Herculaneum Ins. Or. II.8. Pistrinum di Sextus Patulcius Felix, Bakery.

Excavated 1932-41.

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Maiuri wrote that this was a mill with bakery with four rooms, of which two opened onto the street. (perhaps there were two in 1936 when book was first written?).

In the shop two mills, in the back-shop 25 bronze baking-pans of every size. In the glass case standing against the wall is exhibited the seal of Sex[ti] Patulci Felicis, who probably was the proprietor of the bakery).  (Also probably in 1936 when the book was written.)

In dark sooty premises in the interior are to be found the perfectly preserved oven and the place for preparing pastry, both of them with the sign of the phallic emblem to ward off the evil spirits who were a threat to good baking.

See Maiuri, Amedeo, (1977). Herculaneum. 7th English ed, of Guide books to the Museums Galleries and Monuments of Italy, No.53 (p.57).

According to Guidobaldi, this bakery belonged to the baker (miller) Sextus Patulcius Felix, known because of the bronze ring with seal found on the mezzanine. Found here was an open space in which the granary millstones were installed, consisting of a lower conical fixed part (meta) and a moveable upper part in the shape of an hour-glass (catillus), which would have been turned around by a beast of burden, usually an ass/donkey. At the rear of this space was a stable/stall, while on the left (north side) was the real bakery protected from the evil eye by two stucco phalluses placed at the entrance. Recovered during the course of the excavation was an entire series of bronze circular baking/pie dishes used for baking the tarts/cakes.

See Guidobaldi, M.P, 2009: Ercolano, guida agli scavi. Naples, Electa Napoli, (p.51-2).

Deiss wrote that apparently Sextus Patulcius Felix specialised in cakes, for he had 25 bronze baking pans of various sizes. When he escaped he left behind not only the pans hanging from the rack and in the oven, but considerable supplies of wheat and stacks of money. Relinquished too was a bronze statuette of a female nude – one of the shop’s treasures……. Over the oven door he placed two phalli, side by side to protect his baking from being spoiled by witchcraft. And in the dough room (the mixing bowls are on the shelf) he placed two more phalli in ceramic: a large phallus with the hind legs of an ass and its own phallus. Those guardian phalli are still on duty.

See Deiss, J.J. 1968. Herculaneum: a city returns to the sun. UK, The History Book Club, (p.104)

Ins. Orientalis II.8 Herculaneum, Pistrinum of Sex. Patulcius Felix on east side of Cardo V. May 2010.

This bakery is thought to have belonged to Sextus Patulcius Felix, as a result of a bronze seal ring found in an upper room.

Ins. Orientalis II.8 Herculaneum. September 2015. Entrance doorway, looking north-east.

Ins. Or. II.9 and 8 Herculaneum. December 2004.

Façade between doorways on east side of Cardo V. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.9 and 8 Herculaneum. March 2014. Looking east from V.35 towards upper floors on east side of Cardo V.

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR

Ins. Orientalis II.9 Herculaneum on left, and Ins. Or. II.8 in centre. September 2004.

Looking north-east along façade.

There would have been a wooden balcony, shown by square holes for support beams in wall, between the first and second floor.

Regarding this area with its upper floors, Wallace-Hadrill wrote that usually the rooms on the first floor followed the same plan and layout as the ground floor; generally, the first-floor rooms are associated with the shop rooms below them. The second floor is the least well preserved, though the robust construction of the Palaestra exedra seems to have kept the central section more intact. It is here that we can trace the layout of at least one flat, with several rooms around an open space. The entrance seems to have been from the wooden balcony that ran across the façade. By a bit of luck, Maiuri’s men in 1933 failed to complete their clearance of these rooms, and it was possible in 2006 to excavate the final layers of the latrine of the apartment, together with its downpipe dropping down to the sewer below. To reach the latrine from the flat, you had to go out on the balcony.

See Wallace-Hadrill, A. (2011). Herculaneum, Past and Future. London, Frances Lincoln Ltd., (p.275).

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. December 2008.

Looking east to upper floor façade of apartment, at north end. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. December 2004. Looking east to upper floor façade of apartment. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. September 2003.

Looking east to upper floor that would have had a balcony, above doorways 8 & 9. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. December 2008. Looking east to upper floor façade of apartment. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. December 2008. Looking east to upper floor façade of apartment. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. December 2008.

Detail of two doorways that would have been onto a balcony, looking east. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8 Herculaneum. December 2008.

Looking east to upper floor façade of apartment at south end. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8 Herculaneum. December 2008. Looking east to front façade and doorway to bakery. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8 Herculaneum. December 2008.

Looking towards north side of entrance doorway to bakery. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8 Herculaneum. December 2008. Detail above doorway to bakery, at north end. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. May 2006. Looking west in upper floor apartment. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. May 2006.

Looking west on upper floor towards a doorway to balcony (now bricked in). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Or. II.8/9 Herculaneum. May 2006.

Detail of south-west corner near doorway on upper floor. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Ins. Orientalis II.8/9 Herculaneum. Excavation of latrine in upper floor apartment.

Photo with kind permission of Prof. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill.

See Wallace-Hadrill, A. (2011). Herculaneum, Past and Future. London, Frances Lincoln Ltd., (p.275).

Ins. Orientalis II.9 Herculaneum on left, and Ins. Orientalis II.8 in centre. 1961.

Looking north-east along façade in Cardo V Superiore. 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.

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Ins. Orientalis II.8 Herculaneum. September 2015. Two steps from roadway to pavement in front of entrance doorway.

Ins. Orientalis II.8 Herculaneum. March 2014. Steps outside doorway of bakery, on east side of Cardo V. 

Foto Annette Haug, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR

Ins. Orientalis II.8 Herculaneum. September 2015. Entrance doorway and upper floors.

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