Excavated: 1914 (Calza; after cleaning: NSc 1916, 328; Paribeni).
Mosaic: SO IV, 77 nr. 111.
Inscription: ---.
Date: 190-200 AD (SO IV).
Meas. of tesserae: 0.02 (SO IV).
Mosaic
General descriptionThe northern half of the floor of the back room has not been preserved. Along the central part of the north end of the preserved part of the back room runs a thin black band. To the south of that is a large patch of white tesserae, the centre of which was restored in antiquity with black and white tesserae.
Most of the floor of the front room has been preserved. The south side is lost. The front room is bordered on the west by a wide band of irregular pieces of white marble and one piece of red stone or terracotta (on the axis of the central column). To the east is a line of white marble (on the axis of the central column). Most of the floor consists of white tesserae with black speckles. There are a few large patches of black and white tesserae in a checkerboard pattern. Near the passage to the back room is a piece of stone.
In the east part fragments of three black bands have been preserved. An east-west band is near the passage to the back room, six tesserae wide. It branches off to the north. It may originally have been connected with a second north-south band that touches the marble line and has varying widths (depending on the thickness of the marble line), and has a rectangle at the south end. More towards the interior is a corner of a black band that is six to nine tesserae wide. In the centre of the room two objects can be seen.
TextNo text has been preserved.
Depictions
In the front room we see first of all a conical, black shape with two white, vertical lines following the outline. According to Paribeni and Becatti it is an amphora that is depicted upside down. This explanation at first sight seems unwarranted, but Becatti explicitly states that there are two vertical, black handles. These are lost.
The second object is not upside down. With this object the stationarii and mosaicist transmit two visual messages. The first "image" is that of a grain measure, resting on two feet, with two solid black handles, and with a round or oval opening at the top, above which is the rutellum, symbol of the grain measurers. The lower part of the depiction is not a grain measure at all, however. It is a wide and high doorway. White tesserae above and next to it might be windows.
Becatti
Grain measure and amphora. Un moggio cilindrico su due piedi piccoli rettangolari, con dettagli bianchi indicanti due fasciature e una targa rettangolare sottostante. Sopra il moggio è una rasiera rettangolare allungata, disposta in senso orizzontale. Sotto il moggio, rivolta in senso opposto, è raffigurata un'anfora a corpo fusiforme appuntito con due anse verticali in nero.
Masonry
At either end of the rear wall of the back room is a pier of opus vittatum simplex. In between is a wall of opus latericium, set back somewhat to create an alcove. The east and west wall are of opus latericium. A little to the north of the black band at the north end of the preserved part of the floor of the back room, a stone (travertine or marble) block with mouldings is sticking out of the west wall.
Interpretation
I suggest that the "grain measure" is a combined depiction of a grain measure and the entrance of statio 33 itself, the most obvious wide entrance. There is a very similar depiction in statio 34. The grain measure points to the import of grain, the amphora to the import of fish and fish sauce, or oil. They are too close together to coincide with an entrance and exit of the front room (cf. statio 55). For a further discussion see the section "The auxiliary grain fleet of Commodus".
In statio 33 the mosaicist decided to use a white background for the entrance, on which he depicted a black doorframe. The outline of the grain measure is black, so that the presumed windows had to be white.
The block of stone sticking out of the west wall of the back room may well be the beginning of a threshold.