Condition Assessment - Regio II, Insula 2 (Formerly Regio II, Insula 5)
The photomosaic image below shows the condition of Regio II, Insula 2 at the time it was photographed in 2005. The city block is 34.69 meters in length. The facade was excavated in 1916, 1918 and 1921 and it was further explored in 1933-1935 and 1973. There are four entrances: two houses, and two inns or taverns. The exterior walls of the block were constructed in opus incertum (stone rubble embedded in concrete) with ashlar piers, except for the easternmost corner (on left), which was built in opus vittatum mixtum (a combination of brick and stone blocks).
Click image below to enlarge
This elevation drawing of the city block was created by Alberto Sanarica for Vittorio Spinazzola and shows the condition of Regio II, Insula 2 after it was excavated in 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. Almost all of the wall plaster shown on the drawing has since perished. The entrance on the left was was mistakenly identified as a doorway during its initial excavation, but was later determined to be a side street.
[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 1933 photograph on the left above shows Insula II, 2 approximately fifteen years after its excavation. It also indicates the eastern most limit of the 1910-1923 excavations of Victorio Spinazzola. Note the plaster cast of the lower portion of a shop door on the far right side of the photo. This end of the block was damaged by a bomb in 1943. As can be seen in the photomosaic image on the right and the elevation drawing above, much of the wall paster shown in this photo has since perished, and the plaster door cast is no longer present.
This charcoal drawing by Alberto Sanarica is a hypothetical reconstruction of Insulae II, 2. Although the drawing was based upon evidence encountered during the excavations, much of the information is conjecture.
The watercolor on the left above, also by Alberto Sanarica, shows a hypothetical reconstruction of a doorway in the city block. It indicates both wall colors and decorationss that are not currently present, or that are badly faded.
[Permission to display the black and white photograph above has been granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali – Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei. This image may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner.]
[The charcoal drawing and watercolor above are 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. These images may NOT be copied or reproduced in any manner without the permission of the publisher.]