The kitchen
Room n° 26 was the kitchen of the dwelling which consisted of a large rectangular room, whose western wall is partially occupied by the rear of the lararium (45), whose main core protruded for about 2 meters. On the northern wall there is a big brick counter 1 meter high from the ground on which cooking took place. It was bordered by a line of curved terracotta tiles designed to contain the charcoal bed required for cooking and which would go on burning day and night. At the bottom there are four arches, used for storing pots or for stocking wood for the fire. In the north-western corner stands a quadrangular basin, found full of lime at the time of the excavation. which was intended for washing dishes. It was added when the original access to the corridor in the rear was closed, as seen from the infill wall in the opus reticulntum bordering the northern wall. Water used for the purpose would be poured onto the floor which, thanks to its slope, led it to a drain.
The walls are covered with raw plaster, notwithstanding they are of significant interest due to the large number of graffiti, mainly Roman numbers testifying to the activities of daily life conducted there. On 14th Feb. 1752 a painting of a large lararium with a white background was taken away from the northern wall and is now kept in the Archaeological Museum in Naples (N.R. 733); this painting was preceding the other in lararium n°45; it shows two dancers (Lares) on the sides of an altar (ara) around which a snake agathodaimon (a symbol of good-luck) is depicted. The inclusion of a lararium in the kitchens is to be related to the sacred meaning attributed to the flame cooking the dishes of the family. The area devoted to the house kitchen is strikingly large: such large kitchens can only be found in the most important villas, as in Villa dei Misteri in Pompei, in Villa di Poppea in Oplontis and in Villa Arianna in Stabia, while in other private homes they were usually much smaller.
Dishes were cooked on a bed of burning charcoal stretched along the counter and contained by a border of curved tiles: pots were placed on this bed together with pots, grates, frying-pans and whatever was required for cooking. These vessels were often placed on bronze or iron tripods to avoid burning. Shelves for other objects were also provided as demonstrated by the holes in the South-Eastern wall which allow us to imagine the presence of three shelves at different heights from the ground.
Source
Soprintendenza
Archeologica di Pompei |
