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The House of the Carbonised Furniture (Casa del Mobilio
Carbonizzato), located at Insula V.5 in Herculaneum (modern Ercolano,
Italy), is a significant Roman domestic structure buried by the eruption
of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Situated on the southern end of Cardo IV
Superiore, a main north-south street, it is one of the oldest buildings
in the town, dating back to the Samnite period (pre-Roman, ca. 4th–1st
century BCE) and renovated during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41–54
CE). The house derives its name from the exceptional preservation of
carbonized wooden furniture, a rarity due to Herculaneum's unique burial
under pyroclastic flows that carbonized organic materials rather than
incinerating them, as in Pompeii. It is also associated with the
possible owner Marcus Pilius Primigenius Granianus, based on artifact
inscriptions, and exemplifies mid-1st-century CE urban adaptations,
including post-62 CE earthquake repairs.
Excavation history began
with 18th-century Bourbon tunnels, but systematic open-air digs occurred
in the 1920s–1930s under Amedeo Maiuri, who uncovered much of Insula V
and documented the carbonized finds. The house's furniture was further
studied in the 20th–21st centuries, with conservation efforts
highlighting challenges like moisture-induced decay. As part of the
Parco Archeologico di Ercolano, it is open to visitors, who often note
its intimate scale and preserved organics in reviews, though access to
upper levels may be restricted for safety.
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The house occupies a rectangular plot (ca. 250–300 square meters) on sloping terrain, with a façade on Cardo IV featuring opus reticulatum masonry and beam holes for upper floors. The layout blends Samnite and Roman elements: entry leads directly to an atrium without a traditional impluvium (rainwater pool), instead featuring an upper gallery with columns for light and ventilation. To the east lies a small garden, while a southern courtyard with a lararium (household shrine) and impluvium provides additional light. The design emphasizes axial alignment—atrium to tablinum to garden—with stairs near the entrance and kitchen accessing upper levels. Multi-story construction includes carbonized wooden ceilings and balconies, preserved by the mudflow. Key features: drainage systems tied to cisterns, low doorways (e.g., kitchen under 1.5m), and post-earthquake reinforcements in opus craticium (timber-framed walls).
Room labels follow standard archaeological plans (e.g., Pesando and
Guidobaldi), with variations noted. The house has 7–10 main spaces
on the ground floor, plus upper rooms.
Entrance Hall (a):
Accessed from Cardo IV, a narrow vestibule leading to the atrium;
simple third-style remnants.
Atrium (b): Central hall with upper
gallery supported by columns (similar to the Samnite House);
third-style decorations mostly lost, surviving as plaster fragments.
Doorways to tablinum, garden, courtyard, and kitchen.
Tablinum
(c): Owner's office/reception, east of atrium; third-style frescoes
with red/yellow panels, figures above red border; white mosaic floor
with black edging; windows to garden.
Garden (d): Small
rectangular greenspace east, lighting adjacent rooms; no major
features preserved.
Courtyard (e): South of entrance, with
impluvium pool and lararium shrine (stucco bas-reliefs, paintings,
two columns); fourth-style elements; lights room h.
Room (e,
possibly cubiculum): Adjacent to courtyard; fourth-style frescoes
with architectural motifs, rooster panel, still life.
Kitchen
(g): North of atrium; low doorway, stairs to upper floor;
utilitarian, no decorations noted.
Room (h, triclinium): North of
courtyard; three windows; fourth-style frescoes with red panels,
medallions, mythological scenes above black border.
Upper
floors: Private rooms with carbonized wooden ceilings (inlaid,
geometric reliefs, gilding traces in red/white/blue); accessed via
stairs.
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Decorations span third-style (ca. 15 BCE–45 CE, intricate panels) and
fourth-style (ca. 45–79 CE, illusory architecture/mythology) frescoes in
red, yellow, black; mosaics simple (white with borders). Lararium
features stucco and paintings.
Artifacts focus on carbonized
furniture: In room h, charred dining couch (triclinium bed) for
reclining meals. Notable: Rocking cradle (49x81cm, oak/ash, from upper
room, associated with Marcus Pilius Primigenius Granianus); wooden
cupboard (preserved via carbonization); stool with inlaid star motif
(42x49cm, various woods); lararium shrine (100x100cm, Corinthian temple
shape). Construction: Mortise-and-tenon joints, inlays (ivory/bone for
some, though mainly wood); preservation via 300–500°C heat carbonizing
organics. Other: Painted ceiling panels (74x61cm, Egyptian blue traces);
purse (13.3x4.7cm, carved).