House I 10,18

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
Food Preparation ◽  
The South ◽  
Low Light ◽  
Volcanic Deposit ◽  
South Wall ◽  
Small House ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Wall Decoration

The walls outside this entrance were decorated with a high red socle with white fields above, on which were painted simple inscriptions in red. The entranceway itself had a simple pavement and remains of black decoration on the walls. Outside the entrance, on either side, are two plastered masonry seats (south seat—h.: 0.45 m; dimensions: 0.4 m × 1.2 m; north seat—h.: 0.5 m; dimensions: 0.37 m × 0.9 m). These seats are thought to have been for waiting clients but this is rather a small house to need such a facility. Such seats were probably used more generally by the householders and passers-by. No finds were recorded here. This front hall had a cocciopesto pavement and traces of wall decoration consisting of a high black socle with simple white fields above, similar to that in the entranceway. It had a cocciopesto impluvium (dimensions: 1.2 m × 0.9 m), inset with fragments of coloured marble. A wooden stairway along the south wall ascended to the east. Underneath was a cupboard (w.: 0.95 m; l.: 3.6 m) with plastered walls and wooden doors. The only finds recorded from this area were ceramic vessels of various types, including one large amphora. This contrasts with the plethora of finds from many other atria and suggests that this area had been abandoned, or at least its use had been restricted, during the last occupancy. According to Elia, this room was probably a ‘cubiculum’, its walls decorated with a low light red socle, and yellow central and upper zones. Parts of the upper zone, however, consisted of only coarse white plaster. No evidence remains of the original pavement. Finds from this room consisted of: an iron padlock, probably from the door; two small ceramic vases; one amphora; and an as of Claudius. In the disturbed volcanic deposit in this room were also found: another similar iron lock; a ceramic vase; and a ceramic basin, both of which may have been used for mixing, possibly in food preparation; a carpenter’s hammer; a bronze ring; and a dupondius of Vespasian (ad 74). The finds assemblage is unlike that commonly found in decorated rooms of this type, and is seemingly much more utilitarian.

Unit I 10,13

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
Food Preparation ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
Small Glass ◽  
Volcanic Deposit ◽  
Ceramic Vessel ◽  
South Wall ◽  
Glass Bottles ◽  
Northeast Corner

The pavement of this unit was of cocciopesto and the walls were covered with a high cocciopesto socle with upper parts in coarse plaster. A wooden stairway ascended from the south-west corner, along the west wall, and an L-shaped, red-painted masonry bench (h.: 760 mm; l.: 3.3 m; w.: 60 mm), inset with two small dolia, projected into the centre of the room from the south-east corner. In the west end of this bench Elia recorded a masonry fornello. Remains of the closing system, included an iron door key, were found in the east entrance. The presence of the key suggests that this establishment was abandoned in haste. On the pavement near the north jamb, an inscribed amphora was found. In the northeast corner, a small ceramic vase was found. Against the south wall stood a tripod on which were found the remains of another ceramic vessel. On the bench were found: a bronze funnel; four more ceramic vases; the base of a terra sigillata dish, possibly reused; a large glass storage jar; two small glass bottles; a bronze tube; a clay lamp; and two bronze coins, one Republican and one an as of Tiberius. These finds point to this area having been used for food preparation although this is less evident for the two small glass bottles. A bronze ring, possibly a finger-ring, and four more coins (Republican and Julio-Claudian) were found a few centimetres above the pavement. At 2.5 m above the pavement were found a bronze cooking pot, a bronze bucket, and a terra sigillata dish. These objects were conceivably from the upper storey, implying that cooking and eating may also have been taking place there, although these could have been disturbed from the ground floor. Elia identified this as a ‘taberna’ and Packer referred to it as ‘Caupona Poppaeorum’. The finds indicate that food was being prepared here. Packer believed that the owner had a small apartment above. If the finds from the upper levels of the volcanic deposit were from the upper floor, this would suggest that cooking activities were also being carried out there. However, this seems an unlikely activity in the residence of someone who ran a food outlet.

Casa degli Amanti (I 10,10–11)

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
The South ◽  
Industrial Activity ◽  
Volcanic Material ◽  
Volcanic Deposit ◽  
South Wall ◽  
Bear Witness

There are remains of coarse plaster on the lower parts of the walls of this space and the pavement is of cocciopesto. The excavators removed disturbed volcanic material mixed with plaster, particularly from the south-east corner of this room. A breach in this corner, in the east wall, would have provided access through to room 8. Near the doorway in the south wall, leading to the front hall of this house, were found: an iron handle, probably from the door; a bronze knob terminal, conceivably from a large steelyard; a small travertine base; a storage jar; a clay loom weight; and a bronze fibula. This area has been identified as a shop or workshop. The limited finds conceivably bear witness to some commercial or industrial activity having been carried out here but they are equally domestic in character, as well as fragmentary and loseable. It is quite possible that any commercial or industrial activity which might once have taken place here had ceased prior to the eruption. The walls of this entranceway were decorated in the Second Style and the pavement was of lavapesta. Ling noted repaired damage to the walls of this entranceway, which he initially attributed to the ad 62 earthquake but he has since identified the repairs as modern. The excavators removed volcanic material mixed with plaster and roof tiles from this entranceway. The only finds recorded here seem to have fallen from the upper floor (see below). The walls of this ‘atrium’ were decorated in the Fourth Style which Elia and Ling have dated to after the ad 62 earthquake. The pavement continued that of the entranceway, in lavapesta. The excavators again noted that the volcanic deposit here presented constant signs of disturbance and that nothing was preserved of the stratigraphy. At the centre of this area is a cocciopesto impluvium (inside dimensions: 2.10 m × 1.77 m). A few, scattered, loose finds were recorded in the disturbed volcanic deposit which could conceivably have been from this space (see below). Even considering the finds from disturbed deposits, the paucity of contents here is comparable to the situation in the front hall of the Casa del Menandro but contrasts with that in many other front hall in Pompeian houses.

Unit I 10,9

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Ceramic Plate ◽  
Food Outlet ◽  
The South ◽  
Good State ◽  
South Wall

The pavement of this area was of mortar and the walls had a coarse plaster socle with finer white plaster above. Elia noticed numerous holes and numeric graffiti in the white plaster and therefore identified it as a workshop. The excavators noted that the pavement was in a ruined state. There is a masonry base in the south-east corner (dimensions: 1.5 m × 0.6 m). The excavators recorded the base of a fornello, probably a hearth, along the south wall and a limestone step, in the south-east corner, which they identified as the first step of a wooden stairway. Elia reported that absolutely nothing was found in this area, but recorded finds consisted of: two small marble weights and one oval lead weight; two bronze pins, possibly from a small lock; a ceramic storage jar; a ceramic bowl and a ceramic plate, probably tableware; and three large ceramic lids, possibly used in cooking. These finds are associated with weighing, storage, and possibly food preparation and eating. It is conceivable that this unit was a food outlet. If this is the case then the fixture in the south-east corner may well have been a hearth. The state of the pavement suggests that it was not in a good state of repair at the time of the eruption.

Casa del Menandro (I 10,4)

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Small Hole ◽  
Public Facility ◽  
The South ◽  
South Side ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Volcanic Deposit ◽  
Bone Fragments ◽  
Wall Decoration

To either side of this main entranceway, on the street front, are fixed masonry seats. Such seats have been assumed to have been for waiting clients. However, in Pompeii these seats are not always in front of the largest and most elaborate houses, that is those whose occupants were likely to have had clients. They were therefore likely to have served as a public facility available to anyone, including the house occupants. No loose finds were reported from this entranceway. The only visible sign of possible post-eruption disturbance to the volcanic deposit is a small hole towards the south end of the east wall of this ‘atrium’. However, the hole seems too small to have been the breach made by a post-eruption intruder. Maiuri noted, that the wall decoration of this ‘atrium’ was of a fresh and well-preserved Fourth Style executed after the last transformation of the house. The pavement was in lavapesta. Fixtures here included a central catchment pool (impluvium), revetted in white marble that was damaged either before or during the eruption, and a lararium aedicula in the north-west corner. According to Maiuri, the aedicula was constructed after the last well-preserved wall decoration, but Ling believes they are contemporary. At least forty-five small bronze studs were found in the north-west corner of this area. These had decorated the wooden lattice of the aedicula, now reconstructed in plaster. All the other recorded moveable finds were from the south side of this space. These included: a household storage jar; two clay lamps; bronze and iron fittings, possibly from the closing system for room 8, the so-called ‘tablinum’; and bone fragments probably from a piece of furniture. In the south-west corner were found a large bronze basin and a bronze patera, both of which were conceivably associated with bathing. Contrary to what might be expected, no statuettes of Lares or other representations were found in the lararium aedicula. Maiuri therefore concluded that these must have been made of wood. If this were so, then the excavators, who were able to make a cast of the wooden latticing, would surely also have observed any statuettes inside the aedicula, objects which would seem to have been more important than the latticing.

I 10, 18

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Ling ◽  
Paul Arthur ◽  
Georgia Clarke ◽  
Estelle Lazer ◽  
Lesley A. Ling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Front Part ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
The South ◽  
South Side ◽  
Natural Lighting ◽  
The North ◽  
North Side ◽  
South Wall ◽  
North Edge ◽  
Wall Decoration

Of all the houses in the insula, this is the least easy to study. It is now used as a base for a team of workmen, and certain rooms (2,3,10) are so full of materials and equipment as to put severe restrictions upon the possibility of observation and measurement, while others (6, 6A, 8A) have been filled with topsoil and turned into a fruit and vegetable garden. In addition, the perilous condition of the wooden stairs restored against the south wall of the atrium has prevented close examination of features beneath them. Like I 10, 3 this modest house is relatively broad at the front (8.90 m.), but contracts towards the rear. The front part is of classic type, with a central fauces flanked by symmetrical rooms opening into a compluviate atrium. The room to the north of the fauces (2), slightly under 3 m. square, has a simple painted wall decoration of red fields and is presumably to be identified as a cubiculum; that to the south (3) is somewhat larger (2.80 m. × 3.50 m.) and has slightly more elaborate paintings (including red and yellow fields), so may perhaps have been an oecus. The atrium is not actually centred upon the fauces but misplaced southwards to allow space for two rooms on its north side. Because of this misplacement, the shallow impluvium, now destroyed by exposure to weathering but recorded in the plan and photograph published by Elia, was set with its north edge aligned on the south wall of the fauces. On the south side of the atrium were the wooden stairs just mentioned, which climbed eastwards to the upper floor above room. The two rooms on the north side are, first, a shallow recess or ala (4), 2.30 m. wide by 1.85 m. deep, decorated with Third Style paintings, and, secondly, a tiny cubiculum or storeroom (5, measuring 2 m. × 1.50 m.), which was apparently devoid of all natural lighting other than what came through the doorway. Behind the atrium the width of the house is occupied by two rooms.

Residue Analysis of Cooking Vessels from Early Postclassic Xaltocan, Central Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Kristin De Lucia ◽  
Linda Scott Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Transform ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Residue Analysis ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Early Postclassic ◽  
Ceramic Vessels

This article examines the use of cooking vessels from Early Postclassic (AD 900–1250) Xaltocan, Mexico, through residue analysis of ceramic sherds. The analysis combined phytolith and starch analyses with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Because our understanding of prehispanic foodways in central Mexico is based largely on sources that describe or depict Aztec practices in the sixteenth century, we ask how foods were similar or different prior to the Aztecs. We also seek a better understanding of how plainware vessels were used in prehispanic times. Although there is long-term continuity in the preparation of foods such as tamales and corn gruels, we find that additional foods such as tuber-based stews were prepared in the Early Postclassic. In addition, some ceramic vessels, such as comales and crude bowls, had a wider range of food preparation functions than expected.

The Villa Item and a Bride's Ordeal

1929 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Toynbee
Keyword(s):  
The South ◽  
Important Paper ◽  
The North ◽  
Dwelling House ◽  
South Wall ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
North Wall ◽  
The Right

The paintings in the triclinium of the Villa Item, a dwelling-house excavated in 1909 outside the Porta Ercolanese at Pompeii, have not only often been published and discussed by foreign scholars, but they have also formed the subject of an important paper in this Journal. The artistic qualities of the paintings have been ably set forth: it has been established beyond all doubt that the subject they depict is some form of Dionysiac initiation: and, of the detailed interpretations of the first seven of the individual scenes, those originally put forward by de Petra and accepted, modified or developed by Mrs. Tillyard appear, so far as they go, to be unquestionably on the right lines. A fresh study of the Villa Item frescoes would seem, however, to be justified by the fact that the majority of previous writers have confined their attention almost entirely to the first seven scenes—the three to the east of the entrance on the north wall (fig. 3), the three on the east wall and the one to the east of the window on the south wall, to which the last figure on the east wall, the winged figure with the whip, undoubtedly belongs.

scholarly journals X.—On the Greenstone and Associated Rocks of the Manacle Point, Lizard

1889 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 425-427
Author(s):  
Alexander Somervail
Keyword(s):  
Good Reason ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
The South ◽  
Main Mass ◽  
Considerable Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
North Side ◽  
South Wall

On De La Beche's Geological Survey Map of Cornwall are three colours representing the associated rocks at, and on each side of the Manacle Point. The Point itself and for a considerable distance south of it is represented as a greenstone. Partially encased in the greenstone and to the south of it is gabbro, which forms the main mass of this rock in the Lizard district. On the north side of the greenstone which forms the extreme south wall of Porthonstock Cove is hornblende-schist, which with some serpentine and other rocks terminates against the killas, or slates near Porthalla.Several observers with seeming good reason have drawn attention to the fact that the greenstone as represented on the map is made to cover much too large an area to the south, and that any one walking from this direction, or the reverse, finds gabbro where the former rock was expected to occur.

Unit I 10,12

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
West Wall ◽  
South Wall ◽  
C 50 ◽  
Spindle Whorl

The walls of this unit have coarse plaster and the pavement was of cocciopesto. There appears to have been a wooden stairway along the west wall, two stone blocks (each of h.: c.50 mm, and dimensions: c.450 mm × 350 mm) 2.2 m from the south wall and set at right angles to the wall forming the base. Elia reported that no finds were made here. However, the excavators recorded: part of an inscribed amphora, probably a spindle and a spindle whorl, and a small ceramic pot, on the pavement; a bronze lock bolt at 2.5 m above the pavement; and an iron door key and two nails in the lapilli. According to Elia, this was a workshop. An entrance in the east wall had been closed when a latrine was added to room 31 in the Casa del Menandro. An inscription, painted in black, was observed near the blocked doorway to the latter room. Elia believed that this unit had originally been part of the Casa del Menandro but had been separated from it and was disused at the time of the eruption. The finds, while rather small and loseable, might point to its use as a location for spinning during its final occupancy phase.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document