Condition Assessment - Regio IX, Insula 11
The photomosaic image below shows the condition of Regio IX, Insula 11 at the time it was photographed in 2006. The city block is 43.85 meters in length and was excavated in 1911-1912. There are eight entrances: two houses, two inns or taverns, one brothel, two shops and one workshop. The exterior walls of the western half of the block (on left) were constructed primarily in opus incertum (stone rubble embedded in concrete) with opus vittatum simplex (rectangular tufa blocks) at the westernmost corner and opus testaceum (fired brick) and opus vittatum (alternating brickwork and tufa blocks) piers on the sides of the large doorway. A tufa block arch is embedded in the wall, which has been filled with large ashlars. The central section of the block is opus incertum with ashlar piers, covered with significant amounts of well preserved plaster decoration. The badly preserved eastern end of the insula has ashlar block and opus vittatum piers and ashlar blocks at the easternmost corner.
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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 IX, Insula 11 after it was excavated in 1911-1912. 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.]
This photograph on the left, above, shows the center portion of Regio IX, Insula 11 during its excavation and restoration. Much of the wall paster shown in this photo has survived, although it is now somewhat faded. The 1911 "group photo" of visiting dignitaries on the right shows the eastern end of the recently excavated city block. Almost all of the plaster decoration that can be seen on the walls has since perished.
The surviving painted plaster wall decoration in Insulae IX, 7 and IX, 11 was repaired and conserved by specialists in 2005.
The photograph on the left, above, shows the street fountain and wall paintings at the west end of Regio IX, Insula 11. It was probably one of the first photos taken of the excavation of the "Scavi Nuovi" which was started in late 1911. Although these wall paintings were conserved by specialists in 2005 they have lost much of their original color and the wall plaster has been damaged, as can be seen from a section of the photomosaic on the right.
The 1917 photograph on the left, above, shows the center of the city block after its excavation. As can be seen from a section of the photomosaic on the right, most of this decoration has faded and in some areas the plaster has been damaged.
The photograph on the left, above, shows the central portion of Regio IX, Insula 11 soon after its excavation. This unusual color image shows intensity of the color of the decorations. Although these wall paintings were conserved by specialists in 2005 they have lost part of their original color and some areas of the wall plaster has been damaged, as can be seen from a section of the photomosaic, on the right.
The watercolor on the left, above, is by Alberto Sanarica and depicts the same fountain and wall paintings shown in the photograph above. The watercolor on the right, also by Alberto Sanarica, is a hypothetical reconstruction of Regio IX, Insula 11. Although it is based upon evidence encountered during the excavations, much of the information is conjecture.
[Permission to display the four 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 color photograph of Regio IX, Insula 11 and the images of the two watercolors above are from Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell'Abbondanza (anni 1910-1923) by Vittorio Spinazzola. Permission to display these images has been granted as a courtesy by the publisher, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome. These images may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher.]