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House of the Golden Bracelet, Pompeii

Address: Regio VI, Insula 17
Area: 467 square meters
Rooms: 6

The House of the Golden Bracelet, also known as Casa del Bracciale d'Oro or the House of the Wedding of Alexander, is a luxurious multi-level ancient Roman domus (townhouse) in Pompeii, Italy, located in Regio VI, Insula 17, Entrance 42, within the Insula Occidentalis area near the western city walls and Via Consolare. This opulent residence, covering multiple levels and approximately 500-600 square meters across its terraces, exemplifies elite Roman domestic architecture adapted to the city's sloping terrain toward the sea. It is part of a grand complex that includes the adjacent House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, with panoramic terraces built atop the city walls, reflecting a blend of residential luxury and urban integration. The house derives its name from a remarkable solid gold bracelet discovered on one of the victims during excavations, symbolizing the wealth of its inhabitants. Buried by the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius, it offers profound insights into Roman social life, art, and the tragic final moments of its occupants, with recent DNA analyses challenging long-held assumptions about the victims.

Historical Context and Excavation

Dating back to at least the 2nd century BCE, the House of the Golden Bracelet evolved through multiple building phases, incorporating Samnite-period elements like a tuff-block facade with Greek-inspired motifs. It was inhabited until the eruption, as evidenced by the victims and artifacts found in situ. The site's location near a pre-Roman city gate (Porta Occidentalis) at the intersection of Via di Nola and Via delle Terme underscores its strategic urban position. Excavations occurred in phases: initial probes in 1759, followed by work in 1910, 1940, and extensively from 1958-1980, with key discoveries in 1974 including plaster casts of victims. These efforts revealed the house's opulence and the victims' remains under a staircase, killed likely by pyroclastic flows or structural collapse on the eruption's second day. Recent restoration projects, including CT scans and DNA testing since the 2010s, have enhanced understanding, with 3D imaging revealing internal details like ages and health conditions. The house was initially named for a fresco of Alexander the Great's wedding but renamed after the bracelet find.

Architectural Layout

Adapted to Pompeii's steep western slope, the house spans at least four levels with scenic terraces overlooking the sea, built on the city walls. The upper (street-level) floor follows a classic atrium layout: a fauces (entrance corridor) leads to a rectangular atrium with an impluvium (rainwater basin) made of limestone, surrounded by rooms on three sides. The tablinum (reception room) aligns axially with the atrium, opening to a small garden or terrace. A broad staircase beside the tablinum descends to the middle floor, dedicated to leisure: this includes a bath suite, reception rooms, a vaulted dining room (triclinium), kitchen, and service areas with a narrow staircase to the lower level. The lower floor features a verdant garden with water features and a summer triclinium under a pergola, providing sea views and natural cooling. The facade is simple yet severe, with tuff blocks and a door jamb featuring a Lesbian cymatium motif. This terraced design maximizes space and views, blending public and private zones efficiently.

Notable Decorations and Features

The house boasts lavish decorations, reflecting 1st-century CE tastes influenced by Greek art. Walls feature First Style frescoes imitating marble slabs in the atrium, while mythological scenes adorn other areas, including the famous "Wedding of Alexander the Great and Roxanne" in the main dining room. A room near the summer triclinium displays Dionysian motifs with birds, plants, and cult symbols, possibly serving as a shrine. Floors are covered in opus sectile (colored marble mosaics) and black-and-white geometric patterns. The garden is a highlight: formally laid out with box hedges, flower beds, and a blue-painted pool with a central fountain and 28 side jets, surrounded by a pergola. The summer triclinium features a nymphaeum (fountain niche) with mosaics in an apse, water channels between marble couches flowing into the pool, and wall paintings of plants, birds, and fountains that blend illusionistically with the real garden. These elements create a seamless indoor-outdoor harmony, emphasizing Roman appreciation for nature and luxury.

Artifacts and Discoveries

Excavations yielded evidence of wealth, including over 200 gold and silver coins scattered near the victims, jewelry, and a marble table with lion-paw feet (now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples). The eponymous gold bracelet, weighing 610 grams (1.33 lbs) and dating to the 1st century CE, features a band ending in two snake heads with precious stone eyes, holding a medallion depicting the moon goddess Selene (or Diana). Found on a victim's arm, it symbolizes eternity and status.

Many frescoes are currently displayed in Naples Museum.

Unfortunately, the wealth of the family who lived here did not save them from death. The bodies of the family were found among the ruins of their home. Apparently the father and mother tried to run up the stairs to the inner garden of their house. From here they could have escaped along the road that led to the sea. However, they were not lucky. The wooden steps collapsed and their bodies were found centuries earlier. At the top left, you can see their plaster forms, which were made when archaeologists poured liquid gypsum into the voids left by their bodies. On the right is the body of an older child. In the middle is the body of the father, who has tucked his legs under him, and on the right is the body of the mother and the younger child, who was sitting on the body of the mother. In the extreme right photo you can see a fragment of the fresco from the house of the Golden Bracelet. It depicts parents and two children. One is older, the other is younger. Of course, no inscriptions were made, but we can assume that this is a family portrait of a family that once lived here and died together.

Cultural and Historical Significance

The House of the Golden Bracelet illustrates the adaptability of Roman architecture to challenging terrain, integrating multi-level luxury with practical urban living. Its decorations, blending Greek mythology (e.g., Alexander's wedding) with Dionysian and natural motifs, reflect cultural syncretism and elite tastes in 1st-century CE Pompeii. The garden and water features underscore Roman ideals of otium (leisure) and harmony with nature. Artifacts like the bracelet and coins attest to economic prosperity, while the victims' casts and DNA data rewrite narratives of family, gender, and migration, revealing a cosmopolitan society influenced by the broader Roman Empire. As part of Pompeii's UNESCO World Heritage site, it contributes to understanding social dynamics, resilience post-62 CE earthquake, and the human tragedy of the eruption, with ongoing research emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches like genomics.