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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| May 17 2008, 7:05 AM EDT | clemio | 1 photo added, 1 photo deleted |
| May 17 2008, 7:04 AM EDT | clemio | 40 words added, 5 words deleted, 1 photo added |
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Insula VI
Insula VI stretches northwards from the lower decumanus to the Decumanus Superior, bounded to west and east by Cardos III and IV. This block contains several important buildings including the Central Thermae, the House of the Black Hall, the College of the Augustali, the House of the Tuscan Colonnade and the House of the Double Atrium.
Central Thermae (Ins VI, 1-10)
The Central Thermae were built at the beginning of the 1st century AD and are divided, as was common practice, into men's and women's baths, each with their own entrance, on Cardo III and Cardo IV at Nos. 1 and 8 respectively.The men's baths, preceded by latrines, are entered directly from the apodyterium, which contains a labrum at the far end, and another small basin for washing prior to entering the rest of the complex.
The apodyterium leads directly into the frigidarium to the left and the tepidarium to the right.
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 | The circular frigidarium (pictured left) has a vaulted ceiling decorated with sea creatures and a pool with steps leading down into the water. ..  .. The tepidarium, heated by means of hot air beneath the floor, has a fine mosaic floor depicting a triton surrounded by dolphins. A door leads to the great caldarium, also heated in the same way. It has two pools, one for hot water and a labrum for cold water. |
The women's baths, although smaller and less elaborate, have survived in better condition. Preceded by a waiting room, these baths consist of an apodyterium decorated with elegant mosaics similar in style to the men's tepidarium, a tepidarium decorated with meanders and squares, and a caldarium with a rectangular basin and a circular labrum. ..
Opposite the baths is a large porticoed garden which served not only as a recreational area, but also as a meeting place and an open-air lounge.
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At the back of the building are the service rooms, a well, and a praefurnium with boilers for heating the water and providing the hot air that circulated through the walls.
House of the Black Hall (Ins VI, 11-13)
This is one of Herculaneum's more luxurious mansions. It is characterised by a vast painted hall, decorated with elegant architectural motifs of the Fourth Style against a black background. ..In a room near the atrium, twenty wax tablets were discovered bearing the name of L. Venidus Enniychus, probably the owner.  Several structures are well preserved, among them one of the wooden door frames and a temp-type lararium with wooden columns surmounted by tiny marble capitals. |  .. The small courtyard of the house with its stuccoed brick pillars is shown above. The photographs on the left and below are of the black hall after which the house was named.  |
College of the Augustali (Ins VI, 21-22)
 The sacellum consists of a great hall resembling a columned atrium (pictured right) common in private dwellings. ..In the centre of the facing wall is a small room that served as the actual sacellum, where rites in honour of the Emperor were performed. ..  | The College of the Augustali lies at the corner of Cardo III where it intersects with Herculaneum's main street, the Decumanus Maximus. ..It is thought that the building was the centre of the cult of the Emperor Augustus and the headquarters of the Collegium Augustalium (or possibly even the local curia).  The fine frescoes include panels of Hercules, Juno and Minerva and Neptune and Amphitrite. |
The columned atrium sustains the roof, with light entering via a skylight. Outwith the panels, the walls are decorated with frescoes in the Fourth Style. The floor of the actual sacellum (in the centre pf the far wall) has a marble pavement in opus sectile, a geometric pattern of motifs in polychromed marble (pictured right).
A small room on the right was reserved for the porter, whose body was found on the bed.
House of the Tuscan Colonnade (Ins VI)
| This house, a fine patrician villa, was built of large tufa blocks during the Samnite period. It was considerably modified after the earthquake, when two of its street facing rooms were turned into shops. ..  |  The building has an impressive peristyle around which runs the Tuscan order colonnade (pictured above) after which the building was named. The triclinium, several drawing rooms and the owner's living quarters radiate off the peristyle. Third and fourth style paintings adorned the walls. The picture on the left is of the atrium and, in the background, the tablinum which retains some of its fresco decoration. A treasure in gold coins (1400 sesterces) came to light during the excavations - evidently the owner had tried to conceal his savings before attempting to escape from the eruption. |
House of the Double Atrium (Ins VI)
The House of the Double Atrium has an unusual layout, possibly due to constrictions of the plot available. The first atrium, whose room is supported by four columns, is separated from the second atrium by the tablinum. The living quarters are in the left wing.
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Insula VII
Insula VII stretches northwards from the lower decumanus to the Decumanus Superior, bounded to the east by Cardo III. Very little of Insula VII has been excavated to date as most of it still lies beneath present day Ercolano. Only two buildings have so far been unearthed, one of which is the House of Galba.
House of Galba (Ins VII)
One of only the two buildings so far excavated, the House of Galba occupies a small part of what is a much larger area lying beneath a residential part of Ercolano. The house has a remarkable pre-Roman peristyle. The original tufa doric columns were at some time subsequently stuccoed and a podium was also inserted between the columns.
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The accompanying photograph is a view of the side of the house which faced onto the lower decumanus at its corner with Cardo III. The house is at the limits of the open excavation. The left of the photograph shows the face of the unexcavated material.
< Insula V......................................................................................................................................................Insulae oI, oII >
