
Reg VI, Ins 8
Contains a mix of shops, bars and domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 9
The insula consists of five large domestic properties.
Reg VI, Ins 10
A mix of shops and dwellings, including the House of the Ship.
Reg VI, Ins 12
A few shops, but mostly one large property, the House of the Faun.
Reg VI, Ins 15
Mostly domestic properties including the House of the Vettii.