Page 44 - Pompeii n. 12 - The world of money at Pompeii

English version

This large property, which takes its name from a fresco depicting the
dramatist Menandro, most likely dates back to the Late Republican era, to

the family of the Poppaei, as suggested by the seal with the name of Q.
Poppaeus Eros found in the procurator’s quarters.
The original core of the house underwent various transformations over
four centuries. The first building in the southern part of the insula, had a
regular plan built around the atrium. The adjacent house was annexed and,
in the back section, the colonnade was extended on all sides to create a
house with an aristocratic set-up featuring a double atrium and peristyle.
Following this, with the purchase of some small adjacent properties,
further changes were made: a bath area with an independent entrance, a
farm area with the stable, rooms for servants and the procurator’s quarters,
in addition to a small independent house with a Tuscan atrium, were built.
After the earthquake of 62 AD an upper floor was built with an independent
entrance and further renovation work was still underway at the time of the
eruption.

Lots of finds were unearthed during the various stages of the
excavation of the complex which took place between 1926 and 1932 under
the guidance of Amedeo Maiuri. The coins discovered in different parts of
the house were extremely interesting, the most significant and famous
being the “treasure” kept in the cellar in a wooden chest containing the rich

silver service (108 pieces), made up of drinking vessels (argentum
potorium), tableware (argentum escarium) toilet items (argentum balneare),
many prized pieces of jewellery for both men and women placed in a small
wooden box with bone inserts and a hoard of coins (13 gold and 33 silver)
amounting to a total value of 1432 sestertii.
In other areas of the house the skeletons of some victims were found,
mainly adults, perhaps the servants who lived in the farm area who were
trying to reach the upper floor to escape via the roof. Beside these
skeletons four hoards of just a few coins were found, their modest
peculium. However, another find of particular interest is a hoard made up of
two gold and ninety silver coins (equivalent to 560 sestertii), perhaps kept
in a leather bag, found in a cubicle of the servant’s quarter next to a body of
an adult and a young girl; the discovery in the area of a bronze seal with
the name of Q. Poppaeus Eros suggests that the hoard belonged to the
procurator, the administrator of the household farm, and that he needed
them to meet the costs of running the house and for the renovation works
in progress.

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