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

D)Entry prox., KI (e): 12.4 Entry prox., DR•(c): 10.4 Prox, KI (e)-DR•(c): 4.6
Entry prox., DR◊{g}: 13.1 Prox, KI (e):-DR◊{g}: 17.0
E) Entry access., KI (e): 4 Entry access., DR•(c): 4 Access, KI (e)-DR•(c): 3
Entry access., DR◊{g}: 4 Access, KI (e):-DR◊{g}: 5
F)Sight perc., KI (e)-DR•(c): N Sound perc., KI (e)-DR•(c): T Smell perc., KI (e)-DR•(c): T
Sight perc., KI (e)-DR◊{g}: N Sound perc., KI (e)-DR◊{g}: T Smell perc., KI (e)-DR◊{g}: F
G) Environmental amenities, dining areas: A high window in the E wall of DR•(c) and the wide
doorway W onto the atrium (b) are the sources of indirect light in this room (Fig. 5.103). The find
of a bronze candelabrum in the room indicates the use of artificial illumination. The view is
highly axial, and directly to the street via the node (a). The upper floor cenaculum DR◊{g},
however, was amply lit and provided a superb view for guests (Fig. 5.99) through a large
window over the crossroads to the W.
H) Installation amenities, KI (e): Along the W end of the N wall of the kitchen is a large ST of
stub-type (3) (l. 2.30, w. 0.70-1.11, h. 0.70-0.80 m.). The masonry ST is tile-topped and supported
by three pillars, dividing the appliance into two halves (Figs. 5.100-5.101). The rectangular
under-space on the W is open (the gap was bridged perhaps by wood, as it is has been restored
today), and would have been available for storage. The under-space on the E apparently could
not be supported, and a large ashlar block was moved into the under-space to provide solid
support for the stove-top. The different elevations of the stove-top, higher on the W than on the
E, roughly corresponds to the division below. Along the front edge of the ST was a lip of imbrices,
at least on the W half. The stove-top partitioning may be the result of a need to have more than
one 'burner', or perhaps the division of the counter into a cooking area (W) and a working
counter (E). The E part of the stove has its corners and inside edges mortared and plastered to a
slope, presumably to facilitate easier cleaning of the stove. The E edge of the ST is delimited by a
high partition wall that separated the ST from the latrine in the NE corner of the room. Water was
available in the room itself, from a cistern-head near the SE corner of the room, attached to a low
opus signinum covered counter (h. 0.40 m.) (Fig. 5.100). The cistern was fed by a terracotta pipe
immured in the wall to the E that drew water gathered from the roof into a small basin lined with
opus signinum just to the NE of the cistern-head. Water could then be allowed either into the
cistern or though a small drain pipe on the N side of the cistern head, where it could spill out
upon the floor of the kitchen and be drained away via the latrine to the NE. The cleaning of the
kitchen floor could be so accomplished; such drainage is not uncommon in Pompeian kitchens. 70
The latrine had its seat set against the E end of the N wall, made comfortable by a shallow
arcuated recess for the back. The subsidence of the floor into the latrine channel as it passed
70 see Salza Prina Ricotti 1978/80, 244-246 for examples of kitchen drainage systems.
272