Deities in bars

Most bars are just shops, nowadays mainly recognizable by the presence of a counter: a solid masonry bench behind which the barkeeper stood. Two bars have been found in the Baths of the Coachmen. In the one to the west of the service area is a simple niche (height 0.31) in a lateral wall, in the rear part of the room. The sides, back and lintel are each made of one brick. There are remains of a thin layer of plaster on the sides, back and lintel.

General view of the bar in the Baths of the Coachmen. In the back part of the right wall is a wall niche.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

The niche in a bar.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

The Baths of the Six Columns were entered from the western continuation of the Decumanus. Next to the entrance corridor is a bar. Originally a door in the bar led to the corridor. Later it was blocked and in the blocking, in the bar, a niche was created. In front of the niche a brick podium was set against the wall.

The bar in the Baths of the Six Columns seen from the street. The niche and podium are to the left.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

The niche in the blocked door in the bar. Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

In the south-east part of the Baths of the Jealous One is a bar that could be reached from the street and from the apodyterium (the undressing-room). Next to the entrance from the street was a niche that had been hacked out and was later completely filled in with bricks. The upper part of the infilling has disappeared, revealing the vault with remains of plaster.

View of the bar. The remains of the bar counter are to the left of the door.
To the right of the door the filled-in niche can be seen. Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

Detail of the blocked niche.
Photo: Jan Theo Bakker.

A mysterious painting was found in a bar in the House of the Painted Vaults. Above and below are wide, red bands. In between are some structures and a number of human figures.

The south wall of the bar in the House of the Painted Vaults with the painting.
Photo: Flickr, Diane Worland.

Detail of the painting.
Photo: Sam Florio.

In the centre of the upper part of the painting an imago clipeata has been preserved with the bust of a bearded man wearing a tunica (a deceased pater familias?). His beard resembles that of Antoninus Pius. In the lower part of the painting are three scenes. To the left is a pseudo-aedicula. In its niche is a cylindrical vessel with a conical lid (an urn?). To the right of the pseudo-aedicula are four figures. The first one is beardless and wearing a toga (the son and heir?). His right hand, making an inviting gesture, is stretched out towards the vessel. The next two are wearing a tunica, the last one a mantle with a hood (cucullus), used especially by travellers. The last figure is standing a little lower than the central two. All are turned towards the pseudo-aedicula. In the central part we see a young, beardless person, wearing a tunica, the head wreathed. Then the head of a child has been preserved. In the right hand part, a wall of a building and a balcony are depicted. There are remains of a figure above the balcony, a large hand and some object (not shown on the drawing). Below is another figure, wearing a toga and seemingly addressing the person above. One hand is stretched out upwards, the other holds an unguentarium of green glass.

Drawing of the painting.
Felletti Maj 1961, fig. 12.

Explanatory, red texts have been painted over the figures, partly names. Above the aedicula we can read [...]ELICIS[...] and [-?]ONE.CA[-], to the right [-]VIOL[-]IA, near the hooded person SEX.PERPERNA, AGATETVCV(?) and TADA.PANE, a bit to the right MAIOR[-] and [-]VCRESTV, further to the right IODOTE NOVA, and finally ALTAΛA IS. VIOL might be part of violae dies, a day on which the graves were garlanded with violets. AGATETVCV must be the Greek Agathe Tuche, Fortuna in Latin. For VCRESTV, Pancrestus has been suggested.

Detail of the painting, imago clipeata.
Photo: Parco Archeologico di Ostia.

The scene has not been solved satisfactorily. Was the deceased man called Panchrestus, a rare cognomen (in North Africa we have a Marcus Egrilius Panchrestus; EDCS-13300027)? And obviously the location of the painting is surprising.