Condition Assessment - Regio III, Insula 3
The photomosaic image below shows the condition of Regio III, Insula 3 at the time it was photographed in 2005. The city block is 34.60 meters in length and the facade was excavated in 1914-1916. There are six entrances: one house, two shops, two workshops and an armory or gladiator training area or guard outpost (exact use uncertain). The exterior walls of the western third of the block (on left) were constructed primarily in opus quadratum (large ashlar blocks). The middle section of the facade was constructed in opus incertum (stone rubble embedded in concrete) with ashlar piers except for one, which is opus testaceum (fired brick). The eastern end was built with opus vittatum mixtum (a combination of brick and stone blocks) at the lower level and opus incertum over a concrete lintel.
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This elevation drawing of the city block was created by Alberto Sanarica for Vittorio Spinazzola and shows the condition of Regio III, Insula 3 after it was excavated in 1914-1916. The dark shaded areas of the drawing represent the portions actually excavated, the lighter shaded areas represent restorations and the single lines are hypothetical additions.
[From Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza (anni 1910-1923) by Vittorio Spinazzola. Permission to display this image has been granted as a courtesy by the publisher, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome. This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher.]
The photographs above show Regio III, Insula 3, Doorway 6 in 1916 during its excavation. This building, located on on the east end of the block, was severely damaged by the eruption in AD 79, but the decorated piers on each side of the entrance and the lower portions of the interior walls were salvaged.
This watercolor by Alberto Sanarica is a hypothetical reconstruction of the same building on the east end of the block. Although it was based upon evidence encountered during the excavations, much of the information is conjecture.
The center of the city block was bombed in 1943 (photograph above on left). Most of the facade in that area (B) was destroyed and the piers on the sides of the entrance to the large building on the east end (A) were damaged. The flat metal roof that had been erected to protect the structure was wrecked. The photograph on the right shows the building as it was reconstructed by Amedeo Maiuri in a form that somewhat resembled Alberto Sanarica's watercolor. The large lintel over the entrance and flat roof (not visible) were made from reinforced concrete.
The undated post-excavation photograph, above on left, shows that the center section of the facade of the city block was unearthed in very good condition. This area was bombed in 1943 (see bomb damage photograph above on left). Most of the facade in that area was destroyed. The section of the photomosaic on the right shows the facade as it was salvaged after the war.
The photomosaic image on the left shows the condition of the east end of Regio III, Insula 3 at the time it was photographed in 2005. On November 6, 2010 heavy rains caused the concrete roof to fail and the reconstructed building to collapse. This destroyed most of the original piers and other features.
[Permission to display the three black and white excavation photographs above has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. These images may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.]
[The image of the watercolor above is from Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza (anni 1910-1923) by Vittorio Spinazzola. Permission to display this image has been granted as a courtesy by the publisher, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome. This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher.]
[The photograph of the WWII bomb damage is courtesy of Mr. Rick Bauer, ©Jackie and Bob Dunn www.pompeiinpictures.com]
[The watermarked photograph of the collapsed building is courtesy of photojournalist Ciro de Luca, Naples.]