STATIO 54

Excavated: 1913 (no excavation report published; Vaglieri); 1970 (Pohl 1987, trench f).
Mosaic: SO IV, 83 nrs. 131-132, fig. 20.
Inscription: ---.
Date: 190-200 AD (SO IV).
Meas. of tesserae: 0.015-0.02 (SO IV).

Photos and drawings:
  • Front room and back room (ss)
  • Front room and back room (dga)
  • Front room and back room (gh)
  • Front room and back room (gh2)
  • Statio 55 + statio 54 (centre + right) (gh2)
  • Depiction (geometric design) (SO IV)
  • Depiction (ships) (bs)
  • Depiction (ships) (kh; 2013)

    • Mosaic

    General description

    Most of the floor of the back room has been preserved, the north and south edges are missing. At the east end it is separated from the front room by a wide, black band, or rather rectangle. The rest of the floor is taken up by a geometric design. Most of the floor of the front room has been preserved, with the exception of the north-east part and east edge. It is surrounded by a black band, four tesserae wide. The north-west corner of the band is lost. Here 10 centimetres or so can be seen of a parallel, west-east running band. In the centre of the frame is a large depiction, to be looked at from the west.

    Text

    No text has been preserved.

    Depictions

    The geometric design in the back room consists of alternating, black and white L-shapes and rectangles. In the front room is a large depiction of two ships with raised sails, to be looked at from the west. The ships are very similar. They move towards each other. Horizontal, black lines indicate the sea.

    Becatti
    Ships. Due navi dello stesso tipo affrontate, con prora obliqua, poppa ricurva con i due timoni poppieri, albero maestro con acato appeso al pennone e gonfiato dal vento, teso con le scotte verso poppa; le varie bende e i ferzi delle vele gonfiate sono resi con semicerchi bianchi, è espresso la sartia che fissa l'albero a prua e a poppa. I fianchi delle navi sono sottolineati da linee bianche parallele. Le navi sono rivolte dalla parte del portico postico.
    Geometric design. Il campo è decorato da un motivo di quadrati adiacenti come tante formelle, suddivise ciascuna in una scacchiera centrale bianco-nera con quattro quadrati, mentre gli spazî ai quattro angoli retti sono bianchi e neri alternati in modo cioè che quelli opposti sono dello stesso colore.

    Masonry

    The back wall of the back room is of opus reticulatum. There is no north wall, apart from a supporting wall that bridges the difference in height with statio 53, probably modern. The south wall is of opus vittatum mixtum. The east part is very low, and there may have been a door here. This is also indicated on the plans of Vaglieri and Gismondi.

    The brick plinth of the northern central brick column has not been preserved. However, a lump of lime was found that was meant to support it, similar to other blocks below the fake plinths (excavations Pohl). Around the southern central brick column half a brick plinth has been preserved.

    Interpretation

    In view of the orientation of the ships, the office must have been entered from an adjoining office. In view of the presumed door and given the strong similarities of the mosaic of the back rooms, this was most likely statio 55.