Location of the House (Ins IV, 21) .. View of Cardo V looking south, with the House of the Deer on the right of the photograph and the ramp down to the Suburban District in the centre. Plan of the House .. ...................Plan of the House Key: A. Atrium B. Triclinium C. Cryptoporticus D. Garden E. Tablinum F. Pergola Description The House of the Deer is one of the most luxurious waterfront dwellings so far discovered in Herculaneum. It is believed that the house belonged to Q. Granius Verus due to the find of a loaf of bread bearing his stamp. Built around the time of Claudius, it can be divided into two sections: the entrance, with its atrium and triclinium, and the panoramic terrace, joined by a garden surrounded by a windowed cryptoporticus. ,, The house has undergone substantial remodelling, with only the entrance at no 21 with its atrium testudinatum showing remains of the original house. ,, At the left rear of the atrium (A), which is surmounted by a second floor gallery, a door leads to a large triclinium (B) finely decorated with frescoes composed of black panels in the fourth style (pictured right). The room has a patterned floor composed of different kinds of marble. To the right of the atrium is the kitchen area. ,, The pediment of the portal to the triclinium which opens onto the garden (below) is decorated with a mosaic of Oceanus flanked by a procession of cherubs riding sea creatures. ,, ,, The tablinum (E), with an opus sectile floor and fourth style frescoes, opened onto the southern side of the cryptoporticus, flanked by two smaller rooms. ,, Beyond the tablinum, overlooking the sea, is a scenic terrace with a pergola (F) at its centre (pictured below right). In the pergola is a small marble table. .. .. ,, ,, The cryptoporticus (C), with encloses the garden (D), is decorated with architectural motifs and more than sixty panels. The panels (partly removed in the 18th century) represent scenes with tiny cupids, still-lifes and architectural landscapes. ,, .. On display are two marble groups of deer being attacked by dogs which were excavated in the garden. Two further statues discovered in the gardens are also on display: the Drunken Hercules (pictured left) and Satyr with a Wineskin (bottom left). .. ,, ..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------