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The House of the Faun is certainly the richest and most important among the Samnite-era residences in Pompeii and the largest in the entire Vesuvius town (approximately 2950 square meters).
Built in the 2nd century BC in two phases over the remains of 3rd-century BC houses that were completely demolished, the domus has two atriums, one for representation, the other private, and two peristyles. The larger peristyle was added following the expansion carried out toward the end of the 2nd century BC, when the house occupied the entire insula. At this stage, the entire complex was decorated with the famous and splendid mosaics, which have made it the most prestigious example of Hellenistic-era domus belonging to wealthy members of the local aristocracy.
The owner, of Samnite origin and Oscan language, was undoubtedly a member of a prominent family that had acquired strongly Romanized cultural attitudes since the end of the 2nd century BC. He indeed owned a luxurious residence with the canonical layout of Roman nobility, and at its entrance, the Latin inscription HAVE welcomed guests. His name, however, remains unknown.
In the years after the earthquake of 62 AD, the house was in a state of partial abandonment, and only shortly before the eruption were restoration works initiated, perhaps linked precisely to the change of ownership of the residence.
A woman, found with jewelry and coins at the entrance of the dwelling, had a ring with the inscription CASSIA that identifies her as belonging to the gens Cassia; a member of this family was prefect of Gaius Caesar in Pompeii. The skeleton of the unfortunate inhabitant of the house was found on one side of the tetrastyle atrium, crushed under the floor that had collapsed from the upper floor.
The rooms around the atrium, according to the discoverers, were common areas intended for storerooms or pantries, because they were devoid of decorations and showed traces of cupboards and deposits of amphorae and terracotta ware for household goods.
At the time of the excavation, the remnants of the woman's clothing and the shape of her footwear were still visible, as mentioned, she had her belongings with her: two gold serpent-shaped bracelets, each weighing one pound, a gold case, a gold earring, a large ring with a crystal, a ring with a garnet depicting Heracles and the three Hesperides, a ring with a niccolite depicting a discus thrower, a gold ring with a bezel depicting a warrior leaning on a spear, a ring with a garnet and the engraving of a Priapus with the inscription CASSIA, a small ring with a green stone engraved with a warrior's head, a carnelian with a profile head, then called Medusa, a silver vase.
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