Pompeii; its history, buildings and antiquities - an account of the destruction of the city, with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations and also an itinerary for visitors (14586428608)

Identifier: pompeiiitshist00dyer (find matches)
Title: Pompeii; its history, buildings and antiquities : an account of the destruction of the city, with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations and also an itinerary for visitors
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Dyer, Thomas Henry, 1804-1888
Subjects:
Publisher: London : Bell
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto



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customary puteal, or well-cover. This is madeof a white calcareous stone, in which the constant friction ofthe cords used in raising water has worn deep channels. Thewalls of the atrium remain perfect nearly to their originalelevation, as is proved by the existence of the capitals of theCorinthian pilasters. On the left-hand side of the atrium in the corner next thetablinum, the two large chests, marked 12 and 13, werefound, which have given a name to the house.f Each of themwas raised upon a solid plinth, encrusted with marble. Theywere made of wood, lined with plates of brass, and on theexterior bound with iron, and decorated with handles, bosses,and a variety of other ornaments, many of which had fallen ♦ More probably, as Oveibeck remarks, the base of a statue. f But without much reason, as similar chests have been found in otherhouses, while the figure of Mercur ^ seems to denote the house of a merchant.See Pomp, Ant. Hist., t, ii. p. 208 —Ed. HOUSE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 405
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406 POMPEII. off by rust and the decay of the wood, and were found lyingbeneath. The locks, handles, and other ornaments weremade of bronze. When found, the bottom of these chestswas formed merely of several parallel bars of iron, which ofcourse supported a planking, now decayed. Through theinterstices of one of them, marked 12, forty-five gold andfive silver coins had fallen, and were found at the time of exca-vation, so as to afford a clue to the use of these remarkablechests.* The greater part of the contents however had beenextracted in old times; evidently by some person who knewtheir value, and was at the labour of digging in search oftheir buried treasure. Owing, however, to some slight errorin his measurements, he got into the adjoining room, 22, andgreatly increased the difficulty of his task, by thus renderingit necessary to cut through the wall of the atrium, and toextract the money through a small hole in the chest. The atrium is beautifully painted in the same style as th