Herculaneum IV.17. Taberna di Priapo or bar of Priapus, linked to the dwelling entered at IV.18

Excavated 1931-32.

According to Wallace-Hadrill, this entrance led to a shop with counter, and a rear room, which was linked to the dwelling at IV.18. Pots, pans and walnuts were found here.

See Wallace-Hadrill, A., 1994. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. New Jersey: Princeton U.P. (p.201).

Maiuri wrote (in 1936?) that the rather small shop had a counter just inside the threshold upon which are exposed nuts (recovered from the great dolium half buried in the ground), some bronze utensils and two lamps; near to the entrance are the remains of a hearth. Painted on the wall behind the counter there is a Priapic figure, a large round bellied dolium and a female figure with a tintinnabulum and a purse in her hands, all emblems against the evil eye.

The little room behind served as a back of shop room or storeroom, it had a low podium all around and there were holes made for the wooden shelf supports. Higher up on the walls, the painted dado of a room on the upper floor could have been seen, painted with green bushes on a white background. A leaden water tank was found in this room.

See Maiuri, Amedeo, (1977). Herculaneum. 7th English ed, of Guide books to the Museums Galleries and Monuments of Italy, No.53 (p.59-60).

Herculaneum IV.17-18. Plan of Taberna di Priapo, or bar of Priapus and linked dwelling.

IV.17, Herculaneum, March 2014.  

Looking towards entrance doorway on west side of Cardo V.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2017.

Looking towards entrance doorway on west side of Cardo V, Inferiore. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

IV.17, Herculaneum, October 2015.

Looking towards entrance doorway on west side of Cardo V, Inferiore. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, June 2011. Looking towards entrance doorway on west side of Cardo V, Inferiore. Photo courtesy of Sera Baker.

IV.17, Herculaneum, May 2006. General view, looking west. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

IV.17 Herculaneum. October 2012. Looking towards west wall, from entrance. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. Looking towards south side of entrance doorway.

IV.17 Herculaneum. October 2012. Looking west across bar-room, from entrance. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17 Herculaneum. March 2014. Looking west towards counter in bar-room, from entrance doorway on Cardo V. 

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015.

Small storage recess for the provisions, buried in front of the counter in the south-east corner of the bar-room, and with its walls still covered in plaster.

IV.17, Herculaneum, October 2015.

Looking south into small storage recess. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum. March 2014. Looking south into small storage recess.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR

IV.17, Herculaneum, June 2011. Looking west into small storage recess. Photo courtesy of Sera Baker.

IV.17, Herculaneum, June 2011.

Looking towards sales counter and painting on south wall. Photo courtesy of Sera Baker.

IV.17, Herculaneum, July 2015.

Looking south towards the remains of the Priapus figure painted on the wall behind the sales counter. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2019.

Looking towards south wall with remains of the painted Priapus figure in centre, behind the sales counter.

A second painted figure is also still visible towards the right of the wall.  Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2019.

Looking towards a different figure still visible at the west end of the south wall behind the sales counter. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

IV.17, Herculaneum, August 2013.

The figure of Priapus painted on the wall behind the sales counter would have been placed there to keep the “evil eye” away.

Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2019.

Detail of the Priapus figure painted on the south wall behind the sales counter. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

IV.17, Herculaneum, October 2015.

Detail of the Priapus figure painted on the wall behind the sales counter. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, April 2018. Detail of painted Priapus. Photo courtesy of Ian Lycett-King.

Use is subject to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License v.4 International.

IV.17 Herculaneum. September 2019.

Looking west across bar-room towards north-west corner and north wall. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

IV.17, Herculaneum, June 2011. Looking north-west across bar room. Photo courtesy of Sera Baker.

IV.17, Herculaneum, October 2015. Looking east across north side of bar room. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015.

Looking east along north side of bar room, where there was a hearth and a buried dolium, in which some walnuts were discovered.

Herculaneum, May 2016.

Carbonised Walnuts/(Noci), on left, not necessarily the same walnuts as found in the Bar of Priapus Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee.

Walnuts. 1968 photo taken in the Naples Museum, not necessarily the same walnuts as found in the Bar of Priapus. Photo by Stanley A. Jashemski.

Source: The Wilhelmina and Stanley A. Jashemski archive in the University of Maryland Library, Special Collections (See collection page) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License v.4. See Licence and use details.

J68f0821

IV.17, Herculaneum, June 2011.

Looking towards north-west corner with doorway to rear room. Photo courtesy of Sera Baker.

IV.17, Herculaneum, May 2004. Floor at rear of bar. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

IV.17, Herculaneum, May 2004. Flooring at rear of bar. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

IV.17, Herculaneum, May 2004. Detail of flooring. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

IV.17, Herculaneum, October 2015.

Looking west from bar-room towards an area with benches/podiums on three sides. Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015.

Looking west from bar-room towards an area with benches/podiums on three sides, perhaps a rear room for the bar clients.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. South side of rear room with bench/podium.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. North side of rear room, with bench/podium.

IV.17, Herculaneum, May 2005. North wall on upper floor room above rear room with bench/podium. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015.

Doorway in south-west corner of bar-room leading to vestibule separating the bar-room from the owner’s dwelling, see IV.18, room 9.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. North wall of vestibule.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. West wall of vestibule.

IV.17, Herculaneum, September 2015. Looking towards south-west corner of vestibule.

On the left is a doorway into the triclinium, and on the right is the doorway into the small tetrastyle atrium.

Cardo V, Herculaneum, September 2015. Looking south from near IV.17, on right.

Vicolo Meridionale, the small roadway dividing Ins. Orientalis II, on left, from Ins. Orientalis I, on right.

September 2015. Looking east from opposite side of Cardo V, near IV.18.