KITCHENS AND DINING ROOMS AT POMPEII ... - Get a Free Blog

wall from the cryptoporticus, its function became uncertain. There is no secure evidence that
DI◊(i) was used for dining.
Table wares were neatly stored in cupboards in the atrium, and the position of cooking
pots in situ on the stove clearly show that food was being prepared in an organized manner for
an active household. The location of the kitchen, largely invisible to the senses of the diners and
noticeable only upon passage through the transitional corridor (g), was convenient to serve any
of the supposed dining areas.
Where did the members of the household eat? Perhaps our expectation of domestic
conditions is too 'clean'; we expect to see fine and finished decoration accompanied by furniture
fittings that can be reconstructed into a standard number of couches. The lack of any recorded
finds (tainted by the lack of original recording) related to our understanding of dining
accoutrements muddle the interpretation. The state of renovation in this particular house adds
further difficulty. It is unclear where dining took place in Casa I.6.4 on the eve of the eruption.
However, the three areas discussed above are the best candidates for where the inhabitants
intended to dine. They reveal the owner's intention to have a variety of possible dining contexts:
DR (c) near the entrance, protected by its position and layout from the elements, with scenes of
food and summery landscapes that were no doubt inviting on a cold winter evening; the small,
accessible and elegant DI◊(i), with completed wall decoration and a pleasant view of the atrium,
an all-purpose space suitable for small formal gatherings or family meals; or the spacious
DH•(p), reached only upon passage through the entire house, but offering the surprise of
impressive megalography and an intricate mosaic pavement, though marred by the rough plaster
of its S wall. At least one of these spaces must have been used regardless of condition;
Pompeians in the years A. D. 62-79 had to become accustomed to living in a state of repair.
18. I.6.5-6, Popina, lunch counter (Figs. 2.4, 5.3, 5.16, 5.55)
Synopsis
This complex consists of a large forward shop (1) with a marble-clad sales counter (now
largely ruined). A small room (2), perhaps a cubiculum, sat in back, and a separate stairway from
the street at #6 reached the upstairs quarters (Fig. 5.55). The walls are partially clad in
cocciopesto, except for white plaster in the NW corner. Room (c) of the neighboring fullonica
(I.6.7) once belonged to this shop; the doorway was blocked up and the room was given over
probably after A. D. 62. The S and E walls of room (2) show double-walling and repair in brick
and irregular lava courses, presumably to counter late earthquake damage. Della Corte
identified the resident of the upper-floor apartment as a certain Ingenuus on the basis of three
dipinti flanking the stairway at #6.
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