House of Menander, Pompeii

The House of Menander is one of the richest and most magnificent houses in ancient Pompeii in terms of architecture, decoration and contents, and covers a large area of about 1,800 square metres occupying most of its insula [1]. The house was excavated between November 1926 and June 1932 and is located in Region I, Insula 10, Entrance 4 of the city [1]. The oldest part of the house consists of a relatively modest atrium with immediately surrounding rooms built in 250 BC [1]. About 100 years later the domus was modernised; tuff capitals were used for the entrance door and the tablinum [1]. In the Augustan period the domus was substantially modified; a peristyle was built using the space from the demolition of the adjacent residential buildings [1]. In the space to the west, elaborately decorated thermal baths were created, centred around a small 8-columned atrium [1]. In a corridor next to the small atrium of the private baths a treasure trove of 118 silver vases was found which had been carefully wrapped in cloth drapes and placed in a tall wooden cabinet during the renovation of the house [1].