Herculaneum V.15. Casa del Bicentenario or House of the Bicentenary.

Excavated 1937-38.

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V.15 Herculaneum. Looking towards south-east corner of atrium with doorway to triclinium, and entrance to tablinum, on right.

V.15 Herculaneum. September 2021.

Looking through doorway into triclinium, with doorway to portico in south wall, on right. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

V.15 Herculaneum. September 2021. Detail of mosaic threshold from triclinium to north portico. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

V.15 Herculaneum, October 2020.

Looking through doorway towards south wall with window, in triclinium in south-east corner of atrium.

Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

V.15 Herculaneum, August 2021.

Looking towards north wall, north-east corner and east wall of triclinium. Photo courtesy of Robert Hanson.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2005.

Doorway in north wall of triclinium on east side of tablinum, looking through doorway into atrium.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2004.

Looking north across east end of north portico towards doorways to tablinum, on left, and doorway and window of triclinium.

In the north wall of the triclinium is a doorway into the atrium, centre right. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2005.

North-east corner of peristyle, with opening to tablinum, on left, and doorway to triclinium, on right.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2004.

Looking east across north portico, towards window, on left, from triclinium. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003. Looking east across north portico, with window and doorway to triclinium, on left.

Note the support holes for the upper floor beams for the rooms at the rear. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. August 2021.

Looking south across east portico towards kitchen area, with niche in both the east and south walls. Photo courtesy of Robert Hanson.

V.15 Herculaneum. September 2021. Looking south-east from north portico towards kitchen area. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

V.15 Herculaneum. September 2021.

Looking south-west from north portico across garden area towards windowed west portico. Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2005.

North-west corner of north portico, with corridor doorway to atrium, on left and doorway to steps to upper apartment, centre left.

On the right, is the opening into the tablinum.

On the left of the corridor leading to atrium, would be a doorway leading to an oecus, at north end of west portico.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003. Oecus at north end of west portico, east wall. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003. North wall of oecus, at north end of west portico. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. December 2004. Wall decoration in oecus at north end of west portico. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. December 2004.

Detail of painted decoration from upper wall of oecus on north end of west portico. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2005. Upper west wall of portico/garden area.

Looking through upper window towards west wall of room of the “so-called” cross. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003.

Looking towards north-west corner of garden area. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

According to Jashemski, the garden (9.90 x 4.90m) at the rear of the tablinum was enclosed by a windowed passageway on the west side.

A portico, supported by seven columns connected with a low wall, was on the north and east.

There was a wide water channel on three edges of the garden, and in the middle of the garden was a well with a heavy masonry puteal.

The mouth of the puteal was a large neck of a dolium.

See Jashemski, W. F., 1993. The Gardens of Pompeii, Volume II: Appendices. New York: Caratzas. (p.269).

See also Maiuri, A. (1958). Ercolano, I Nuovi Scavi (1927-1958), vol.1. (p.233).

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003.

Detail of north wall and water channel separating garden area from north portico. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, House of Bicentenary, 1964.

Looking west along the north portico, and doorway into the windowed portico. 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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This photo shows a portion of the upper floor, according to Deiss, the small window, centre top right, was the area of the room with the so-called “Christian oratory”.

See Deiss, J.J. (1968). Herculaneum, a city returns to the sun. UK, The History Book Club, (photograph following on from page 64).

According to Maiuri, describing Apartment II at the rear of the house – on the south side, the rooms of the upper floor extended over the entire front of the tablinum and to the alae, and also above the walkway of the portico to the boundary of the walls. But the violence of the eruption and the damage from the Bourbon tunnels that had perforated the lower floor walls, compromised the stability and led to the fall of the upper floor structure, other than that of a small part. Only some rooms on the west side were conserved, and amongst these was that marked by the presence of the sign of the Cross. Of the others, only the traces of the dividing walls remain which allow us to recognize that a whole series of rooms would have been located around the three sides of the portico.

The wooden staircase to a ramp, rises to a first landing; then by a short corridor leads to the floor of the loggia, which has collapsed for the entire length of the north and east arms. On the west side, a vestibule divided the rooms of this small area into two parts. Against the west wall, two steps hinted at a staircase that rose to the floor of the roof terrace.

Towards the south, on one side, opened a narrow corridor lit by windows, there were rooms that were over the portico to the boundary wall. But of all these rooms made largely from light frame partitions, the first room was the only fully preserved one – the room marked by the sign of the cross; the others being hardly recognisable.

To the right, on the north side, from the vestibule opened a large rectangular room, that was divided by a frame wall so that the smaller part served as an anteroom or vestibule to the larger part, which then would have been the main room of all this group of rooms, perhaps a triclinium. All of these rooms on the western side, were for the major part narrow and dark.

V.15 Herculaneum. September 2003. Looking north along upper west side rooms, from rear.

Note the “so-called cross” on the west wall, centre left.  Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, House of Bicentenary, April 2013.

Looking upwards towards west wall of upper floor room with “outline of cross”. Photo courtesy of Bruce Longenecker.

V.15 Herculaneum, House of Bicentenary, April 2013. Detail from upper west wall. Photo courtesy of Bruce Longenecker.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2003. Detail from upper west wall. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, House of Bicentenary, 1964.

Upper floor, plastered wall with outline of a “cross”.  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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According to Deiss, “the mark of the cross is inset in a panel of white plaster, distinctly different from the wall”.

See Deiss, J.J. (1968). Herculaneum, a city returns to the sun. UK, The History Book Club, (p. 64, and photograph following, and p. 69).

On page 36, he says – “Was it actually a cross – or a cross-shaped shelf.”

According to the Herculaneum guidebook –

 “they found a wooden cupboard near to stucco painted in a cruciform shape, on the wall.

For a long time, this was wrongly regarded as a Christian symbol, whereas today, more correctly, it is recognised as the collection of the wooden elements of a cupboard or wall-mounted shelving”.

See Guidobaldi, M.P. (2009). Ercolano, guida agli scavi. Electa Napoli, (p.93).

According to Cook, neither CIL IV, 10062 nor the cruciform artefacts in Herculaneum and Pompeii indicate a Christian presence in Campania before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE.

See Cook, J., 2018. Alleged Christian Crosses in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Vigiliae Christianae 72, pp. 1-20.

V.15 House of Bicentenary, Herculaneum. Photo by A. D. Passmore. Supposed Christian altar in an upper storey room.

Used with the permission of the Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford. File name Passmorebx7im005a Resource ID 36516.

See photo on University of Oxford HEIR database

For comparison, photo from Villa Regina Boscoreale. October 2013. Cast of similar shelf in situ. Photo courtesy of Bruce Longenecker.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003.

Looking north-west towards west wall of portico, under the room of the so-called cross. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2004. Peristyle, detail of west wall, north end, of portico.

(described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 1” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 1). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

These openings originally would have been linked to the House of the Bel Cortile’s large salon.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2005. Peristyle, detail of west wall of portico.

(described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 3” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 3). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2003. Peristyle, west wall, blocked opening 3. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003.

Detail of west wall of peristyle, including remains of plaster and holes for support beams for an upper floor.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2005. West wall of portico, south end, on the left is the storeroom/cella penaria.

(described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 4” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 4). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2004. Peristyle, detail of west wall.

(described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 4” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 4). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2003. Peristyle, west wall of portico at south end.

On the left is the storeroom/cella penaria.

(photo described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 4” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 4). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2005. West wall at south end, part of the storeroom/cella penaria.

(photo described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 4” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 4). Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2004. West wall at south end, part of the storeroom/cella penaria.

(photo described by Monteix as “peristyle baie 4” - Peristyle, “blocked/filled” opening 4).

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2003.

Looking towards south wall of storeroom/cella penaria. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2005. Upper south wall of storeroom/cella penaria. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum, May 2005. Upper west portico in south-west corner. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003.

Looking towards east wall with window into large oecus from the storeroom/cella penaria.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2005. Large oecus at rear (south side) of garden area.

Looking towards south-west corner and west wall with window to cella penaria, and doorway from large oecus flanked by columns leading to windowed portico. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

According to Maiuri, this room was flanked at the entrance by two semi-columns and with an airy window onto the garden.

It was undoubtedly destined to be one of the most luxurious rooms of the house, but in its more recent times, it had passed to more rustic use.

The remains of the walls are crude, and the floor is in coarse signinum.

V.15 Herculaneum. May 2003. Threshold of doorway between west portico and large oecus. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

V.15 Herculaneum. No date. West portico.

Looking east towards east wall of west portico, north side of doorway to large oecus, wall blocked between two columns.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Monteix.

Part 1      Part 2      Part 3      Part 4      Part 5      Plan of upper and lower floors