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1.1

1.1.1 The Bar
1.1.2 Amphorae
1.1.3 House 12
1.1.4 Amarantus was here!

1.1.1 The Bar

Historical background

The term insula – meaning ‘island’ – can either refer to a type of Roman apartment building or a city block. Here we are using it to refer to the block of houses in Region 1 of Pompeii identified as Insula 9. The northern half of this insula opens onto the bustling via dell'Abbondanza. The southern half where Houses 11 and 12 are located, however, opens onto a quieter, probably dingier street. This street led to the amphitheatre though, so there would have been plenty of people passing by.

This insula contains a mixture of types of housing and a cross section of Roman society; from the grand House of the Fruit Orchard to much less grand examples, and businesses, for example the painter’s workshop.

Evidence

House 11 opens out onto 'Theatre Street' on the corner near the fountain. The doorway is much wider than those leading into residential houses and an L-shaped marble counter provides a service space facing out onto the street in addition to one inside the building itself. This would have allowed the vendors to sell to passing customers on the street as well as those who stopped in and spent time in the Bar.

1.1.2 Amphorae

Historical background

An amphora (plural amphorae) is most commonly a terracotta jar with two carrying handles and narrow neck used in the ancient world for the transport and storage of various goods, but mostly for wine. Most had a pointed base which allowed them to be stored upright, either stacked together on some sort of rack or embedded in soft ground. The narrow neck was designed for pouring by a person holding it by the bottom and a handle. Stoppers were used to seal the amphorae, but these were usually made of perishable materials and so have rarely survived.

Roman amphorae used in trade often had tituli picti  (singular titulus pictus) on them. These were labels scratched or painted onto the amphorae, specifying information such as the content’s type, origin, destination, buyer, etc.

Evidence

During excavations many amphorae were found in Houses 11 and 12. These contained both local wine and that from exotic locations. The amphorae being stored in House 12 shows how the bar-business was spilling over into the residential area. The garden of the bar had empty amphorae stored upside down in it, whilst it seems that the house contained full ones ready to be served in the bar.

Some of the amphorae are labelled: Sextus Pompeius Amarantus. These have been crucial in making the claim not only that that a man named Amarantus was the owner of the Bar, but also that he was a freedman; ‘Amarantus’ is a non-Roman, slave name but here it is combined into the three part name format only granted to a Roman citizen.

1.1.3 House 12

Historical background

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Roman house any more than there is a typical modern house. There are, however, some common key features and rooms.

The atrium, was a large central hall which was the centre of household life. Guests would be greeted here, the household gods might be worshipped at their shrine, and women might direct the household slaves in their duties. In the centre was a square roof opening through which rainwater would fall. Directly below this was the impluvium, basically a basin for collecting water which was connected to an underground cistern. These were often inlaid with marble and surrounded by mosaics.

Usually surrounding the atrium were the family’s main rooms; the bedrooms (cubicula), the dining room (triclinium), a study (tablinum), and the kitchen (culina).  Houses might also have internal courtyard gardens and in Pompeii they often have at least one upper floor.

A wealthy Roman citizen might live in a large house separated into two parts, one facing onto the street and one accessed via a passageway or through the tablinum. This provided increased security. The Romans did not have the same concept of defined ‘public’ and ‘private’ spaces as we do in the modern world; any room in the Roman house might be opened up to a guest at a moment’s notice.

Evidence

Several finds allow us to make claims about the residents of this house.

The impluvium was found filled with amphorae, and on excavation it was discovered that this was not in fact plumbed in! There is also no evidence that the atrium ever had a roof. This all suggests that this impluvium was in fact a fake, perhaps built to give the illusion that this was a grander house than it was.

Found in the impluvium was a gold ring decorated with the figure of a mule or donkey. This is especially interesting as in one of the front cubicula was discovered the skeletons of a mule and a dog, killed in the eruption of Vesuvius. Originally it was thought that the mule and donkey had been brought inside the house for shelter, but on further excavation a feeding trough and large amount of dung was found. Therefore it appears that this front room had been – highly unusually! – converted into a stable. Whilst many dogs found in the ruins of Pompeii appear to have been chained up, and unable to escape the eruption, there is no evidence that this dog was so restrained; perhaps he chose to stay and keep his mule-friend company in their last moments?

1.1.4 Amarantus was here!

Historical background

Graffiti (singular graffito) are marks, images or writing scratched into surfaces all over the Roman world. Over 11,000 examples of graffiti have been uncovered in Pompeii alone.

Although many have been destroyed by the weather etc, archaeologists have been recording them since the 1800s, so we have a really good record of what was there.

The Romans appear to have used graffiti a bit like we use social media – a way to let other people know what was on their mind – so these (often rather rude!) scribblings give us a better understanding of everyday life. Anyone could do graffiti and so it gives us the unedited voice of the masses as opposed to official inscriptions.

Evidence

In the grand House of the Fruit Orchard – located in the northern half of the insula – a graffito was discovered drawn on the plaster around an obsidian mirror in the courtyard. This includes two cartoon heads, one of which is labelled ‘Amarantus’ together with a verb of greeting.

We know from the excavations that the insula contains a range of houses and people, but this graffito shows us that these varied neighbours interacted with each other in a diverse community.

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