For photos please follow the links to the individual rooms and parts of the building.
The House of the Painted Vaults is an isolated building on a square to the north-east of the Garden Houses. It was built in the Hadrianic period, c. 120-128 AD (opus latericium). It was discovered on November 12 1938. The excavators could enter the building through a small window and found rooms that were only half filled with rubble. They saw paintings on the walls and vaulted ceilings that had been preserved very well.
Reconstruction drawing of the building, seen from the north-west.
Felletti Maj 1960, fig. 5.
Plan of the ground floor of the building. North is to the left.
Felletti Maj 1960, fig. 2.Exterior
The exterior of the building is pierced by many windows: each room received light from outside. There was no sidewalk around the building: basalt blocks of the streets reach the facade. The long sides and the short southern side were covered with plaster, now much deteriorated: a thick layer, 2.30 m. high, and a thin layer above. On the short northern side, to the right of the doorway leading to the central corridor, a few remains of thin, white plaster with red signs were seen. Most likely the name and function of the building could be read, a hotel as we shall see.
Cistern XIII is a later addition, on the street to the north of the building. It was fed by the aqueduct and probably also collected rainwater from the roof of the building. Water could be drawn from it through an opening in one of the short sides, surrounded by travertine. The cistern was set against walls of opus vittatum in the north entrance of room X and on the street. It may be assigned to the fourth century. Most curious is an open air channel, taking the overflow to the undergound drainage system - surely a very late installation.
Drawing of the late antique cistern.
Image: Parco Archeologico di Ostia.Interior
The building received light from all four sides. Therefore the rooms could be situated along corridor III, instead of a courtyard. The corridor could be entered from the square, through double doors at the north and south end. On the floor is a white mosaic and opus spicatum (tiny tiles in a herringbone pattern). Extensive remains of paintings have been preserved on the walls and cross vaults. The first layer has a white background with red, green and yellow lines and bands, horizontal and vertical. A painted column with a capital can also be seen, and on the ceiling circles and semicircles. In a second phase a high red socle was made and a yellow upper part. Finally a thin, third layer was applied. On a white background, red and yellow objects were painted: circles, semicircles, crescents, segments of arcs and vegetative elements. Travertine thresholds have been preserved in the entrances of the rooms along the east side. Pivot-holes show that each room was closed with a double door. The rooms flanking the corridor have cross-vaults.
West half
In the west part of the building is vestibule I. Over the entrance is a tympanum. In the entrance was a double door, as testified by the pivot-holes in the threshold. On the floor is a white mosaic with two narrow blacks bands along the long walls. In the back part of the room is a mosaic inscription that unfortunately has been preserved only partly, and has not been solved: [---]A | LBR [---] CE. On the walls and ceiling are extensive remains of plaster, but the paint has mostly disappeared. On the north wall (d) are some red and green lines and bands on a yellow-pink background, forming rectangles. On the south wall (b) seems to have been an imitation of marble.
Room II is the largest room on the ground floor. It received light from five windows. It could be reached from the vestibule and the corridor. In the door leading to the vestibule is a mosaic panel instead of a travertine threshold. It is flanked by pivot-holes for a double door. The threshold of the door leading to the corridor has not been preserved. Accurate inspection has revealed the existence of a first layer of paintings on the lower part of the walls, but reaching a height of at least two meters. The paintings imitated yellow marble with red veins. Most of the paintings belong to a single, second phase. At the height of the top of the doors is a middle zone with a red background on which meanders and rectangles were painted with yellow and green lines. The high lower zone once again imitates yellow marble with large, red rectangles. The upper zone has a yellow background on which architecture was painted with a black or red interior. In one of the buildings a seated, female figure can be seen, in another is a krater of white and blue glass, in yet another a hanging lamp. Between the buildings are a naked, wreathed male figure and animals (a goat, an ibex, a peacock). A fragment on the ceiling was found on the pavement and may have fallen down from the upper floors (the present ceiling is modern).
On the other side of the vestibule are two rooms that belong together, XII and XI. The pair was closed with doors at the north and south end, but in between is a smooth threshold. There are no doors leading to the corridor, only windows.
In room XII a well preserved second layer on all interior walls covers the scarce remains of a first layer. The second layer has a yellow lower zone, divided by wide, vertical red bands on which white columns were painted. It is separated from an upper zone by a wide, horizontal band that was originally black. Here aediculae were painted on red and yellow backgrounds. On the red backgrounds are furthermore a panther and a series of standing female figures, some dancing. They are probably related to the cult of Bacchus-Dionysus. On the pier between the east and south wall, on a yellow background, is a badly preserved bearded male herm, of Priapus. In the centre of the ceiling was a yellow tondo, surrounded by solid red areas that are framed by wide yellow bands. On the east wall are remains of a third phase, an imitation of yellow marble with red veins.
Not much remains of the first layer of plaster in room XI, but a second layer is preserved rather well on the east and north wall (walls b and c), and on the ceiling. It is very similar to the second layer in room XII. An upper and lower zone are separated by a wide, horizontal red bands, while the lower zone is divided by vertical red bands imitating columns on which vegetative motifs are painted. On the yellow panels in between are white lateral columns and an architrave. On the east wall (b) is a landscape.
The north-west corner of the ground floor is taken up by room X with shop thresholds in the entrances. The floor was of opus spicatum, later repaired with brick tiles. In the north-west corner is a bar counter, made of opus vittatum and clad with marble. In the masonry of the counter a coin of Maximinus Thrax was found (235-238 AD). Together with the opus vittatum the coin suggests a date in the second half of the third century. The room was most likely a bar from the outset however.[1] Water was piped to the counter from the cistern on the street.
The walls were painted white, with red flowers inside a small, arched window in the east wall. On the south wall of the room is a curious painting, belonging to a second phase. Above and below are wide, red bands. In between are some structures and a number of human figures. 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.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Drawing of the painting in room X, after a photo taken in 1939.
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. The scene has not been solved satisfactorily. The suggested reading of the words by Felletti Maj deserves further attention.
East half
It was especially room IV, on the other side of the corridor, that gave the building its name. When the excavators crawled inside they were stunned by the paintings on the ceiling, preserved very well. The preservation was extremely difficult and unfortunately it took a long time before good colour photos were made. Four layers have been recognized. Of the first layer only a few tiny fragments remain of a socle imitating yellow marble with red veins. The next layers are difficult to understand, because much paint visible on the oldest photos has gradually disappeared. In the second phase the walls and ceiling were given a yellow background. On the lunettes of the walls are elaborate aediculae, painted with red, white, green and brown. In the aediculae are little landscapes and human figures in statuary poses. Once again there was a socle imitating yellow marble with red veins. In the centre of the ceiling was an octagon, in the middle of each side a circle with a pair of goats. The four circles are connected by a large circle, almost as large as the ceiling. In the corners are semicircles with a human figure.
Drawing of the ceiling in phase 2.
Image: Felletti Maj 1961, fig. 6.In the third phase the walls and the ceiling were repainted, but the yellow background remained. On the walls, red and white panels with green and blue frames were added, between wide, red bands. On the upper part of the west wall (a) is a depiction of a glass vase with a metal foot and handles, filled with flowers. To the right is a bust, the personification of a season. On the upper part of the north wall (d) are a chalice and a bird. In the centre of the ceiling is a tondo in an octagon, with the depiction of a naked horseman on a white, winged horse. The horse is the "funerary Pegasus", taking a deceased person to the heavens. This depiction is surrounded by eight radiating bands. In the spaces in between, on a red background, are garlands and birds. In the remaining part, on a white background below a segment of a circle, are flamingos and peacocks flanking baskets, and marine scenes: a chariot on the surface of the sea, led by a Cupid and pulled by two seahorses, and two dolphins; fishermen (Pygmees?) in two boats and a swimmer; two sea animals, three cupids and the huge eyes of Oceanus; a Cupid, a Pygmee, and three boats.
The final layer was applied only on the lower part of the walls. To this phase belongs a scene with three human figures on the north wall (d), documented by an old photo, but long since disappeared. To the right is a seated, beardless man wearing a helmet. With his right hand he touches the outstretched arm of a young man, also wearing a helmet, in front of him. Above these two the upper part of the body of a third man emerges, looking up and raising his left arm. On his head is a wreath or a radiated nimbus. This is not a known mythological scene, apparently a specific event is depicted. It has been suggested that it is a symbolic representation of the acceptance of a new follower of Mithras: a new miles (the grade "Soldier"), approaching, is trusted by the seated Mars, the third figure being related to Sol.
In room V very little remains of the first phase of the paintings. The second phase is visible on the walls and the ceiling. On the walls are aediculae on a white background. In the aediculae are garlands, small landscapes, animals and metal vases. On the ceiling red lines create rectangles with green, isolated motifs, including griffins. The third phase also covers a slight narrowing of the doorway. On a white background are many red horizontal and vertical lines, without a clear pattern. Both on the south and west wall an erotic scene was added (the present one near the door is either a copy or heavily repainted by the restorers).
Room VI seems to have been used as a bathroom. It has a floor of opus spicatum. Near the door a small terracotta container was set in the floor, probably for water. The paintings in room VI are similar to those in V, but the first phase is absent, presumably because the original bathroom did not have painted decoration, which was only added when a new function was assigned to the room. On a white background red and yellow architecture was painted, with garlands, landscapes, birds and small objects, such as masks and pomegranates. In the centre of the ceiling is a winged head of Medusa, in concentric circles. In the corners are peacocks. A final layer was preserved rather well on the ceiling. It has now mostly disappeared, but is visible on an old photo. Narrow red and yellow bands created concentric circles with a winged figure in the centre, and lunettes with dolphins and tridents.
Room VII was a kitchen. Against a side wall stands a masonry kitchen counter for cooking, with a niche for storing objects. Against the outer wall stands a low masonry bench, with a hole in the lower part for the disposal of wastewater. Part of the bench is now missing. There may have been a basin there, or a latrine. In a corner of the room is a vertical drainage channel, coming from a kitchen and latrine on the upper floor. The room has a floor of opus spicatum.
Drawing of kitchen VII.
Image: Parco Archeologico di Ostia.Room VIII, an understairs, has two distinct halves. The east half has simple white plaster, the west half was decorated with aediculae and garlands, and may have been used by the ostiarius, the gate-keeper.
In the tiny Room IX is a masonry basin covered on the inside with opus signinum, waterproof plaster. Next to it, in the floor and in front of the entrance, is a small basin in a travertine block. Perhaps the basins formed a public fontain, like the little drinking fountains that are found today in many Italian cities. Again the floors are of opus spicatum.
On the floor of the main rooms are geometric black-and-white mosaics. The central panel of the floor in room II is shifted somewhat to the north, suggesting the presence of wooden furniture in front of the south wall. This floor was repaired twice: with a simple geometric mosaic and with brick tiles.
Plan of the ground floor with the mosaics. North is to the left.
SO IV, Tav. 223.Upper floors
The first floor was reached from the street, along a staircase with travertine steps in the north-east corner (the restored steps are of bipedales, terracotta tiles). Over the entrance, in the facade, was a female protome of terracotta, of a divinity. It was stolen shortly after the excavation. Halfway is a landing with an altar. The altar was set against the south wall, in a large floor niche. It is made of brick and tufa stones, and has a bowl-shaped depression in the top. The staircase continued to the second upper floor. There could easily have been at least one further floor, in view of the thickness of the walls. The walls of the staircase had paintings of red and yellow aediculae.
The lay-out of the first floor is similar to that of the ground floor. Rooms are arranged on either side of corridor XVI. A short corridor (XXV) leads to bathroom XXIV and kitchen XXVI. At the end of corridor XXV is a latrine (the seat is missing), from which a vertical drainage channel departs to the kitchen below. Also in the corridor a small staircase begins, apparently leading to a "backdoor" of the large staircase.
Plan of the first floor of the building. North is to the left.
Felletti Maj 1960, fig. 2.The walls of the bathroom, XXIV, are covered with opus signinum up to a height of about one meter. In the entrance is a travertine threshold with a pivot-hole for the door. The floor inside the room, in front of the threshold, is slightly raised so that the water could not flow away. Instead it flowed to a hole in a wall, and from there to the latrine. There are no remains of a masonry basin, so we must imagine a stone basin, perhaps even of marble. In the kitchen, XXVI, are a masonry basin and a counter for cooking, with two niches in the lower part. The wastewater was led to the latrine, so used for flushing the toilet.
The floors of the central corridor and the service rooms are of opus spicatum. In the other rooms were mosaics, but these have disappeared almost completely. Holes for drainage can be seen in corners of the floors of rooms XVIII and XX. Rooms XXII and XXIII had paintings of aediculae, vegetative elements and birds on a white background.
Drawing of paintings in room XXIII (left: wall d, right: wall c).
Felletti Maj 1961, figs. 21-22.The oldest painted decoration, of which so little remains, belongs to the first building phase. The second phase is Antonine, the third is Severan. The final phases should be assigned to the later third and fourth century.
It is generally believed that the building was a hotel, because of its isolated postion, and because rooms could be locked individually. The quality of the decoration shows that it was not a cheap hotel, which is to be expected in this part of Ostia, with the expensive apartments of the Garden Houses, on the road to the beach. We should image that single rooms could be booked, but also clusters, suites. The two erotic scenes in room V might reflect one of the services of the hotel, but such depictions were not exceptional in houses. The building to the north of the hotel, the Trapezoidal Building (III,IV,1), was a stable, used by the guests.
[1] A late wall in opus vittatum behind the bar counter, in the north entrance, is standing on top of the vertical groove for shutters in the threshold in the entrance (see a detailed plan in NADIS). The groove was not needed anymore when the wall had been built. The threshold is therefore older than this wall and therefore presumably also older than the counter. The presence of an earlier bar counter is then suggested by the position of the door in this entrance: the depression for the door is to the left of the vertical shutters, seen from the street, but the normal position of doors is to the right, as is also the case in the other, western entrance. The door could not be on the right side, because of the presence of the earlier bar counter.
