House of the Labyrinth

Address: Insula 11
Area: 1869 square meters
Rooms: 24

The House of the Labyrinth stands behind the House of the Faun on Vico del Mercurio Street. The Labyrinth House, first excavated in 1834, dates back to the Samnite period and has two atrium-living rooms, (a) and (b), each with its own entrance from the north side of Vicolo del Mercurio street, as shown on the plan. Most likely this residence consists of two houses that were bought by one owner. Therefore, the usual elements of the Roman house are duplicated here.

In the atrium (a) there is a tetrastil or a complex of four columns around the pool for collecting rainwater. From here you can get to the table-bedroom room (c) and further to the large peristyle-internal garden (d). On the north side of the imluvium-pool is a marble table. The atrium (b) is much smaller and much less impressive with its simple central imluvium pool. Both atrias and their adjoining rooms are in a poor state of preservation, although some of the rooms of the House of the Labyrinth have some preserved decoration. The cubiculum room (e) on the western side of the atrium (a) is decorated with alternating panels of red and yellow colors over the decorated frieze, creating a pattern of a chessboard. In the middle of the central yellow panel on the north wall is the mythological scene, possibly of Paris and Oinon (Helbig). The second cubulum (f) from the southwest corner of the same atrium has some of the remaining decorations of the first style murals in the form of rows of painted plastering blocks imitating a marble envelope.

The room after which the House of the Labyrinth was named has a beautiful mosaic floor, the main part of which consists of a black labyrinth on a white background. In the center of the maze is a decorative panel, which depicts the mythological scene of Theseus, fighting with the Minotaur (pictured below).

House of the Labyrinth