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IN THE AGE OF NERO
THE VILLAS OF OPLONTIS NEAR POMPEII
ELAINE K. GAZDA
AND JOHN R. CLARKE
EDITED BY
KELSEY MUSEUM PUBLICATION 14
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 2016
WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
LYNLEY J. MCALPINE
Published by:
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
434 South State Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1390
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey/research/publications
© Kelsey Museum of Archaeology 2016
ISBN 978-0-9906623-4-1
regents of the university of Michigan
Michael J. Behm, Grand Blanc; Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor;
Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomeld Hills; Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse
Pointe; Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms; Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann
Arbor; Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park; Katherine E. White,
Ann Arbor; Mark S. Schlissel (ex ocio)
Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo
Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di
Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia
Oplontis Project, University of Texas
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan
Catalogue printed by Sheridan Books, Chelsea, MI
Packing and shipping arrangements in Italy: Arteria srl
Shipping in the US: Masterpiece International
e following illustrations appear in this volume under
the authorization of the Ministry for Heritage and Cul-
tural Activities and Tourism (Mibact):
Figs. 1.3–1.12, 2.8, 2.9, 2.12, 2.13, 2.16, 2.18, 2.19, 2.23–2.25,
2.27, 2.28, 3.5, 3.11, 4.2–4.7, 4.9–4.12, 5.2–5.4, 56–5.8, 6.3, 7.4,
7.8, 8.1–8.25, 9.2–9.3, 9.5–9.7, 9.10–9.12, 9.15–9.22, 10.1–10.7,
11.1–11.6, 11.8, 11.12–11.14, 12 header, 12.1, 12.3–12.7, 13.1,
13.3–13.9, 13.11–13.17, 13.19–13.24, 14.1–14.6, 14.9–14.12, 14.14,
14.15, 15.1, 15.4, 15.5, 16.1–16.3, 16.5–16.12, 17.1–17.6, 17.9–17.11
Reproduction or duplication of any of these images by
any means is forbidden.
Most other photographs appear with permission or under
fair use. Every eort has been made to obtain permission
to publish all other copyrighted photographs.
7
contents
List of Figures 9
Presentazione/Introduction (Massimo Osanna) 13
Premessa/Preface (Lorenzo Fergola) 16
Mibact a Oplontis/Mibact at Oplontis (Antonella Bonini) 17
Foreword/Prefazione (Christopher Ratté) 18
Acknowledgments (Elaine K. Gazda and John R. Clarke) 19
Concepts and Contexts of the Exhibition
Elaine K. Gazda and John R. Clarke 22
Villas on the Bay of Naples: e Ancient Setting of Oplontis
Elaine K. Gazda 30
part i: destruction, discovery, reconstruction
e Geological Landscape of Oplontis and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Nayla Kabazi Muntasser and Giovanni Di Maio 48
From the Archives to the Field: Revisiting Villa A and Oplontis B
John R. Clarke 57
Ten Seasons of Excavation at Oplontis (2006–2015)
Ivo van der Graa 66
Digital Imaging at Oplontis
John R. Clarke, Richard Beacham, Andrew Coulson,
Timothy Liddell, and Marcus Abbott 72
part ii: Leisure and Luxury in viLLa a “of poppaea”
Framing Views in Villa A: From the Late Republic to the Age of Nero
Michael L. omas 78
Layered Histories: e Wall Painting Styles and Painters of Villa A
Regina Gee 85
e Gardens and Garden Paintings of Villa A
Bettina Bergmann 96
chapter 1
chapter 2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
8 contents
Luxury in Fantasy and Reality: Exotic Marble in Villa A
Lynley J. McAlpine 111
Marble Floors and Paneled Walls in the East Wing of Villa A
Simon J. Barker 119
e Cost of Luxury: Procurement and Labor for the Marble Décor of Villa A
J. Clayton Fant and Simon J. Barker 126
Calculating the Manpower for the Marble Décor of the Villa
Simon J. Barker 133
Mutable Meanings in the Sculpture from Villa A
Elaine K. Gazda and Matthew C. Naglak 136
inking about Roman Slaves at Villa A
Sandra R. Joshel and Lauren Hackworth Petersen 148
part iii: coMMerce and WeaLth
Oplontis B and the Wine Industry in the Vesuvian Area
Michael L. omas 160
Working and Living in Oplontis B: Material Perspectives
on Trade and Consumption
Jennifer L. Muslin 166
Luxury, Adornment, and Identity: e Skeletons and Jewelry
from Oplontis B
Courtney A. Ward 171
part iv: objects in the exhibition
Leisure and Luxury in Villa A “of Poppaea” 180
Commerce and Wealth at Oplontis B 232
Appendix: Villa A Publication Plan (as of August 2015) 255
Timeline 256
Notes 257
Glossary / Historical People and Places 269
Bibliography 275
Contributors to the Volume 285
Index 286
chapter 10
chapter 11
chapter 12
appendix to
chapter 12
chapter 13
chapter 14
chapter 15
chapter 16
chapter 17
66
ten seasons
of excavation at opLontis
(2006–2015)
ivo van der graaff
chapter 5
e goal of the Oplontis Project’s excavations is to
search for clues to the history of the buildings known
as Villa A and Oplontis B before the eruption. Begun
by the personnel of the Oplontis Project in , and
continued from in collaboration with the Kent
Archaeological Field School (KAFS), the excavations at
Villa A lasted until .1 In this period we examined a
total of trenches (g. .). After a study season in
we began our ongoing campaigns at Oplontis B in .
e excavations of Villa A are in course of publication
and will coordinate all the stratigraphic information
to answer more fully questions of dating the earlier
phases of the building.2 At Oplontis B we are still in
the process of gathering data. e following contribu-
tion discusses some of the principal conclusions we have
reached.
Over the years our research strategy at Villa A
has included four kinds of investigation beneath the AD
levels: deep coring, ground-penetrating radar (GPR),
electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and conven-
tional trenches. Since the original Italian excavations
of both complexes are unpublished, part of our strategy
has included consulting archival materials—excavation
diaries, plans, and photographs—graciously supplied by
the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di
Pompei, Ercolano e Stabiae. Together these minimally
invasive techniques led to a fuller understanding of the
ancient setting and guided our excavations. At the same
time, in an eort to preserve the oor mosaics, we have
avoided excavations in the rooms of the villa. Instead, we
have concentrated our investigations in a few main areas:
the north garden, the open ground around the pool and
the east wing, and the garden spaces inside the building.
We began our excavation work in with
an attempt to dig out the ancient tunnel () that leads
away from the main complex in the southwest corner of
peristyle . Previous excavations recovered only the ini-
tial few meters of the tunnel, stopping short of the Sarno
Canal built in AD to bring water from the Sarno
River south of Pompeii to the mills in Torre Annunziata.
e canal has formed an articial boundary, truncating
the villa ever since the modern recovery of the site.3 Until
its demolition in the early s, a modern pasta factory
occupied the terrain on the other side of the canal. Our
aim was to nd the end of the tunnel and whether any
remains of the villa survived to the south. Unfortunately,
the structural instability of the tunnel led us to abandon
the excavation. Nevertheless, thanks to our surveys and
the work of geologist Giovanni di Maio, we were able to
establish that the tunnel reached an undiscovered part of
the villa where a series of man-made terraces stood on a
-meter cli overlooking the sea.4
Our further eorts focused on recovering the
development of the complex. If we follow the layout of
the earliest wall frescoes painted in the Roman Second
Style (ca. – BC), then atrium , peristyle , and the
rooms to the west formed the rst core of the complex,
built in the mid-rst century BC (ca. BC).5 On the
eastern side of the north garden are the remains of a large
foundation wall. It once supported a portico —marked on
the plan (g. .) in yellow—that opened onto the garden.
e portico was demolished in antiquity to make way for
67
ten seasons
Fig. 5.1: Plan of Villa A at Oplontis with the trenches marked in red. e area marked in yellow highlights the portico that was demolished to accommodate the east
wing. e Sarno Canal and the pool basin are respectively marked in purple and blue. Plan: Jess Galloway.
the current east wing. Trench OP , excavated along the
base of the foundation wall in , uncovered a small tri-
angular cistern that once collected rainwater from the roof
of the vanished portico (g. .). Inside were large pieces
of demolition debris, including chunks of columns and
complete ornamental roof elements known as antexes.
We were able to show that these antexes are of the same
type as those that ornamented neighboring porticoes
and at the time of the eruption. e results propose a
dierent building plan for the villa’s rst phase. Rather
than the current spaces of the east wing that open upon
the pool, the area previously featured a portico oriented in
the opposite direction to face the north garden.
In a second phase (ca. BC–AD ) an aque-
duct provided the villa with running water. It served the
baths in rooms and , and a series of water features
in the gardens. Trench OPK , excavated in in the
north garden, revealed parts of a large water canal fed
by a smaller channel coming into the grounds from the
northwest (g. .).6 e canal was open to the air in
antiquity, and it curved away from the main building,
suggesting that it functioned as an ornamental garden
feature. In unit OPK , excavated in the same year in
garden space , we exposed a large round water basin
built in concrete.7 Its function was ornamental; the basin
still carried the slots used to anchor statues in place.
Fig. 5.2: Trench OP 9, view of the triangular cistern. Note the channel on the
left that once drained the roof of the portico. e small hole in the channel fed
the cistern. Photo: Michael L. omas.
Fig. 5.3: Trench OPK 3 in Villa A showing the water feature recovered in the
north garden. Photo: Michael L. omas.
68 ivo van der graaff
In peristyle we identied traces of a contemporary
overhaul in the garden that led to the construction of the
fountain still visible today. Once again, the archaeology
permits us to reconstruct a dierent setting for the villa,
one where water displays throughout the premises added
to its luxury.
e pursuit of further luxury marks the third
phase of the complex with the construction of the east
wing and the pool. Our investigations in the pool area
included trenches dug between and .8 e
results indicate that a rst version of the pool was built
no earlier than the mid-rst century AD (ca. AD –).
It originally extended farther west to abut the colonnade
of portico . To the south, Roman workers created an
articial terrace with demolition debris to dene the
limit of the basin. We were able to show that the many
fragments of painted plaster, stucco, and architectural
elements came from the demolition and remodeling of
rooms belonging to the older west wing. e most spec-
tacular nd of this kind was a fragment of the original
ird Style painted frieze (– BC) from room that
had been hauled meters across the villa and dumped
in trench OP (see cat. no. ).9
e rst version of the large pool did not last
very long; engineers likely never completed the basin. In-
stead they opted to reduce its size by building the current
western wall. e new wall also extended out to the north
and south of the basin to function as the foundations for
spaces and . Curiously, we discovered that the in-
tervening space () created by the facing pool walls was
partially waterproofed, with the likely intent to create a
secondary basin parallel to the main pool. For reasons
that remain unclear this project was never completed;
builders soon lled the space in with debris. In its nal
version the pool basin reached over × × meters.
Such a massive basin required a large amount of water
to ll it. In order to achieve this engineers covered over
the fountains in the north garden and garden space to
redirect their water toward the pool. e construction of
the new wing was an event that also led to the demoli-
tion of the portico described above, which occupied the
area in the previous two phases (ca. BC–AD ). e
architect essentially reoriented the architectural emphasis
from the north garden toward the pool and the luxury
pavilions of the new east wing.
Soon thereafter, the earthquake(s) of AD led
to a series of collapses that devastated the villa. In the
north garden unit OP revealed that space was aban-
doned and never rebuilt. It was once a luxurious cubicu-
lum complete with mosaics and a private raised garden in
neighboring space . To the south of the pool units OP
and documented the remains of two large luxury pa-
vilions—spaces and —overlooking the sea (g. .).
Like space they had collapsed and were never rebuilt.
In space we encountered the remains of a luxurious
oor composed of marble and slate that was robbed
out in antiquity for reuse elsewhere. Finally, the pollen
samples recovered from garden space revealed the
presence of invasive weeds, strengthening the hypothesis
that Villa A was abandoned before the eruption.10
After the eruption, inhabitants slowly returned
to the area. Somewhere between AD and AD
the operations to build the Sarno Canal cut through the
southern part of the villa. After that, diggers in the Bour-
bon period tunneled through the complex; many ancient
walls still carry the holes where they hacked through
in search of precious objects. In oecus we completed a
deep excavation of a hole that cut through the mosaic
Fig. 5.4: Trenches OP 16 and
13 with spaces 86 and 99 in the
foreground. e pool basin, space
78, and the east wing of the villa
are in the background. Note the
remains of the black slate and
white marble oor in between the
piers. Photo: Michael L. omas.
69
ten seasons
oor. It may have been a modern well like the ones at
Herculaneum that resulted in the discovery and excava-
tion of the site in .
opLontis b
After completing the eld work at Villa A, we turned our
attention to Oplontis B. Excavated and largely rebuilt in
the late s and early s by Italian archaeologists,
the complex is almost completely unpublished. In
our team began the process of fully publishing the site.
Since then we have excavated nineteen units, each aimed
at recording the buildings and reconstructing the develop-
ment of the site in antiquity. We have approached the site
with the same investigative techniques that we used for
Villa A—including GPR, ERT, deep coring, and archival
work—using them as tools to reconstruct its ancient set-
ting and to help establish where to excavate our trenches.
Located at about meters to the east of
Villa A, the complex of Oplontis B has erroneously
been referred to as a villa. e plan in gure . gives a
better sense of the layout of the site. In the center is a
large two-story courtyard, which belonged to a building
that was dedicated to the commerce of wine.11 On the
north side, marked in yellow, are the remains of a series
of two-story townhouses that lined a street. e south
side, colored in green, preserves the remains of a series of
barrel-vaulted storage spaces. To the west, in blue, is the
corner of a partially excavated and completely separate
two-story building. On the eastern side our surveys
recovered evidence for a road. It connected the ancient
coastline located just a few hundred meters to the south
with the hinterland.12 is arrangement suggests that
Oplontis B actually was an ancient settlement—perhaps
Oplontis itself or a suburban quarter of Pompeii.
In our opening season we excavated units OPB
and in the peristyle.13 Trench in particular cut a
large section through the courtyard. Its aim was to nd
the AD oor level and investigate a deep anomaly re-
corded by our ERT survey (g. .). e anomaly turned
out to be a series of much earlier Bronze Age occupation
levels beneath the Roman pavement. Just like the AD
event, a series of successive eruptions dating between
about and BC had preserved each surface.
ey represent some of the earliest known habitation
levels for the Torre Annunziata area. Among the most
spectacular nds were perfectly preserved plow and sled
Fig. 5.5: Plan of Oplontis B with trenches and areas color marked. e underground cistern is highlighted in blue. Plan: Jess Galloway.
70 ivo van der graaff
marks dating to the late Bronze Age.14 Although their
importance is undisputed, these strata have little to do
with the buildings that we are examining. We have since
decided to focus on the Roman complex and leave the
Bronze Age archaeology undisturbed.
e Roman pavement of the courtyard—a thick
layer of concrete mixed with basalt boulders and large
fragments of amphorae—was unusual in its composi-
tion. Many amphorae were of a type known as Dressel
–, a form commonly used for wine transportation.
eir production began in the second quarter of the rst
century BC (ca. – BC), indicating that this oor can-
not be earlier in date. In order to further understand the
function of the oor, we excavated trench OPB in
to examine the eastern entrance into the courtyard. We
recovered deep cart ruts that can only have been created
by a prolonged period of use. It is clear that this type of
pavement had a specic purpose. Engineers designed it
to cope with the heavy cart trac carrying the amphorae
used in the wine trade in and out of the courtyard.
After our rst season we began our work outside
of the courtyard. In the area to the south we excavated
trench OPB in the and seasons. e unit
revealed the rst known phase of the site in the form of
three wall foundations set at right angles (g. .). ey
once formed four spaces of a separate building. A similar
foundation wall emerged from unit OPB farther to the
northwest in the same year. In unit OPB , excavated in
, we recovered the contemporary remains of a portico
oriented toward the west. It included internal cross-walls
that once formed separate rooms (g. .). A rst conclu-
sion is that Oplontis B hosted a series of very dier-
ent structures that included a portico in the early rst
century BC (ca. – BC). Recovering the extent and
function of this rst phase remains a goal for our future
investigations.
In a second phase (starting after BC) these
early structures were carefully demolished and the area
lled in to make way for new buildings. Unit OPB
presented clear evidence: Roman workers built a new
foundation wall that cut through the remains of the
previous portico. Two water channels uncovered in the
same unit are also associated with this phase. A main
channel—complete with a closing mechanism—aligned
in a north-south direction, whereas a subsidiary channel
diverted to the west at a right angle. Both channels were
narrow and lacked capping stones, indicating that they
served a practical drainage function. For now the func-
tion of the building and the channels is unclear, but the
evidence suggests that they were utilitarian.
Elsewhere in the complex, the second phase
included building the rst core of the courtyard and a new
water system. Several units excavated in the courtyard
area during the – seasons exposed a sophisticated
Fig. 5.6: Unit OPB 1 at Oplontis B. Note the series of Bronze Age layers
beneath the boulders that compose the Roman oor level. Photo: Michael L.
omas.
Fig. 5.7: Unit OPB 6 at Oplontis B. Note the previous foundation walls cut
through by a later Roman drain and covered by a modern drainage pipe.
Photo: Michael L. omas.
Fig. 5.8: Unit OPB 15 in Oplontis B. Note the channels in the bottom left, the
foundation wall of the rst portico in the middle, and the second phase wall
in the back. Photo: Michael L. omas.
71
ten seasons
network of water channels, collection basins, cisterns, and
drains.15 In particular, unit OPB revealed a redistribu-
tion tank that collected rainwater from the courtyard, a
channel owing through the complex from the west, and
an amphora washing facility. From here a third channel
headed south toward a large underground cistern that
likely also received water from the subsidiary channel
recovered in trench OPB . We were able to record the
cistern only because workers had accidently dug two
holes through the Roman pavement when the complex
was rst discovered during construction work in the
s.16 At some meters high and . wide the remains
of the cistern are massive, stretching from beneath room
some meters to the west. e presence of such an
abundance of fresh water indicates that Oplontis B was a
thriving settlement in this period.
e townhouses on the north side of the com-
plex also developed in the second phase. Our investiga-
tions in trench OPB have claried how the street had
at least two phases of use.17 In its rst phase the street
developed deep cart rut marks, suggesting a prolonged
usage before workers raised it to its current level. Open-
ing onto the street are the remains of at least four small
two-story townhouses complete with lararia—shrines
dedicated to the household gods—stairwells, exterior
benches, and a private latrine. Spaces and display
evidence of at least two phases of development; their
original entry doors were walled up in antiquity. Trench
OPB , excavated in space , yielded evidence for
a third phase. is townhouse lacked a nished oor.
Instead we recovered a series of pits and trenches dug
in antiquity to remove the pipes of its drainage system
for reuse elsewhere. is circumstance suggests that the
townhouse was either abandoned or being refurbished at
the time of the eruption.
In its third overall phase Oplontis B saw the ad-
dition of the barrel-vaulted rooms on the south side of the
site after the mid-rst century AD (after AD). As stor-
age facilities these spaces had a clear economic function;
they also added a signicant amount of area to the second
oor of the courtyard building. ese elements suggest
that Oplontis B was ourishing at the time of their con-
struction, but the picture is somewhat more complicated.
e water system tells a dierent story. e new storage
rooms truncated the main cistern and the channels of
trench . e reason for this change is dicult to pin-
point. It may be that the fresh water system was partially
compromised because of a geological phenomenon known
as bradyseism. is is a well-known occurrence in volcanic
areas, where the lling or emptying of magma chambers
can lead to landscapes rising or falling several meters in a
relatively short period of time. We have documented its
occurrence at Oplontis B.18 Bradyseism likely lowered the
complex to the point where the cistern became contami-
nated with seawater, rendering it unusable. e third
phase of occupation at Oplontis B may therefore also be
a response to the changing environment that occurred
together with economic development.
At this point it would be easy to suggest that
the entire water system went out of use because of bra-
dyseism and the earthquakes of AD —events that dev-
astated Oplontis B, Villa A, and neighboring Pompeii.
Nevertheless, at least part of the water system remained
operational in its aftermath. Italian excavation diaries
from the s and ’s record the recovery of ancient
pipes that were used to deliver running water to the sec-
ond oor of the courtyard building and space . In unit
OPB , although the evidence indicates that the western
conduit was abandoned, the water collector into which it
once emptied continued to drain the courtyard and the
pottery washing facility. anks to our cleanup eort to
the north, we have discovered that space featured a
private latrine that functioned right up to the eruption.
Albeit partial, the continued functioning, or re-
establishment, of the water system allowed for the court-
yard building to operate right up to the eruption. Unit
OPB presented evidence for the development of a new
oor level, whereas trench indicated that the barrel
vault currently in the space is the last addition to a previ-
ous room. Nevertheless, despite the signs of continued
habitation, some parts of the site were under construction
or in a semi-abandoned state in AD . Several trenches
on the western and northern side of the site contained
evidence for robbed-out oors and spaces that were in
the process of being refurbished. Similarly, the partially
excavated building on the western side of the site displays
windows that were walled up in antiquity. ese elements
suggest that, although the courtyard building and storage
areas continued to operate successfully, the settlement of
Oplontis B was still recovering at the time of the erup-
tion from the eects of the earlier seismic activity.19
In conclusion, if we are to suggest any parallel
developments between Villa A and Oplontis B, then it is
clear that both sites ourished with at least three phases
of development between the rst century BC and AD .
It is too early to connect their progression as simultane-
ous events—the two sites have very dierent histories and
functions. Nevertheless, it is striking that the construc-
tion of the east wing at Villa A and the storage facilities
at Oplontis B are roughly contemporaneous events. e
overall development of both sites occurred in a period
when the Bay of Naples became increasingly urbanized,
with the construction of numerous luxury villas and the
expansion of settlements such as Oplontis B. It is in this
context that we must put our discoveries. Our future task
is to further disentangle the relationship between Villa A,
the settlement that is Oplontis B, and the economic and
cultural developments on the Bay of Naples.
