Casa dell'Orso

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Mosaic with a wounded bear
Mosaic on the fountain in the garden

The Casa dell'Orso ("House of the Bear", also Casa dell'Orso ferito , "House of the Wounded Bear") (VII 2, 44-46) is in Pompeii and was excavated in April 1865. It is a small house that is remarkably rich in mosaics and wall paintings . It got its name from a mosaic at the entrance ( fauces ) that shows a wounded bear.

The house has an irregular plan, which is in contrast to the neighboring houses. The irregular plan could indicate that the building was erected at a time when the neighboring houses were already standing and there was little space left for a new building.

The entrance of the house is on the south. Here you can find the eponymous mosaic with the bear and the HAVE greeting . Tabernae are to the left and right of the entrance . The entrance leads to the atrium , which is laid out with a black and white geometric mosaic. There are two rooms each on the west and east sides, three of which are decorated with geometric mosaics. The fourth room is a staircase to what was once an upper floor. A tablinum follows in the north and the triclinium to the east . Both rooms are decorated with mosaics. In the far north there is a small garden. There is also a fountain, which is partly painted with an animal frieze and decorated in the upper part with mosaics. Poseidon is shown in a lower register . Above you can see Venus in a shell.

Many of the walls of the house are decorated with murals, but these are no longer well preserved. Many figurative details have only survived on old drawings and engravings. The paintings are of particular importance as they are mostly of the so-called 4th style and can be dated to before AD 62 (that year there was an earthquake in Pompeii, after which many buildings in the city had to be repaired). This finding is of great importance in research. The exact beginning of the 4th style in the first century AD is controversial and it has long been assumed that all 4th style paintings in the city can be dated after the earthquake.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Giuseppe Fiorelli : Giornale degli scavi di Pompei. Volume 5. Naples 1865, pp. 1-14.
  2. ↑ Hans Eschebach : The urban development of ancient Pompeii (= communications of the German Archaeological Institute. Roman Department . Supplement 17). Kerle, Heidelberg 1970, p. 137.
  3. ↑ Erhardt: Casa dell'Orso , p. 57.
  4. ↑ Erhardt: Casa dell'Orso , p. 52.
  5. ↑ Erhardt: Casa dell'Orso , p. 67.

literature

Web links

Commons : House of the Bear (Pompeii)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 2.2 ″  N , 14 ° 29 ′ 10.9 ″  E