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Insula of the Phallus
vase
Excavation:
Luso-French mission, 1965-1968.
Available documentation:
Plane stone-to-stone (1/50, published the
1/100, architecture 1/200) of the
Luso-French excavations (Fouilles
I**, est. XXXIX).
Brief Description:
Completely dug insula.
Bibliography of the excavation:
Fouilles I, 65-85, 135-143, 155-165,
191 (XI), 214 (XXII), 229 (XXVIII), 231
(XXX), 233 (XXXIII), 239 (XLI).
Other references:
Alarcão 1985, 36 and fig. 51; id. 1988, 188
and fig. 59; id. 1992, 36-41; Alarcão et al.
1978, 460-461; ibid. 1979, 889; Etienne
et al. 1966, 13 and est. V; Oleiro et al.
1966, 449.
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The insula of the phallus vase occupies a long extension along the main
street of the city, a land plot whose irregular form was certainly dictated
by the cadastral pre-existence the Romans found and that, they didn't alter
substantially except for the great public flavian edifications. It is not,
therefore, completely clear if the subdivision of the insula in, at least,
five different sectors, corresponds to a technical solution used before
in several constructions using common walls. The state of conservation of
the structures, will perhaps never allow answering this question.
The South facade of the insula was occupied in its largest extension by
wide doors, with threshold for fitting wooden shelters device was used for
the small taverns of a unique room, but also for those that had enclosed
compartments. In its whole the insula was composed by three residences of
some dimension, and a smaller, composed by three rooms in row, the remaining
being composed by small units of one or two rooms.
This panorama was invariable all along the history of the building, in spite
of some modifications. These alterations to the claudian building take effect
at the East, where the edification of the flavian forum forced the demolition
of a compartment placed in the corner of the block; in the Southwest end,
where a small access portico to one of the main residences in the insula;
and more substantial alterations in one of the other larger units, that
can have implyied the creation of upper floor (or the installation of a
mezannine).
From West to East we can identify:
- A portico where a narrow door, gave entrance to a small tavern with enclosed
compartment;
- In the same portico, a wide door, gave entrance to a small atrium, centre
of a residence / workshop, of which one of the main rooms was occupied by
a great basin. This whole division shows signs of a complex system of management
of water, and a brick pavement with vestiges of fire. Here a lead object
was found, the remain of the lining of a basin covered in opus signinum
that no longer is possible to identify, that stresses the importance that
the management of water in these facilities had: we propose the identification
of a fulonica;
- There there were three taverns of modest dimensions;
- After these taverns we meet again a large door, that gave access to an
inner patio where, through a corridor one could arrive to a group of six
uncharacteristic compartments, provided of an autonomous access to the street
North of the insula. The conservation of the structures and the discoveries
don't allow identifying functionalities;
- Another small autonomous compartment follows. the wide door giving acess
to an interior patio repeated, but this one it was larger, provided of a
type of partition wall protecting the entrance for two compartments, the
house had a total of five. This house, however, saw its structure altered
in imprecise date and it seems to have started to profit of a upper floor
step entirely or of a mezannine, but the box for the stairway doesn't allow
to judge which;
- The next unit was composed by three compartments of successive accesses,
being the central of small dimensions;
- The following unit, composed by two compartments had access to a small
basement, which could have been a wine-cellar;
- The unit at the end of the insula was composed originally by three compartments,
the one East, was demolished in the flavian period , the facilities being
reduced to two compartments of modest dimensions..
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