Galba's house in Herculaneum is named after a bust
of the Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba. This Emperor did not mark a
long reign. He replaced the Emperor Nero in 68, but the following
year he lost his throne and died. It is possible that the residence
belonged to a family that suffered from the bloody rule of Nero or
someone who might have supported Galba. The bust of broken silver
was badly damaged, but it has now been restored and is on display in
Naples at the National archaeological Museum.
As with other
houses in Herculaneum, Galba's house was built during the samnite
period. The main entrance is located on the right side of the
street, but it is still buried under volcanic rocks. Quite a large
part of the mansion is still undiscovered. The second, smaller
entrance is located on the West side of Cardo III street. Corridor
(a) leads directly to the partially excavated peristyle (C). There
are some remains of plaster in the walls of the corridor, but not
enough to easily identify the original decoration. Immediately to
the left of the entrance is the kitchen area (b) and restrooms. The
pre-Roman peristyle was rebuilt in the Roman period; the original
columns of the Doric tuffs were covered with plaster, and a pluteus
or low fence was inserted between the columns. In the center of the
peristyle is a cruciform pool.
Some of the rooms around the
peristyle have been excavated, the most imposing of which is the
Exedra (d) on its Eastern side. This room is decorated in the fourth
style, which has a Central pavilion on a red background, surrounded
by promising architectural views. Most of Galba's house has not yet
been revealed, especially since it extends to Cardo II. It is
assumed that the hidden part includes the Taberna-shop (e), North of
the secondary entrance to Cardo III. Behind the store, a staircase
was built that led to the top floor.