THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF
Roman Domestic Religion
PP149
House of Venus in the Shell (II. iii. 3)
Cult Space Type:
Cult Room
Date:
79 A.D.
Features:
Altar, Podium, Wall Painting
Associated
Cult Spaces:
PP147, PP148, PP150
Room function:
Sacrarium/Cult Room
Description:
Located in the southeast corner of the garden was a cult room. The exterior walls of the room were heavily painted with garden scenes matching the large mural of Venus on the nearby wall. A large square rubble masonry altar sat in the southeast corner of the room. The altar was lipped on two sides and coated in stucco with white paint on top. Remnants of a podium inside the room stood against the back eastern wall. The walls of the room were originally painted, but the only surviving patches were on the external walls. On the north wall of the room, there was an epigraph, written in red, consisting of a dedication of the homeowner to his wife and children.
References:
Orr 1972, p. 171 (#62); Jashemski 1979, pp. 62-66, 128-129; Bassani 2008, pp. 176-177 (#4)
Image reference:
Durand 2018 (Via Pompeii in Pictures)