Excavated: 1908 (GdS 1908, 96 (July 8); GdS 1908, 99 (July 9); NSc 1908, 333-334; Vaglieri).
Mosaic: SO IV, 83-84 nr. 133-134, tav. 186 (top right).
Inscription: CIL XIV S, 4549 nr. 55.
Date: 190-200 AD (SO IV).
Meas. of tesserae: 0.015-0.02 (SO IV).

Photos and drawings:

Front room and back room (dga)

Front room and back room (gh)

Front room and back room (gh2)

Statio 56 + statio 55 (centre + right) (gh2)

Depiction (grain measure) (top right) (SO IV)

Depiction (grain measure) (bt)

Depiction (grain measure) (kh; 2013)

Depiction (ship) (bt)

Depiction (ship) (kh; 2013)

Text (NSc 1908, 334)

Mosaic

Much of the floor of the back room has been preserved, the north-east and south-east part are lost. 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 east end. It is surrounded on the north, east and south by wide, black bands. There is no band in the centre of the north side, only white tesserae. The western part of the black band on this side ends in an irregular way. Inside this part is a more or less rectangular, white patch. On its north side are a few black "steps". Inside the southern band is a white patch with some black speckles. On its south side are a few black "steps". The eastern band is difficult to describe in words. There may have been black and white panels rather than bands on the east side. On the south side the band or panel is set towards the west. In the northern part is a white panel, leaving a black line on the west side only, one tessera wide. In the centre of the frame are depictions of a large grain measure and a ship.

Vaglieri saw the remains of a text of white tesserae, largely removed by an ancient restoration:

OMS (the S stretched)

The description of Vaglieri is explained by Becatti. Originally there was an inscription of black tesserae (h. of letters 0.20) between the ship and the grain measure. It was later filled with white tesserae. Reading from the west Vaglieri deciphered OMS (Finelli says ONS or OMS), reading from the east Becatti recognized only [---]S[---]O[---].

The S can be recognized to the right of the mast of the ship, the O further on, between the ship and the grain measure. There is enough space in between to make it STATIO. Pure coincidence cannot be excluded.

The geometric design in the back room consists of alternating, black and white L-shapes and rectangles. It is identical to the design in the back room of 54, albeit mirrored, see this schematic representation (left: statio 55, right: statio 54). In the south part of the front room is a simple depiction of a ship, going to the right (l. 1.14, h. 0.30, with the mast 0.70). The left part, touching the framing band, was restored in antiquity, and below the ship are black speckles. In the centre of the room, but moved to the north, is a grain measure with a rutellum above it. Contrary to the ship, it should be looked at from the west. It is the only grain measure on the square that is white.

Becatti
Ship. Una nave, la cui poppa è distrutta da un rifacimento posteriore. Il fianco della nave è decorato da un meandro bianco; ha l'albero maestro senza vela, mentre sono disegnate tutte le sartie che lo fissano a poppa, a prua, e ai fianchi. La nave è rivolto verso il lato Est.
Grain measure. Un grande moggio a semplice contorno nero, cilindrico, leggermente rastremato in alto, su tre piedi, con una fasciatura nera mediana e con due anse rettangolari. Sopra è il rutellum o rasiera, come una verga allungata nera. Il moggio è rivolto verso il lato Ovest.
Geometric design. Il campo è decorato da un motivo di quadrati adiacenti come tante formelle, suddivise ciascuna in una scacchiera centrale bianco-nera di quattro quadrati, mentre i quattro spazî degli angoli retti sono bianchi e neri alternati in modo che quelli opposti sono dello stesso colore.

Masonry

The back wall of the back room is of opus latericium with one row of oblong tufa stones, resting on opus reticulatum. At the north end is a vertical joint, after which the wall continues with opus reticulatum. There is no south wall. The north 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. On the plan of Vaglieri a wall or bench is depicted that is set against the west part of the north wall, and the west wall. The model has a bench here, continuing in statio 56. The southern column has no plinth. Around the northern column half a brick plinth has been preserved.

Interpretation

In view of the presumed door in the north wall and strong similarities of the mosaic of the back rooms, stationes 55 and 54 formed an entity. The puzzling east band of the frame in the front room might be interpreted as having an entrance in the south part (where the ship is), and an exit in the north part (a white exit to which a white grain measure is leading).