Gromatic Images from New Discoveries in Pompeii

Abstract

In recent archaeological investigations of Pompeii’s Regio V Houses, a series of new, rather enigmatic images on the floors of the entrance and of the tablinum of the House of Orion have been unearthed. The aim of the present paper is to analyze their placement in the context of the house plan, give a description of the images, and provide a hypothetical interpretation based on a clear analogy of their content with the illustrations of the codexes of the Gromatics, the Roman agrimensores. This makes evident that the three images were conceived and realized in suitably chosen points of the house with a precise intention.